Perfectly Loved Page 11

  “You don’t like it?” she asked. “I haven’t even done anything.”

  “Of course I like it, Millie. That’s the problem. I like it too much. And you don’t have to do anything for me to be turned on.”

  “You’re turned on because of me?”

  “You got it, Einstein.”

  Her mouth stretched from one ear to the other as if I’d just told her that she’d won the lottery.

  “This is nothing to be happy about. I can’t think. I can’t eat. Now I can barely walk. And I surely can’t look at you with this.” I pointed down.

  “So, why don’t we fix it?”

  “Fix it?” I asked.

  “Jesus, Dave. For an eighteen-year-old who I know jerks off, you sometimes surprise me. Why don’t you just go to the bathroom and you know, spank the monkey.”

  “I did it this morning and before dinner. Nothing’s helping, because the moment I look at you, it happens all over again, and then you pull that foot stuff on me. Do you want me to explode?”

  Her eyes narrowed and her forehead creased. I wasn’t sure whether she’d heard me at all. But Millie had already set her mind in motion as she focused on my boner and slid her hand to the band of my pants and inside. This girl definitely didn’t lack persistence. Her warm hand touched my heated skin, and I shut my eyes.

  “Millie…”

  “Shh. Just let me feel you.”

  I couldn’t say no at that point. She grasped me in her tiny hand and stroked that hard muscle up and down. We stood in the darkness of the cherry tree. She leaned against me and I tightened my arms around her, lost to the feel of her motivating touch. That first burst circled in my lower spine. If she removed her hand from me now, I’d cry.

  “Is that good?” she asked.

  Ready for that relief, I couldn’t get a word out and just nodded. She continued her dedicated strokes, her tight and unforgiving grip never easing, her pumps getting quicker. The tip of my cock peeked out of my shorts. I felt like my balls would rip apart from the pressure. The tickles crept up from every corner of my body, all concentrating in that one spot. I wanted this feeling to last forever, but also to stop and reach the finale at the same time. My ass tightened once more as I pushed my hips into her hold and finally let go. An insane explosion jetted outward.

  I’d never felt this fulfilled jerking off on my own or let anyone see me get off. Once everything became clear again – where we were and what just happened – I pulled her to me and kissed her hard on the lips. Having her touch me like that, I had the urge to lower her pants right there, lean her against that cherry tree and find out whether she was wet. But not yet. As much as I wanted to touch her, I wouldn’t. At least not until her birthday in three days.

  “You liked it?” she asked.

  “Is that stain on your shirt not enough to show you just how much I liked it?”

  She chuckled.

  “You’re a vixen.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled with pride.

  “We should go in. But don’t do that leg thing again, or I’ll get another hard on.”

  “So? We’ll just go outside again.”

  “Millie, we won’t. Next time I come, it will be inside you.”

  “You won’t be able to walk straight for that long.”

  “Then I guess we’ll have to make sure it’s not too long before I have your whole naked body next to mine.”

  “I’m not that easy,” she teased.

  “I know you’re not. But you’re definitely turned on.” I pointed to her breasts, where her nipples were poking through her bra and t-shirt.

  “So, you’re telling me that you’re planning… you know… for us…”

  “I want it to be special and with more privacy than a cherry tree.”

  Millie stepped closer to me, twined her fingers with mine, and whispered, “It makes me happy that I turn you on because you do the same to me.”

  Feeling my heart rate lower, I drew in a deep breath. Despite still reeling in the bliss of my after-orgasmic happiness, she had a calming effect.

  “You know, I can still smell the manure on you.”

  “Gross! Why would you say that?”

  “Because I do.” I laughed. “It’s nice.”

  “So you’re saying that me smelling like shit is nice?”

  “You didn’t care about it this afternoon, when we kissed.”

  “That’s because I couldn’t smell it on myself.”

