19. Trent
Trent
Two Weeks Later
It was exhausting, filthy work, but it quickly became my favourite part of the week because Kat was right there beside me for every minute of it.
She showed up wearing work boots, old worn-in jeans, and a faded university t-shirt with her hair tossed into a messy bun. There was no pressure between us anymore, no eggshells to walk on. We had fallen into a natural rhythm of a real partnership.
I was standing on a stepladder in the middle of the gutted kitchen, pulling down sagging ceiling plaster, when I looked over at Kat.
She was currently wedged halfway inside a lower cabinet frame, a crowbar in hand, prying the rotted wood away from the plaster wall. Dust, wood and plaster coated her nose and shoulders, and she was humming a country song under her breath.
I couldn't help the slow smile that spread across my face.
Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out a pad of yellow sticky notes and a thick Sharpie that we had been using to mark certain things we wanted to do or remember.
While she was focused on prying off a stubborn piece of board, I stepped over to the exposed wall studs near what would eventually be the dining area and slapped a note right at eye level:
Future nook where Kat will pretend to study to be a badass doctor while actually scrolling through social media.
I grinned, stepping back just as Kat popped her head out from the cabinet frame, wiping her forehead with the back of her gloved hand.
"What are you smirking at over there, Prescott?" she asked, narrowing her eyes playfully.
"Nothing," I said, holding my hands up innocently. "Just admiring the demolition crew."
Kat pushed herself up, dusted off her knees, and walked over to inspect the wall. When she read the note, she burst into a bright laugh that filled the space.
"Hey! I do not just scroll social media when I'm supposed to be studying," she protested, though her cheeks flushed pink.
"Right, right. My mistake," I said, uncapping the Sharpie again. I reached past her and stuck a second yellow note right above the main water line in the kitchen frame:
Location of future double-oven (equipped with a smoke detector for when Kat burns garlic bread).
Kat gasped, feigning offence as she bumped her shoulder hard against mine. "Okay, first of all, I burned garlic bread one time, and that was because you distracted me. Second of all, you're paying for that."
Before I could dodge, she reached out with her dusty work glove and gave my cheek a firm wipe, leaving a smudge across my jaw.
"Kat!" I laughed, reaching out to catch her by the waist and pulling her flush against my chest.
She laughed out loud, resting her hands against my shoulders, her hazel eyes sparkling with pure light. "That’s what you get for making fun of my cooking."
"Fair enough," I murmured softly.
The playfulness softened into something deeper as I looked down at her.
We hadn’t taken it past kissing since we reunited, and I was trying my hardest to let her lead.
That didn’t mean that every part of me wasn’t ready and waiting for the green light.
I brought my hand up, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear and thumbing a smudge of something off her cheek.
These past fourteen days had re-grounded me in a way I hadn't known I needed. We went on several dates, even if it was just for coffee. We talked through our days without holding back, and here, surrounded by exposed studs and old nails, we were building something honest.
I leaned down and kissed her, slow, deep, and steady. Kat sighed into the kiss, her fingers curling tight into the fabric of my shirt.
When I pulled back, her eyes were soft and relaxed. "We should probably finish pulling these lower cabinets out before it gets too late," she murmured against my lips.
"Yeah," I smiled, kissing her forehead. "Yeah, we should."
I stepped back toward the stepladder, but Kat surprised me with an “Or...”
“Or?” I asked, trying to keep the prepubescent squeak out of my voice.
Kat’s eyes went from warm to heated, and I had to swallow a growl. She stepped into me, her hands resting on my belt buckle, giving it a little tug, saying, “Or, we can occupy our time with something a little more fun tonight.”
My brain was screaming at me that she meant sex, but I had to tread lightly and not just jump her at the first chance I got. Not trusting my words, I shrugged and nodded at the same time.
Kat stepped back, a teasing glint in her eyes as her hands slid away from my pants, saying, “But if you'd rather finish the demo...”
I didn’t swallow the growl that time; I lunged as she stepped back with a giggle, wrapping my arms around her as we tripped over something on the floor, I rolled us so I would take the brunt of the fall, landing on a pile of debris, a grunt rushing past my lips as a sharp pinching sensation hit my ass.
But I didn't care, because the love of my life was in my arms, laughing, on a dirty floor…
“Kat…” I groaned, not wanting to stop this, but needing to give her all of me in a way that didn't involve an old, dirty, torn-apart house. “Let's go to your place. I…”
She cut me off by crushing her lips to mine in a passionate, bruising kiss that took the words from me. Kat pulled back just enough so she could pull my shirt from my jeans and start fumbling with my belt.
“Trent…” She mimicked my growl, but hers was tiny and adorable. “I want you. I miss you. I do not want to wait.”
I looked around, trying to find a safe, clean place where I could strip her down and …
She must have read my expression, because her hands left my jeans and grabbed my face, as she said, “I am going to combust if you don't fuck me right now, Trent. Do you know how hot you are, all dirty and sweating and working… It has been far too long… This doesn’t have to be pretty, we don't even have to be fully naked, just bend me over and give me what I am asking for!”
HOLY FUCKING SHIT!
Kat’s mouth found mine again as she rotated her hips and ground herself on me, her soft panting painting my lips, and I was a fucking goner.
“The island,” I murmured against her lips.
She stood, almost slipping again on a piece of wood, righting herself with a giggle; she helped me up. I turned to walk back towards the kitchen and throw anything that was in my way off the island when I heard a gasp from Kat, followed by, “Oh my god, Trent, your ass.”
