Chapter 18 – The Do-over
Hadley – 22 years old
“ M erry Christmas,” Mum singsongs as she opens the door to Luke, Liam, and their Nana.
I stand in the hallway and watch as Dad introduces himself to them all, calling Margo away from the piano to come and say hello.
My eyes meet Luke’s, and he sidesteps Dad, walking straight to me and pulling me into a hug.
“I’ve missed you,” he whispers, his breath tickling my ear. Giggling, I plant my hands flat on his chest and tilt my head to kiss his lips.
“I only left your bed two hours ago.”
“That will do in my house, arm’s length away from each other at all times,” Dad orders in a serious tone, but when we turn our heads to look at him, he’s smiling at us. He turns back to hand Liam a beer, and they both walk off into the living room. Nana joins Mum in the kitchen, set on helping with dinner preparations, and Margo goes back to the piano.
“How long we got before they notice we are missing?” Luke asks, waggling his eyebrows up and down.
“None.” I laugh when he pops out his bottom lip. “Better to wait until after dinner when Dad is passed out on the sofa from his food coma.”
“Fine,” he grumbles, smacking my arse and kissing my lips, then pulling me into the kitchen, leaving me with Nana and Mum as he joins Dad and his twin on the sofa.
“Here, I brought you something.” He hands me a small, gift-wrapped box. Rubbing the back of his neck, he sits down on the edge of the bed next to me.
“Why are you nervous?” I ask as his hands tremble, and he runs them up and down his trouser leg.
“Open it.” He points to the box.
After undoing the ribbon, I lift the lid, and inside the box sits a framed photograph. I stare down at it for a moment. “How, where?”
“A party when we were kids, your mum snapped the photo of us. I got my mum to get a copy of the photo off her.” His cheeks turn pink.
“I don’t remember it,” I say, looking back down at the image. Why didn’t Mum ever show me?
“You were too busy fighting with a certain Tinkerbell about not coming as Piglet.”
Sighing, I remember that day; I was furious at Margo for not listening to me.
“Wait!” I shout, wincing at how loud I was. “Sorry, you said you got your mother to get a copy from mine, when?”
He chuckles. “The day after the party.”
I shake my head.
“I’ve got three of them,” he says. “One used to sit on my bedside table, one in my glove box of my car, and one”—he pulls his wallet from his front jean pocket— “here.” Flipping it open, he shows me a small version of the one I have in my hand.
“There’s not a day that went by, Tigger, where you weren’t on my mind.”
“That’s why you call me Tigger?” I ask, and he nods.
“All this time I’ve been hurting for us, I thought it was one sided, I didn’t think you were hurting too.”
“The day I left, Hadley, I told you I wished we could have been more.” He cups my cheek with tears in his eyes. “And I meant it, it was always and will only ever be you for me.”
“So, what now?” I ask after we sit in silence for some time.
Standing up, he picks up my legs and places them on the bed, laying me flat.
“Scoot up the bed, baby.” The change in his voice, so deep and raw, ignites my core and my need for him.
He sits on his heels of his feet between my legs, close enough I can feel the heat radiating from his body.
The silence between us was always comfortable, filled with the unspoken understanding we had grown over time. But tonight, there is something different in the air, a tension that hasn’t been there before, something I can’t quite name. Whatever it is, it doesn’t worry me this time. This time will be different for Luke and me.
His fingers curl around mine, warm and steady, and a jolt of something electric passes between us.
I swallow, my heart pounding in my chest. “Are we really doing this?” I whisper, the words slipping out.
He pulls back slightly, enough to tilt my chin up so I am looking into his eyes. The intensity in his gaze makes my breath catch, and for a moment, I think I might drown in the depth of it.
“Tell me what you want,” he says, his voice raw with emotion. “Tell me, and I’ll give it to you.”
I hesitate, the words lodged in my throat, but then I see the sincerity in his eyes and the way his hand trembles as he waits for me answer, and I know I can trust him. With everything.
“I want you. I want this. Us.”
Bringing himself over me, the weight of his body is like a warm, cosy blanket on a cold day, he kisses me again and again, deepening it until it becomes more urgent, more desperate, as if he were trying to make up for all the time we’d spent apart. I melt into him, clutching at his shirt, afraid he might disappear if I let go.
I moan loudly, and Luke my mouth with his, no doubt to quieten me. “Ssh, baby, your dad is downstairs, he might hear you.” My cheeks blaze with embarrassment, and he chuckles lowly.
He pushes back onto his heels, pulling a condom out of his pocket.
“No, I’m on the pill and I’m clean, I don’t want you to use that.” I pause. “If you don’t want to, that is.”
As his eyes darken, he smirks. “Going bare, baby, this is a first.”
“You haven’t fucked a girl without a condom before?” I whisper.
“No baby, you’re my first.” He looks into my eyes without breaking eye contact, like he’s worried if he doesn’t, I won’t believe him. Only after I nod, does he break and return to driving me crazy by kissing down my neck and along my collarbone. Fuck yes!
His movements are painfully slow as he moves across each body part, kissing every inch of my skin. His fingers glide over my nipples, and his mouth moves across and sucks each one, causing my back to arch in pleasure.
He lines himself up with my entrance, clamping his hand over my mouth as he slams into me in one thrust. I cry out in pain and pleasure as he pulls himself out slowly before slamming back into me. Fisting the duvet covers with white-knuckle grip, I pant “More,” and Luke speeds up.
“Harder,” I whisper. Gone is my gentle Luke, this guy here, is pure animalistic. Fucking me like I’m a doll he’s not afraid to break. He slams in and out of me, flipping me over until I’m on all fours, then invades my entrance like he owns it, and the truth is, he is the only one who will ever own it.
With one hand on my hip, his other slides towards my pussy, then up and down my slick entrance as his dick slides in and out of me.
Stars blur my vision as ecstasy takes over. “More Luke …”
He groans, “Come with me, Tigger, I’m so fucking close.” He pinches my clit, sending me over the edge, then he follows in quick pursuit.
When we finally break apart, we’re both trembling, our foreheads pressed together as we try to catch our breaths.
“Again Tigger?”
He’s insatiable, and I fucking love it.