[Camden]“Shit, I didn’t know it would be that heavy,” he says quietly.“What do you mean?”He shrugs. “I mean, I’ve already put it together that you’re sleeping with her.”“You have?” I gape at him.“Yeah, I mean, please, Camden. She’s exactly your type and you’ve been stuck with her what, month and a half to two months? Of course you’re sleeping with her.”“I hate that you know me so well,” I groan.“But that you’ve knocked her up surprises me,” Dante says, sipping his coffee and wincing. “Yeah, it’s not that great.”I crack a smile. “I didn’t mean to knock her up,” I sigh.“You didn’t use a condom?”I shrug. “Didn’t exactly have time to pick them up on the run from Marco.”“That motherfucker is sneaky,” Dante curses.“Yeah, he is. There’s still no leads?”“Oh, plenty of leads, but none that have panned out.”I order something simple, just a waffle, because I figure they can’t fuck that up much. Dante does the same.We sit there in silence for a moment before Dante speaks.“You know
[Kendall]Alberto and I play cards and sign while we’re playing.First, we talk about Marco.“We’re doing everything we can to find him,” he signs.“I know,” I sign back.“He’s like a ghost,” he comments, and I nod in agreement. It doesn’t take long for him to win three hands in a row and I curse out loud.He grins at me, gesturing to the cards as if to say we should play something else.I shake my head, and he looks at me for a long moment.“Do you have brothers and sisters?” he asks, clearly happy to have someone to communicate with.“None,” I answer. “You?”He nods his head.I smile a little. “I’m going to have a family, though. A baby,” I sign.Alberto’s eyes widen and he grins. “I love babies. I have three brothers and a sister, all younger.”We sign for a while longer, talking about his family and talking about my baby, and then Camden comes in the back door.Alberto stands, looking a little sad, and I stand up to hug him.“You made me feel very welcome,” he signs, and tears bur
[Kendall]I lean against the doorjamb, watching him. “So, do you think you could get me Alberto’s number? We could text,” I say dryly, and Camden's shoulders stiffen.“You can get it from Elora ,” he barks, and I chuckle but there’s no mirth in it.“All right. Guess I’ll call her tomorrow.”Camden turns to look at me, his sea-green eyes intense. “You’re not really going to get his number,” he says, like it isn’t a question.I shrug. “I think I’m finally realizing what I’ve been missing out on. You never know what I might do. I’m thinking I should strive to be more like my best friend – more...impulsive.”“You’re just trying to piss me off,” he growls, stalking toward me, and I don’t back away, looking up at him defiantly.“You want me to be yours, Camden?”He looks away briefly and then back at me. “I didn’t say that.”“But you don’t want me to be his? Make up your mind, would you?”Camden's hand goes around my throat, not gentle but not so hard that I’m afraid. My breath hitches in a
CamdenI wake up again with a violent hangover and hate myself for drinking so much. I hate myself for what I said to Kendall, too, how roughly I made love to her. She doesn’t deserve to be treated that way, but it was like I was possessed. I’d felt like I needed to own her, like I needed to show everyone how she's mine.She’s carrying my baby, for god’s sake, how can she not be mine?So, there’s this part of me that feels like she is, that doesn’t want another man touching her, but there’s this part of me that wants to go back to my old life. That wants to go back to fucking three women a week, to not knowing any of their names the next week.That’s the life I’ve always lived. My safe life. A life without risk. Without hurt. And I can’t imagine living any other way.Or, rather, I couldn’t. Now I can easily imagine living with a beautiful woman who smiles at me, her hair mussed from sex first thing in the morning. That’s the problem. Now I know there’s another way, but I don’t know ho
[Kendall]I know that I have to keep my distance from Camden. He doesn’t want me. He wants to be part of the baby’s life, but he doesn’t want to be a part of my life, and I have to learn to deal with that. I have to be a part of his life for the next eighteen years but without him actually being part of my life. He’s not willing to change his lifestyle. He’s not willing to let himself fall in love. Not that I’m a prize or anything, but I’m worthy of love in my life. I’m worthy a man who will put me first, and that’s clearly not Camden.It hurts like hell, but there’s nothing I can do about it. All I can do is keep myself protected, keep my heart safe. Or at least as safe as a broken heart can be. I have to at least keep it from shattering completely. I have to keep a little bit of it, so that I may in time heal and have something to give of myself when the right man comes. Because above all, I have to hope that the right man is out there and will come eventually, since it can’t be