I chuckled, replying with, “It’s all the ladders”, but when I turned to see the look of shock on her face. I twisted, seeing a piece of wood with a nail in it stuck to me.
The heat from Kat’s earlier expression was gone, replaced with concern. I pulled her against me, saying, “I honestly don't even feel it right now. Trust me when I say that is not where the blood is in my body or where my focus is.”
“But…” she started and stopped when I yanked the nail and wood, throwing it on the ground, trying to ignore my blood on the tip of the nail.
I picked her up and, shuffling my feet to avoid any further wipeouts, made our way to the island. “Now, where were we?” I asked
I dropped Kat to her feet, and when she opened her mouth to argue; I silenced her with another kiss, using her technique, pulling her shirt from her jeans and fumbling with the buttons.
I couldn't wait to sink into her, but then a realization hit me.
“Condom..” I blurted out.
Kat kissed me, saying, “I don't have any with me, but I am still on the pill and haven't been with anyone else since I met you.”
I pulled back, studying her face. I didn't see any reservations, but I still asked, “Are you sure?”
“I am,” Kat said with a smile, before kissing me again. She suddenly pulled back, asking, “Are you… are you okay with that?”
“More than okay!”
She smiled brightly, saying, “We can do the romance and foreplay later. But right now I need you.”
Kat turned, dropped her worn-in jeans with her black cotton underwear around her ankles, and leaned over the unfinished edge of the island.
I groaned, taking in the view before me; she was so beautiful.
Toned legs and a firm ass greeted me, but what had my attention was the signs of her arousal for me, glistening between her legs.
I almost tripped again, trying to get my pants down and half waddling toward her.
My cock was so hard it sprang out of my boxer briefs and slapped against my pelvis before I moved closer to her, rubbing my aching cock wet with pre-cum between her ass cheeks.
Kat shivered, a moan escaping her lips. “Please,” she whimpered, and I didn't think I had ever heard her this needy before.
I leaned over her, my nose pushing away her hair, saying, “You don’t have to ask me twice!”
She huffed, saying, “Apparently I do....”
But she didn't get any more words through those pouty lips because I lined myself up and drove into her wet, tight pussy with one hard thrust. Kat hissed out a “yes”, leaning her head back against my shoulder as I drove into her.
The sound of our skin slapping filled the house we were building together, and while it may not have been slow or soft, it felt like coming home. Like, that final barrier between us was gone.
Kat chanted my name, one of her hands coming off the island to reach behind her, curling her fingers into the nape of my hair and holding me close.
She turned her face, offering a hungry kiss, while crying out as her orgasm ravaged her body, sending tremors through her small frame, and as she fluttered and squeezed me almost painfully tight, I came with her name on my lips.
Our breathing was heavy as we came down from our frenzy.
Kat kept her head turned towards mine, as I pressed soft kisses to her jaw and the corner of her mouth, feeling so close to her.
We stumbled through getting our pants back up, though cleaning her up in a space that was not clean. But the whole time we smiled, kept reaching for each other.
Kat finished washing her hands in the kitchen sink, a cheeky look on her face when she said, “We should probably get back to work.”
I pulled her back into my arms, kissing her, then saying, “I love you!”
“I love you too! Now get back to work, Prescott…” Kat was cut off by the loud ring of my phone.
I pulled it from my back pocket, thankful it was in the other pocket, and checked the screen. Gideon.
"Hey, Gid," I answered, placing the phone to my ear. "What's up? We're just wrapping up the demo in the kitchen…"
Kat giggled, and my smile grew.
"Trent," Gideon cut in, his voice tight and breathless. "Mom’s water just broke."
“What? I thought the baby wasn’t in place yet and her doctor expected her to go for another two weeks."
"I know," Gideon said, the sound of a car door slamming in the background. "Dad's driving her to the hospital right now. Her blood pressure spiked after her water broke, so the doctor wants to admit her immediately and get the baby out. Dad's losing his mind."
"I just need to get cleaned up quickly and I'm on my way," I said instantly.
I hung up, my hands moving automatically to set my phone down as panic made my chest tighten.
Kat was already by my side, her hand resting firmly against my arm, grounding me. "Trent? What happened?"
"It's Mom," I said, looking at her, my pulse racing. "Her water broke. Dad is taking her to the hospital right now. Her blood pressure jumped, and they're prepping her for delivery."
"Go," Kat said immediately, without a single second of hesitation. She squeezed my arm gently, her voice completely calm and steady. "Go right now. I'll clean up the tools and lock up the house."
"Kat, you don't have to clean all this up…"
"Trent, go be with your family," she insisted softly, reaching up to press a quick, reassuring kiss to my jaw. "Go. You can shower at my place if you want; it’s closer. Text me as soon as you have an update, or let me know if you need me to bring anything to the hospital, okay?"
I looked down at her, at her calm strength, her total lack of hesitation, and the absolute support in her eyes.
"Thank you," I breathed, wrapping my arms around her for a tight, hard hug.
She squeezed me back before pulling away and slapping my ass, saying, "Now get going."
I grabbed my truck keys from the makeshift workbench, gave her one last look, and hurried towards the front door when she added, “Maybe have a nurse check out your butt, or get a tetanus shot.”
I couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped me. I rushed back to her, kissing her hard, before saying, “We are all caught up on our shots, trust me. I need them working with Gid”. Then I was out the front door into the fading evening light.