  “C’mere.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to my body. She leaned her head against my chest and we breathed in tandem. I looked up into the night sky and finally thought of a perfect plan to make love to the perfect girl whom I loved so much.

  Chapter 11

  Millie

  I’d officially given up hope on my mother. It had been two years since I saw her last, and by now, I knew that unless a family adopted me, I’d wander from room to room, house to house, school to school, until I was old enough to be on my own.

  “Millie, could you set the table, please?”

  I eyed the other girl my age, who was watching television, and her brother playing on his iPad. I didn’t question why they never had to set the table, wash the dishes, or take out the trash. My role at this foster home had been clear since day one: do what you’re asked to and you’ll get food and a comfortable bed. Complete the chores and you get to go to school, and have an extra pair of pants, two shirts, and two sweaters. Stay out of the way and we won’t put you back in the system.

  Still, it was a home.

  Much better than a sidewalk.

  Much better than a cardboard box.

  Much better than the trailer with my addict mother and brutal father.

  But I missed my brother.

  Present time

  “Mrs. Bowers?” I knocked on the wooden door. “It’s Millie. I brought another turkey. And pumpkin pie. It’s almost Thanksgiving!”

  I waited for a long minute before pressing my ear to the door, listing to the silence.

  Was it possible that the old lady had died? Maybe I should have come sooner. Since that weird déjà vu moment by the water near the blue house, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Feeling spooked out, I hadn’t gone back to the river again, instead concentrating on the heating and cleaning of the house, hoping Mrs. Bowers would have some answers for me when I next saw her.

  I knocked again, harder this time, somewhat afraid that if I opened the door, I would find her rotting corpse on the floor. Last year, on Christmas Eve, she’d told me that dying alone was her worst fear. It was also a conversation that had given me a panic attack and reunited me with Dave for two wonderful months. My panic attacks had a way of bringing me closer to the one man I couldn’t be with. Back then, I’d decided to put my past behind me; that was, until Dave decided to be the best cop ever and ruin my life — except he didn’t even know that. I had never found enough strength to explain to him what happened that day. I just told him I needed to be alone — forever.

  “Mrs. Bowers!” I screamed at the top of my lungs and reached for the handle.

  Please don’t be dead! Not on my watch.

  “Hold your horses! I’m coming!” I heard from the inside.

  Nope, the old hag, as we referred to her when she chose to be all witty about her old age, was still alive and mobile. The door opened, and I smiled.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked. Her voice echoed through the mountains. Has she lost her hearing?

  “I came to celebrate Thanksgiving with you!”

  I moved past her. There was no way she’d invite me in on her own; she never had.

  “And what made you so desperate for company?” she screamed.

  She might have been old, but Mrs. Bowers had kept all her marbles. I set the bags of groceries on the counter and started unpacking them. The place looked cleaner than it usually did; the floors had definitely not been washed when we were here a week ago. There was no way she
would have gotten down on her knees to scrub, because she’d never be able to get back up again. I wondered whether she’d had someone come in to clean it for her before Thanksgiving.

  “Well, April is—”

  “Millie, stop screaming!”

  “Oh, I thought you couldn’t hear me.”

  “What gave you that idea?”

  “Never mind.” I waved my hand. “April’s celebrating with Sean, Parker, and Chelsea, with Chelsea’s future mother-in-law, who’s the ex-lover of Mr. Mayers.”

  “I didn’t ask for their Wikipedia page.”

  How did she know about Wikipedia? This lady didn’t even own a television set, and at one point thought that my cell phone had been spawned in hell.

  “It’s sort of their first holiday together, and I didn’t want to intrude.”

  “They kicked you out of their family, didn’t they?” she chuckled.

  Of course, that was what she’d think. I was the culprit of all things that could go wrong. Like the time the barn accidentally got set on fire. Thank goodness, Dave had been there to put it out before it flamed out of control. While it wasn’t my fault that the stupid jar fell over, I was of course the one to blame because I’d knocked it down with my foot while making out with Dave. In my defense, with his tongue so deep in my mouth, how was I supposed to pay attention to a stray jar?

