Chapter 22 The Panic #2
I considered his suggestion carefully before responding.
Marla wasn’t the kind of woman who would tolerate us sleeping in the same bed, but I knew she wouldn’t turn him away.
Zeke hadn’t done or said anything that made me think this was an attempt at seduction anyway.
That was probably something we were going to have to talk about because a girl has needs.
And when she’s now in a committed relationship with a man who looks like Zeke Hayes, she has a lot of needs.
“I’d like that, but you’d probably have to sleep on the couch. Marla is old school.”
Zeke blanched. “I would never disrespect her home like that. I’ll sleep in the bed of my truck if it makes her feel better. Or I can get a room at a motel. I just figured why make the drive back to post every night if I could spend more time with you.”
Now, how is a girl not supposed to turn into a puddle of mush when her new boyfriend says things like that?
“I’d love that. I can show you more of River’s Run. It’s not much, but it’s definitely home.”
He grinned, pleased that I agreed. “I’ll need to pick up a few things then, so let’s make a quick stop.”
Before I knew it, we pulled into the parking lot of a Madden Market.
A new lump formed in my throat, this time for an entirely different reason.
Marla and Celeste’s Nana used to love taking us out here for a little “retail therapy,” as they called it, especially on the weekends when the store slashed all the prices in their bargain bins.
But ever since Wesley left and broke Celeste’s heart, I tried to avoid shopping there when I could.
The last time I visited one, large banners and posters featuring Wes modeling different clothing or products were plastered on nearly every surface.
Indeed, the moment we stepped inside, Wes’s bright smile greeted us on the interior welcome sign.
Only I knew him well enough to know that the smile was staged; it didn’t reach his eyes the way it did when that smile turned on Celeste.
I paused at the sign as memories surged forward.
Wes had been like a brother to me, someone who always had my back and stepped in when I needed help.
He never treated me like any of the other boys at school.
While I understood why Celeste had to let him go, I couldn’t help but miss him and wish things had played out differently for them.
They seemed like the epitome of a perfect couple.
What true love actually looked like in real time.
It was what I hoped would develop between Zeke and me.
“Do you know him or something?” Zeke inquired, glancing between the poster and me in surprise.
“I thought I did. At one point.” It was hard to keep the sadness from my voice as I remembered that despite how much I envied their relationship, the Wes I remembered never would have stayed away from Celeste.
It had been three years now and we hadn’t heard a peep from him.
People changed, but Wes was the first person whose changes let me down.
And they broke my best friend’s heart, which I couldn’t forgive.
Zeke wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side, and soothingly rubbing along my arm.
He steered us inside and into the men’s clothing section where I had to keep my eyes pinned on him or else Wesley’s face would continue to smirk at me from all angles.
Zeke made it easier to forget, though, when he handed me a credit card and said, “Okay. Dress me.”
“Wh-what?” I stuttered. Dumbfounded, I took the card from him and held it up as if I couldn’t understand what it was.
“I want you to give me a makeover,” Zeke explained. “Pick out whatever clothes and shoes you think I need for the next few days in River’s Run. You’re the one with all the style, right?”
An unbidden squeal burst out of me. There was nothing I loved more than a makeover.
“Can I do your hair, too?” I asked, practically bouncing on the balls of my feet.
Shrugging, he said, “As long as it’s within Army regs, I don’t care. Whatever you want, Trouble.”
If only Zeke knew how much he might come to regret that freedom.
I proceeded to go through every single rack in the men’s clothing section over the next two hours, giving him stack after stack of things to try on.
Some of them were completely impractical, like a rich black suit, but the way he filled it out made my panties wet.
That would definitely go in my spank bank arsenal because damn. Zeke could wear the hell out of a suit.
After I filled the cart with more clothes than he would need in two weeks at River’s Run, we meandered over to the hair and makeup section.
Zeke didn’t hesitate when I paused to look at a line of hair care products I’d seen online, sweeping the entire row into the cart.