Kendal“You don’t have to do anything,” I insist. “You can be as involved or uninvolved as you want to be.”“Of course I want to be involved!” he barks. “That’s my child you’re carrying.”I shrug. “Well, that’s up to you.”“I have a life to live, you know,” Camden says. “It’s not like I want to throw everything away just because—”“Just because you knocked me up?” I accuse, anger rising up in me. The food arrives and I take in a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.“Don’t be like that, Kendall,” Camden says, his voice calm. “We’ll figure something out.”“You’re right. We’ll figure out custody when the baby is born,” I say. “Until then, you don’t have to do anything.”“I want to go to appointments,” Camden insists. “I want to be involved in the pregnancy.”“Like I said, that’s up to you, Camden.” I pick at my fries, still feeling a little nauseous.We don’t talk for the rest of the meal, and when we get back into the car, I pretend to be dozing against the window because I’m fighting
CamdenIt’s nearing dusk by the time Kendall wakes up and she and Elora come down for dinner. I want to grab Kendall’s arm, pull her aside and talk to her, but what would I even say? It’s not like I’m willing to give up everything to be with her.Am I?My chest feels tight every time I think of her not being around. Worse still, the idea of us not being exclusive means that she might start seeing someone else, and that makes my stomach roll.I’m just territorial. It doesn’t mean anything. I care about her, sure, we’ve been through a lot together, but it’s not love.I don’t fall in love.Dante and I have a couple of drinks before dinner and he catches me up on the search for Marco.“He’s underground,” he says. “So far underground that even my toughest men don’t like to go looking for him.”I know that means he’s staying with men who don’t care if they live or die.“And the rest of his family?” I ask.“They’ve given up,” Dante says. “I’ve spoken to his brother and he doesn’t want this
Camden Carlo scoffs. “Some businessman in Chicago happened to her when she was on a trip out there. They ran away together. But I have to admit it was at least half my fault.”“How’s that?” I ask. I don’t know very much about Kendall’s home life, and I can’t help being curious. I want to know more about her, and I tell myself it’s because she’s the mother of my child.Carlo shrugs. “I took her for granted. Ran around on her, didn’t care which mistresses I rubbed in her face. I got too caught up in the wiseguy lifestyle, you know?”I swallow hard. This is beginning to sound really familiar.“But she left you for another man. Aren’t you bitter?”Carlo looks at me for a long moment. “I’m not bitter that she left me for someone else.” He pauses. “I’m bitter that she left Kendall. That little girl didn’t deserve to lose her mother.”I promise myself in that moment that I will never leave my child like that. No matter what happens between me and Kendall, I will be part of that child’s life
I pause for a beat. He knows about it, of course, because he pays for it. It just seems like an out of the blue question. “About a year,” I answer.“And you take it every day? The way you’re supposed to?”“Yes.”He strokes harder, faster, his eyes glazed and distant as he looks at me. “That’s good. And when you had sex with Dante, where did he come? Inside of you?”“Yes.” For some reason, this line of questioning makes me nervous, like I might be in trouble. Lines seem blurred. But there’s an urgency to Xavier’s question; thinking about it is turning him on. “But in a condom,” I add.“That’s good,” he breathes, voice quivering. “That’s good, baby.” His brow furrows deeply, as if he’s in pain, and his breath starts coming in hard, rough pants. “Show me how good your tits feel. Squeeze them for me. Let me see you play with them.”Lifting my hands, I cup each one, rubbing and massaging them while my stepfather stares with rapt attention. I have a terrible thought, a thought I feel guilty