  “No one kicked anyone out. It’s just… I didn’t want them to feel uncomfortable.”

  “Them meaning Dave and his new girlfriend Gwen?”

  I felt my forehead scrunch into folds. “How do you know about her?”

  “You’re the one who told me they’re dating.”

  I did, didn’t I?

  “The two of them stopped by on the way from the Mayers’ cabin two days ago. Gwen’s really good at cleaning, isn’t she?”

  Gwen, the perfectly disturbed and jealous girlfriend.

  Fortunately, I hadn’t run into them in town. Mrs. Bowers stuck her cane in front of her for extra support before shuffling her feet toward the chair I thought would be permanently glued to her bottom one day.

  “They would have done a much better job if they could have kept their hands off each other. I tell ya, with knockers like hers, no wonder Dave couldn’t wait to leave to be alone with her.”

  Great! Gwen the bitch disguised as an angel struck again. I guessed Dave had forgiven her for that outburst and they’d made up. Which didn’t really surprise me. It was so like him to forgive and forget. I could forgive as well, but I would never forget. And the last thing I wanted when I came here was to hear how the two of them were all lovey-dovey.

  Why would he have taken her to the Mayers cabin? Why would Dave bring her here anyway? I thought this place meant something to him. It was our place. It was where we first… wait, was this thing with Gwen more serious than I thought? I got a sour taste in my mouth and felt nauseous. And why did I care so much?

  “And I suppose she threw on her Cinderella gloves and helped you tidy the place?” I said sarcastically as I emptied the brown paper bags full of groceries.

  “Actually, I did the cleaning last night.” I heard Dave’s voice. “Nice try, Mrs. Bowers.”

  The old lady chuckled. She was laughing so hard her belly was shaking, and her gray cat, which had been sleeping on the chair, freaked out and hid underneath. Anyone would have been horrified to hear the howl.

  “You should have stayed out longer. I could have really gotten her going.” She winked.

  I threw her a dirty look, trying to communicate that she’d burn in hell, but she was still shaking her head with laughter. Besides, according to her, hell was already freezing over, so that was a waste of a threat anyways.

  “What the hell?”

  “It’s actually Dave, but it’s nice to see you too, honey-buns.” He stood in the doorway between the family room and kitchen – shirtless, of course. Sweat was dripping down his perfect chest and streaks of black soot and oil marked his skin around the elbows and the shoulders.

  “I meant, what are you doing here?” I asked.

  “Me? Do you know how worried I’ve been? You were supposed to call me to check in. When you didn’t come home at all, I came here. It was the only other place I could think of where you’d go.”

  So, the old house still remained my little secret. I had the urge to keep it that way for a bit longer. Maybe at least until I figured out why it fascinated me and scared me so much.

  “I thought you said you were spending Thanksgiving with April and Sean. What happened?” he asked. “And where have you been?”

  “I changed my mind. Too many people there for me.”

  “It’s just family, Millie. Since when is that too many?”

  Since Gwen flew in on her broomstick.

  “As nice as she is, I don’t think your girlfriend would appreciate you spending time with an ex.”

  “You mean Cinderella?”

  I rolled my eyes. Mrs. Bowers sat in her chair, chuckling. When we both noticed that she was watching us from the side, she sighed. “Finally together again. You two remind me of Tim and me. God rest his soul.”

  “And I’m still convinced that Mr. Bowers is buried in the back yard because you poisoned him with your bad cooking.”

  She laughed again. Since when had the grumpy lady started laughing? What the hell was happening to the balanced universe? Wait – it was all because I’d become grumpier over time, wasn’t it? There wasn’t enough space for the two of us to be sad. Oh, no! I was becoming grumpy old Mrs. Bowers, while she was becoming a delightful and cheerful Millie!

  Stupid universe!