He let me pick out different gels to style his hair, and even agreed to trying a little guyliner.
That act alone made me want to pull him into a dressing room for a blow job.
It was a desire that I couldn’t resist. I grabbed him by the hand and dragged him into the back where the fitting rooms remained open and unguarded, as I knew they would be. Madden Markets were notoriously understaffed due to the low pay.
Shoving him into the largest one, I closed the door behind me and turned the lock, looking up at Zeke through hooded lashes. There was an excitement in his gaze that I hadn’t seen before, like maybe some part of him finally became aroused at the sight of me.
Knowing I finally got a rise out of him made my pussy clench with longing. I wanted his dick in my mouth more than I wanted my next breath.
Sliding down to my knees, I started to unbuckle his belt when both his hands wrapped around my wrists.
“Maggie, what are you doing?” he whispered.
An eyebrow arched as I gazed up at him. “Rocking your world.”
Slowly, I licked along his fingers until he let go of my wrists, drawing one of the digits into my mouth.
My tongue swirled around his finger, and Zeke rewarded me by growing a noticeable bulge in his pants.
And boy, was it noticeable. I felt a momentary trace of fear that I was about to unleash an anaconda.
His eyes glazed over as I continued to suck on his finger, using both of my hands to finish unbuckling his belt.
Zeke helped me with all the buttons on his uniform and I realized that I was basically playing with government property.
It made the whole thing more wicked and erotic.
Almost like I should have gotten permission to undress him but did it anyway.
He laced his fingers through my hair to hold me in place.
“Is this what you want to do, or what you think I want you to do?” Zeke murmured. “Because I only want this if you want this. You’re in charge.”
The fact that he was so concerned with my pleasure rather than his own made my heart soar and my pussy throb. He wasn’t like the other guys I’d hooked up with. This wasn’t about him, it was about me, and somehow he knew I needed the reminder.
“If you don’t get your cock in my mouth in the next five seconds, I’m going to walk home!” I growled.
A cocky grin worked his way out, making Zeke impossibly sexier.
He leaned his hips off the wall enough to push his pants and boxers down and unfurled himself.
Forget an anaconda—that would cower in fear of this thing.
I pretty much tuned out through all of high school biology and physics, but I might’ve paid more attention if one of the teachers ever mentioned I’d need to know how to get a dick like this inside me.
Rigid and veiny, it was a damn work of art.
Saliva pooled in my mouth, which I spit onto the base of his shaft.
I let my tongue swirl around the head as both hands worked him.
A deep rumble purred from his chest as Zeke tried to stifle his moan.
I couldn’t help myself. As I took him farther into my mouth, letting my tongue flatten out to take more of him in, I reached a hand down into my own panties and began circling my clit.
Zeke’s hands were fists at his sides. He threw his head back in ecstasy, still trying to keep the moans at bay.
I didn’t want him to fight it. I wanted the entire store to know how much pleasure I brought him.
Me—ugly, little Maggie Eaton could make an Adonis like Zeke Hayes cry out in the throws of passion.
The sounds he made gave me more confidence and I boldly took more of him down my throat. It hurt to try and unhinge my jaw to accommodate the girth of him, but I didn’t want to stop. I loved the way he tasted on my tongue. A steady drip of precum already coated my throat.
My own orgasm built, climbing higher and higher like I was on the precipice of a cliff. All it would take was Zeke’s release and I would come hard enough to black out. Assuming his enormous cock didn’t do that for me. Perhaps all my years of training my gag reflex had paid off.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I tried to trace my tongue along the vein at the bottom of his shaft, but Zeke wouldn’t let me.
He slowly started to thrust, picking up speed when I whimpered in response.
Tenderly, Zeke’s hands framed my face to wipe away the tears.
Meanwhile, the electricity sparking from the intensity of his eyes on mine would cause a power outage.
“I’m gonna come, Maggie. Holy shit, I’m gonna come!
