Chapter 7 Jesse
Jesse
The last two days have been the happiest of my life. No contest.
Hanging out with Lily is amazing She’s the sweetest, funniest, and sexiest woman I’ve ever met.
We've fallen into an easy routine: cooking together, watching old movies in the evening, and making love.
In the shower, on the bed, against the wall, and up against a wooden gate when we went for a walk.
We’ve been at it so much that her pussy is tender, not that she’ll admit it. I put my foot down this morning and said no sex today. It’s hard to keep my hands off her, but I need to give my girl time to recover.
She's in the shower now while I'm in the kitchen making breakfast. This will be our last day at the cottage, and I want to make it memorable. Tonight I need to take her back to the clubhouse and face Bruno.
The guys will be coming back from the run tonight, and the sooner I tell Bruno about us, the better.
He won't take it well, but there's nothing I can do to stop this thing that's between me and Lily even if I wanted to.
I always knew I was in love with Lily, but the last few days have shown me it's more than that.
It's a once in a lifetime kind of love. The kind of love where you grip it with both hands and never let it go.
She's my soul mate. I know it. I’ll fight for that if I have to.
There’re bunches of yellow flowers that grow wild around the cottage, and I pick some while Lily’s in the shower. I’m arranging them in a glass of water for her breakfast tray when the roar of a bike makes me scramble to the window.
Dust flies up behind the rider as he stops in front of the cottage and pulls his helmet of. It’s Bruno.
“Fuck.”
He must have come back early from the run. I'm not ready for this, and by the way he strides to the front door, I can tell he’s not in a good mood. Foreboding tugs at my gut as I hurry to meet him.
“Where’s Lily?” he asks immediately.
“She's fine. She's taking a shower.”
His eyes dart around the living room at the remnants of our weekend together. Empty wine glasses on the coffee table, the open door to the bedroom behind me. I surreptitiously slide one of Lily’s bras off the arm of the couch and let it drop to the floor.
“How did the run go?”
I’m stalling for time. Lily and I agreed that we’ll tell Bruno together. If he sees how in love we are, it’ll be easier to accept.
As Bruno tells me about the trouble he had with the run, I hear the water turn off in the shower. A few moments later, I sense movement behind me.
“I don't think I can go a whole day…” Lily's voice dies on her lips. She gasps as she sees her father and tries to cover her naked body.
“Cover yourself up, girl.”
Bruno looks away quickly and tosses the throw from the couch at her as Lily retreats into the bedroom.
“What are you thinking?” he calls after her. “Coming out here like that?”
I know exactly what she was thinking, but I’m not going to tell her dad that.
Suspicion clouds his face, and he follows Lily into the bedroom we've been using. The blankets are all messed up on the double bed. A pair of Lily’s panties are on the floor.
It's obvious we've both been sleeping in the one room.
“What the fuck is going on?”
This is not how I wanted to tell Bruno. He’s like a bull when he’s angry, charges first and asks questions later.
“I can explain.”
His eyes dart to the crumbled pile of tissues on the bedside table and realization hits.
“Have you been fucking my daughter?”
I cringe at the crass language. He's technically right, but it's more than fucking. We've been making love, exploring our connection, forming a lifelong bond. But there’s no way to dress this up for her father.
“I'm in love with Lily.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” It’s like he doesn’t even here me he’s so blinded by rage. “You've been boning my girl?”
Bruno strides towards me with his fist in the air. I don’t even duck, and the punch hits me on the side of the cheek, catching my ear. My vision blurs and it fucking hurts, but I deserved that.
Lily screams, but I barely hear her over the ringing in my ears.
“You're my best friend, Jesse. You're my best fucking friend.”
The betrayal in Bruno's voice is more than I can bear. I get why he’s angry, but he needs to understand what’s going on between us.
“It's not like that, Bruno. I love her. I want to be with her.”
“She's half your fucking age.”
I try to raise my eyebrows, but my head hurts. Lily’s the same age as Scarlett, Bruno’s young wife. But Bruno’s so angry I can’t get a word in edgewise.
“How long has this been going on for?” Bruno demands.
“I’ve loved her for the last four years.” His eyes go wide, and I realize my mistake.
“You've been fucking her for four years?”
“No, no, no…” I hold my hands up, but it's too late. Bruno comes at me, and this time I dodge the punch. He lunges forward, sending us both careening over the back of the couch.
His fist connects with my nose, and I taste blood. I think he's broken it and I might have lost a tooth, but I won’t fight back.
“Stop it!” Lily screams at us, but Bruno doesn’t hear or he doesn’t notice. I’m not sure which.
“We’re in love,” I try to tell him, but he’s not ready to hear that truth.
All I can do is dodge his blows as best I can.
I deserve this. I disrespected my best friend, and I deserve this beating.
I won’t fight back; I won’t make it worse.
If getting pummeled by Bruno is what I have to do to win Lily, then I’ll gladly take the beating.