One
HUNTER
After getting the twins to sleep, I debate between a nap for myself or a shower. I never imagined choosing between a shower and sleeping in all my teenage dreams.
“This is payback for all those times I snuck outta the house and stayed out all night. You’d think I’d be trained for this, but alas,” I lift my arm to sniff my pit, to help decide what’s more important. “my ass is dragging, and it stinks.”
I walk into the bathroom and stare at myself in the mirror. “You love your family, loathe your sorry-deadbeat ex, and you’re still a badass woman.”
Now that my pep talk is out of the way, I strip and climb into the shower before my kids decide there’s a different agenda. Don’t get me wrong, I love my babies, but today, I long for adventure and to feel sexy again.
“Instead, I’m washing the two-day-old stench from my body and praying I get time to read AJ Renee’s “Not Playing Fair.” Which should curl my toes and offer plenty of me time with my favorite moving toy.
I lay my head against the shower walls, letting the hot water run over my head. It feels like a little piece of heaven as it runs over me. Even before Steve walked away, I never had time to do this. He was too good to change a diaper or watch the twins long enough for me to shower.
“You don’t have time for a breakdown, girl; push it back and finish your shower,” I mutter as my tears mix in with the water. As hard as I try, the tears fall faster, mixing in with the water running over my face.
It’s not long before I pull myself together and get through my shower. I admit, washing my hair feels better than crying it out; it’s a small win for today.
No sooner do I get my body lathered up good than I hear the worst thing known to a mother needing five minutes to herself. No, not her kids but the phone. “Dear God, please don’t be my mother.”
I scramble for my cell, holding my breath that it doesn’t wake my babies. I’m tangled in the shower curtain, pushing the phone out of my reach. “I might have to hurt whoever’s calling if they don’t hang up soon.”
The curtain frees me, and I step out with one leg, tipping the cell towards me. “Raith!”
Suddenly, it stops ringing, and a text pops up within seconds. I squint as I attempt to read the message, but my slippery fingers tussle with the phone. Soapy water runs everywhere, helping the cell to slip from my fingers and into the floor.
“I’m gonna kill him.” I scurry back into the shower, hurrying through what was left of my few minutes of peace and quiet. “If he calls back, I will be an only child.”
No sooner do I get the words out than the phone begins to ring again. “Yeah, he’s dead to me.”
Once again, I scramble for my cell, and the shower curtain wraps around my foot. I grab my phone, answering it, soaking wet, with a whisper yell. Yes, it’s a thing; ask any mom. “What? I just want a shower for the love of all that’s holy.”
“Sorry, Witch Hazel.” Raith chuckles.
“You do realize, Witch-hazel is a plant made into a product for healthy uses.”
“I did not, and I don’t care. It was satire and funny as hell.” He laughs again, irritating me even further.
I sigh heavily and release myself from my captor, better known as the shower curtain. “What do you want? The twins are napping, and I was finally getting a shower.”
“Oh, now I am sorry.” Raith pauses. “I can imagine how much you needed that; based on the last time I was there, you desperately needed to bathe.”
“I hate you,” I stick my tongue out at the phone, mostly because he was right and because he’s an ass. “tell me what you want, so I can stop dripping all over my floor.”
“Right.” Raith hesitates again. I know there’s something he wants to tell me but isn’t going to say it. “Someone is moving into the Black’s old house, so you’ll need to give them the key when they get there.”
I’m reaching for a towel when he spits it out, and my head snaps up with this unexpected news. “Do you know who it is?”
“I’ve had several people call, but mom reminded me of it. So I told her I’d call you.” His words are muted as he messes with something in the background.
“Well, who is it?” I jump when I look up and see Mia at the bathroom door. “Hey, baby girl, is your brother still asleep?”
“That’s my signal to run; talk later, sis.”
“You didn’t tell….” Raith hangs up while I’m mid-sentence.
Mia’s still standing there, giggling. “Please tell me your brother’s still in bed.”
“No, he’s gone.” She laughs harder as I race past her toward the stairs, wrapping my towel around me as I go.
“Taylor. Taylor, where are you?” I run through the house, searching every corner. “Taylor! Answer me!”
As I round the corner to the kitchen, I see the evidence no mother wants to see when she’s clothed in a piece of material and a child on the run – clothes and the backdoor open.