” he cried out. Either he no longer cared that someone might hear or he didn’t remember where we were, but the thrill of the announcement, of hearing the sensuality in his voice tipped me over the edge.
An orgasm exploded through me just as his cum filled my mouth.
Having nowhere to dispose of it, I swallowed it all.
His eyes lit up as though Zeke had received a present.
The look on his face made me want to give him a blow job all over again.
Normally I found a paper towel or garbage can to spit out the guy’s cum.
I hated the salty flavor of it and none of my previous partners ever mattered enough to me to bother. But Zeke’s reaction made it worth it
He hauled me up by the biceps and crushed his lips to mine. There was no hesitation to yield my mouth to his, where he swept his tongue through and dominated me. My knees quaked; I still hadn’t caught my breath or come down from the high.
“I love the taste of me in your mouth,” Zeke murmured against my lips, breaking out into a grin. “That was seriously the sexiest thing ever.”
Suddenly shy, I gave him a small smile. “Good, I’m glad.” This was normally the part where a guy would dismiss me. He got what he wanted out of me, so I could be carelessly tossed aside. I didn’t know how to act with someone who stayed.
What if he doesn’t stay?
I ignored the thought, fighting to stay present in the moment myself. Zeke wasn’t like Spencer or any of the other assholes from Smithson County High.
Spencer…
Zeke, for once, remained oblivious to my discomfort. He gently kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around my waist to pull me in flush with his body. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
All the guilt from the hookup with Spencer came crashing down on me. How could I be someone’s girlfriend if they didn’t even know the truth about what I’d done? Zeke deserved that much from me, at least. I just hoped he didn’t break up with me afterwards.
I tried to hide the tears in my eyes as I turned away from him and straightened out the skirt of my dress. The sounds of him fixing his own appearance bought me some time. Steeling myself, I took the coward’s way out and kept my back to him.
“Don’t sing my praises just yet,” I began. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Okay. Tell me.” Zeke turned me towards him, lightly tilting my chin up so that I would look at him.
I hated myself more in that moment than I had ever hated myself before. To break the heart of someone as trusting and loving and good as Zeke Hayes had to make me the worst kind of person.
“You remember that day we went to Tybee Island? The first day we spent together?” I whispered. At his nod, I took a deep breath to steady myself. “That night I met up with someone. A guy from my past. And we…we…I slept with him.”
His mouth parted in an exhale of surprise.
Lord, if Nana’s Jesus is real, may he smite me where I stand.
“It didn’t mean anything, I swear. I absolutely swear it. Everything about you just confused me…all my thoughts and feelings got tangled up and…I’m sorry.”
Lame. Such a pathetic way to end the explanation that wasn’t even really an explanation. But there was no way to accurately say it.
I trembled and closed my eyes, waiting for the names and swearing that were sure to come.
Although Zeke was such a classy, stand up guy, he probably wouldn’t go that route.
He would simply leave and I’d never see him again.
Only it wasn’t until that moment that I realized just how much it would devastate me if that were true.
“Who is he?” Zeke’s voice was quiet. Even. Giving nothing away.
“Just—someone that I know. He’s nothing to me. Never has been.” Tears clogged my throat, but I choked them down. I had no right to cry in the bed I made.
“So it’s not gonna happen again?” he asked, a tinge of sorrow lacing his tone. “Now that we’re really doing this, it’s just you and me?”
My eyes flew open as the last remaining piece of my heart shattered. Now Zeke would always feel insecure about us—about me—and it was entirely my fault. There wasn’t a single thing about Spencer Church that made my actions worth the remorse I felt.
“Of course it’s just you and me! That was before I realized how much you mean to me. Before I knew what was happening between us. I promise, I swear on Marla’s bakery, I don’t want anybody else, Zeke. Just us.”
His fingers were softer than I deserved as they carefully brushed the curls away from my face. “Then you can count me in.” Zeke’s deep blue eyes held mine until my tears blurred and finally fell.