  “Is Gwen here? I should go. I’m sorry, if I’d known—”

  “—of course she’s not here, Millie. How could you even think I’d bring her here?”

  “But she said…”

  The old witch was smiling with delight, pleased with herself that she’d fooled me. Anything good that I’d ever thought about her was suddenly spiked with resentment. I squinted my eyes at her. “I was going to give you a nasty look, but I see you already have one.”

  “Thank you, dear. I try.”

  “Well, now that I see you have company, I should go.” I headed for the door, but Mr. Naked stepped between the exit and me.

  “I can’t let you do that, sugar.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’ve got a bird to stuff, and I’m starving.” He took me in from the top all the way to the bottom. My skin tightened. Oh, that look! That sinful way he had of affecting me with just those laser beam eyes. And why did I have the feeling that he wasn’t hungry for food, but for me?

  I need to leave.

  “You wouldn’t let a man starve on Thanksgiving, would you?”

  “Step out of the way, Dave. You may be in the good graces of one witch, but this one will not have you make a fool of her and then have her cook for you.”

  “Who pissed in her cornflakes?” Mrs. Bowers called out.

  “She’s been gone for almost a week. I’m afraid she might have been kidnapped by the Grinch.”

  Instead of blocking my way, the way I expected, he moved to the side. This was too easy, but I grabbed my purse and headed for my Jetta. Once inside, I regretted slamming the door so hard. I still had to put a few thousand miles on this baby before it retired to the junkyard. I turned the key in the ignition, but the car did not make a sound. Dave stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with a coy smile. Mrs. Bowers peeked through the window. I could have sworn she was still laughing. Well, if there were any fairness left in the universe, she’d choke on that laugh.

  I banged my hands on the steering wheel. The horn echoed through the valley, making me jump up in my own seat. It was no use. Whatever Dave had done to my car, there was no way he’d fix it until I had that turkey in the oven. Why did I even bring it? I was a vegetarian. That’s right – because I’d felt sorry for the old hag and thought she’d starve without someone here. And… I wanted to ask her questions about the
other house she owned. Mrs. Bowers was getting more mysterious each time I saw her. Maybe I could use this visit to my advantage after all.

  I stomped back toward the house and stood in front of him, wishing I could be somewhat taller so that I didn’t have to stare into those perfect pecs.

  “Where’s your car?” I asked.

  “Garage. I was changing the oil.”

  That explained the shiny grease staining his hard muscles. It also meant that I couldn’t steal it.

  “Why? Just tell me why!” I growled.

  “So you don’t spend Thanksgiving alone.” His voice lowered.

  “I wouldn’t be alone. Since you’re not there, I’d go see April.”

  “So now you’re purposefully avoiding me? Actually, let me correct myself. Now you’re admitting that you’re avoiding me.”

  “Yes, of course I’m avoiding you!”

  “Aha! I thought you said we were friends.”

  “And you’re the one who said we weren’t.” That I was sure of, I clearly remembered him saying that we were lovers, soul mates, and a lot of other things that pierced my heart.

  “What’s going on with you, Millie? You were gone for a week, and you’re acting all weird.”

  “I’m the one acting weird? Since when do you come to see Mrs. Bowers on your own?”

  He regarded me for a moment, and I knew he wouldn’t answer my question. Dave got a determined look on his face. Whatever he had planned at that moment, I knew he’d follow through.

  “Well, the way I see it, you have two choices here, Millie. You can call a cab and go spend Thanksgiving with April, all sad and grumpy, the way you like to be, because you know that I’ll tell her that you’re home alone and she’ll drag your ass over. Or you can stay here, help me make a nice dinner for the three of us, and chill. Relax. Leave all your troubles behind. Stay far away from Savage.”

  I had no intention of going back to the city just yet. I knew I’d eventually have to face that bastard. That stupid restraining order meant nothing to him. But honestly, at the moment, I felt much more comfortable out here than at my own apartment.

  “Option number three?”