“You have got to be kidding me!” I screech, tightening my towel as I sprint out the door.
I spot his pull-up at the corner of the house; I rush to find the gate ajar. “How did you get the childproof gate open? Taylor!”
Without any thought, I dart through the gate and bolt down my driveway as I get a glimpse of him headed toward the fence by the road. “Taylor! Get back here, son.”
When I clear the cover of the houses, I notice a motorcycle at the neighbor’s house. I rush over to the escaped inmate, sweeping him up and turning to hightail it back to the house.
“Please tell me, whoever that is, they’re not witnessing this from a dark corner,” I mutter, clutching my son to my chest as my towel begins to slip.
“Hey there!” A deep voice stops me in my tracks, and my stomach fills with dread. I shudder with a memory from years ago when I was a teenager, and my ultimate crush murmured these exact words in my ear.
It was seven minutes in heaven; the room was so dark that he couldn’t make out who I was, and I made sure not to say anything that would tip him off. I knew if he figured it out, I would never get what I came to this ridiculous party for in the first place.
He’s what every girl in our school wished for; intelligent, handsome, with tattoos, and a body of a god. I dreamed endlessly of kissing him, being wrapped in his muscular arms, and him taking me just like they do in romance novels.
Griggs Black was the most popular, sought-after, hottest guy in the school, and he wasn’t only my neighbor but my brother’s best friend. Making me – off limits to him.
Yet, for seven minutes, I was his, and he was mine. This was a chance I might never get again, and I was going to make every minute count. When Griggs's lips met mine, I didn’t hold back and gave him everything I had dreamed of my entire life.
So, when I peeked over my shoulder to find an older, more handsome man standing at the hedges that separate our yards, I was pleasantly surprised. His arms adorned more tats, his hair had a few strands of gray in it, and he was sexier than he had ever been in high school.
“Hello?” Griggs's gravely tone tickled my lower belly, and I squeezed my thighs together as I started to daydream about him again.
That’s until my toddler yanked me out of my revelry. “Momma nakey.”
“Not yet, but she’s close.” Griggs chimes in, dragging me into a myriad of torment and embarrassment.
I slowly turn toward him, holding Taylor close as I grapple with my loosening towel. “Hey. How are you?”
“Good,” Griggs's gaze roams my body, and I'm not ashamed for the first time in my life. What does that even mean? “and getting better by the minute.”
“Yeah, I’m dying here.” I swallow hard as my mouth goes dry by how he looks at me. I shuffle my feet as the towel and my son close in on winning this battle.
“I’m not trying to be rude; I apologize,” Griggs tilts his head, offering me a smoldering smirk. “But I must admit, this isn’t the homecoming I expected.”
“Oh, was there a parade or something planned that would help to add to my plunging humility?” I shudder at the image of anyone else witnessing this interaction, quickly glancing around at my surroundings. “And with that thought, I should get us in the house.”
“Just one more thing,” He holds up a finger as Taylor squirms. My grip on this towel, my son, and my sanity is fading rapidly.
I force an awkward smile, slowly releasing a long sigh. “Yes?”
“I’m told you have the key to my house?” He grins wickedly, working my dusty and tired libido into overdrive.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot you’re here to sell your parents’ home.” Probably not the conversation I should be having now as I struggle with my son and this damn towel.
“No, not yet.” He shakes his head as he reaches over and strokes Taylor’s hair off his face. “I couldn’t bring myself to do it after dad passed, following my mom so soon.”
I bite my tongue this time, hating I brought the subject up. I lived in Charleston when his parents died, and after Steve left, I moved into my parents’ home now that they live in the Outer Banks.
It was a fast fix for my impending homelessness. Once Steve disappeared from us, I found out he hadn’t been paying any of the bills, including rent, and I was stuck in debt to everything and everyone.
I didn’t have the money to move, and I worked from home, making it hard to earn money and take care of the twins. So, moving home rent-free was a God send, but it also meant that I wasn’t here during this challenging time.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”
He glances at me before looking back at Taylor. “You were a little busy, I understand.”
“Still, it’s not an excuse.” I tug at my towel. “Let me get him inside, and I’ll grab the keys.”
He steps through the hedges, waiting for me to turn toward my house. “After y’all.”
“Y’all?” I smirk. “You can take the southern boy outta the south, but you can’t take the southern drawl from him.”
Griggs laughs in earnest. “Right? New York often feels like another world than what it is down here.”
“I can only imagine,” I say, reaching for my front door knob, only to find it locked. “Shit!”
“Shit.” Taylor echoes me.
“Momma didn’t say that; it’s a bad word,” I mumble as I ponder, running around to the back of the house as I turn to face him. “It’s locked; I’ll need to go around.”
He reaches for Taylor, who buries his face into my neck. “Want me to hold him?”
“Apparently, my resident streaker is shy now.” I pat on Taylor’s back; when it dawns on me that there’s a key under the mat as I start to kneel. “Oh, there’s a key.”
Griggs holds his hand up, “It might be best if I get it.”
“Uh, yeah.” I stutter as he bends over and slides the key out. He reaches it to me, and when our hand's touch, a tingle raises goosebumps all over my body.
I squeeze my thighs together as another memory of us sneaks into my mind, stoking the fire in my belly. It was homecoming, and every girl in the school was hoping to dance with him. Yes, I was one of them, but I didn’t even try because Raith would’ve had an aneurysm if he had seen us.
So, instead of watching him switch partners one after the other, I snuck out the side door and went to sit under the stars on the tailgate of Raith’s truck. The autumn sky was breathtaking that night, littered with twinkling lights.
I laid back, watching the sky dance and dreaming of swaying in Griggs's arms. “If only he would ever notice me.”
“Who do you want to notice you? Does Raith know?” I spring up when Griggs startles me.
“No. I mean, why would I tell my brother?” I straighten my dress. “It’s none of his business; I’m my own woman, in case you haven’t noticed.”
He slides onto the tailgate beside me. “Oh, I’ve noticed, but like you, I haven’t told Raith I have.”
“You… what?” I gape, shocked as to the meaning. “Sorry, I think I misunderstood you.”
Griggs angles his body to mine, running his finger along my jawline. “No, Hunter. You heard me right.”
“Well, then. I suppose we should go back inside. I’m sure there’s a line forming to have a dance with you.” I jumped off of the truck, readjusting my dress again.
He follows my lead but stands before me once he’s on his feet. “I’d rather dance with you if that’s okay?”
“Yes!” I answer far too quickly; I’d die from humiliation if he hadn’t smiled at me just as fast.
“Good.” Griggs steps closer, snaking his arm around my waist, and pulls me into his chest.
I gasp when he presses his body into mine. “There’s no music.”
“We’ll make our own.” He murmurs in my ear as he presses his cheek into mine.
As the butterflies begin to take flight in my lower belly, I quickly find out that I’m not the only one with a stirring in my nether regions. I had heard the rumors about Griggs, but even in my wildest dreams, did I imagine finding out if they were true firsthand?
His hand slips down to my lower back and spreads wide. Griggs brushes his lips over my ear, whispering in it. “You always smell incredible.”
“So do you.” My breasts heave when I release the breath I’ve been holding.
Griggs responds to me by molding me closer to him; there’s not a crease between our bodies. “I’ve wanted to do this since the party and our time in the closet.”
“You knew it was me?” I mewl as I nuzzle his cheek.
“How could I not?” He growls. “Only you smell like strawberries and taste as sweet.”
That’s when I knew I was either in trouble or ready to make some; as his cock grew between us, I couldn’t help to feel his piercings through his slacks. No wonder he wears button flies, they hid them well, and they were no longer a rumor to me.
“Here ya go.” Griggs's words drag me from my thoughts, and his smile still weakens my knees.
“Thank you.” I open the lock as I need to juggle Taylor and the towel.
Finally, I push the door wide and reach inside to grab Griggs's house key from the hanger just in the door. I hold them out, and Taylor wiggles free, sliding down my body and taking the towel with him. Griggs takes the keys as the towel hits the floor, and his gaze roams my body again.
I gasp, slamming the door in his face, and grab the towel off the floor.
My cheeks burn from embarrassment, but then the tingle in my whoha reminds me I’m hot for a totally different reason.
I shake my head as I wrap the towel around me and go in search of my son; he’s probably hiding.
Something I’m considering for the rest of Griggs's visit after flashing him.
Although I wanted to die from humiliation, having those memories fresh in my mind was worth this entire fiasco. “Especially the one about his piercings. I’d like to find out if he’s added to the experience of the best ride in town.”