Hazeli wake up what feels like hours later. The lamp is still on, and Xavier and I are both sprawled out on our backs, asleep for who knows how long. My t-shirt is pulled up, Xavier’s cum drying on my breasts, and he’s naked from the waist down. If Melanie were to walk in, there would certainly be no way to hide what we were doing.I wonder idly if she could have heard anything through the wall. The house has remarkable soundproofing, but the low, guttural roar Xavier gave as he came would be unmistakable if she heard it. I kind of hope she did, I think meanly. It would serve her right to find out that I’m fucking her husband.Although… Her husband. I hate to think of Xavier that way. He’s mine in every way. Every way…except one.The sex I had with Dante last summer felt good at the time, even though it seemed like I couldn’t get the rhythm quite right, and I definitely didn’t come. But being penetrated, having a man inside of me, was a kind of pleasure I hadn’t expected—like it fulf
It’s a risky thing to say, a risky kink every time I try it out, but Hazel only flashes me a naughty look. “I don’t care,” she answers defiantly, giving my cock a squeeze.Dirty girl.She grips the shaft of my cock, rubbing her hand up and down over the fabric of my pants while I lie still, breathing heavily as she gets me erect. She releases her grip, running fingers lightly up my length and wriggling her hand under my waistband until I can feel her skin against mine. Her hand is warm and soft as she encircles my hard cock again and starts stroking it.She’s so good at making me come already. So good at taking my cock. I’m pleased and oddly proud that she’s learned so much about what I like so quickly. What she hasn’t learned yet, though, is how much her pleasure is a part of my arousal. Knowing I can make my stepdaughter come, when no one ever has before, gets me harder than anything.“Has anyone ever licked your pussy before?” I ask quietly, combing my fingers through the hair at h
“Of course,” I answer quietly.“Please!” adds Melanie. “It’s good vibes only at this table. We don’t need your mopey energy.”I keep an eye on Hazel as she climbs the stairs, wondering if letting her mother stay here is the best thing for her after all. Melanie was never a great parent to Hazel, but it seems like since she’s come back she’s worse. She ignores Hazel or treats her as an unwelcome stranger. It’s as if the minute Hazel turned eighteen—or rather, shortly before she turned eighteen, when she decided to leave her and go to New Mexico—Melanie just washed her hands of her daughter.Downstairs on the sectional after dinner, I toss and turn. I spent as much time cleaning the kitchen after dinner as I could tolerate, Melanie drinking wine and yapping at me the entire time. When I couldn’t take it anymore I told her I was going to bed and she gave an exaggerated pout.“I thought we could talk, Xavi About things.”“About money, you mean,” I’d responded bitterly. “You’re not getting
For a terrifying moment, I think it’s an accusation, but then I see the imploring look on her face, and understand the innocence of the question. It’s just Melanie performing jealousy to try to get her own way. She could care less if there’s someone else sharing my bed.“Maybe there is,” I tease. “This isn’t like before, Mel. I’m done.”She tilts her head and traces a finger over her shoulder, deliberately drawing the other strap of her tank top down. Her breasts, still full and round without a bra on, are temptingly obvious under the skimpy shirt. “How about a final hurrah, then? For old time’s sake?”“No. I said I’m done. Go back downstairs.”She pouts, rolling her head back in frustration. The gesture is so like Hazel it makes me ache for her. Then she flounces back over to the bed and throws herself down on the unoccupied side. Her side.“I can’t sleep downstairs, Xavi It’s too quiet. And you’re going to wake me up when you start using all that heavy gym equipment. Can’t I just sl
Her voice is a warm, honeyed purr, and in the pale light filtering through the curtains I can just make out to her long, wild curls.“Baby,” I respond, grateful and relieved.She giggles and climbs onto the bed, straddling me in the darkness, and I reach for her legs, finding the firm, muscled flesh of bare thighs and running my hands up towards her hips. She feels good. The heat and pressure of her body against mine makes my cock thicken.“Mm,” she murmurs, rolling her hips against me and trailing her fingers down my arms. Her forwardness surprises me. Hazel’s usually a bit more shy, but I like it. After the stress of the evening, I need her touch, need her closeness.“Sweetheart,” I groan, squeezing my eyes closed and lifting my hips up against her. The pressure of her body, and the friction of the covers as they slide against the underside of my hard cock makes me shiver. I slide my fingers further up her thigh, underneath flimsy fabric, until I’m cupping her bare ass. I dig my fin
Dinner is predictably awful. Xavier sets the pizza box on the table with three plates and opens a beer. It doesn’t escape my notice that he doesn’t offer Melanie one.We sit in our usual spots: Xavier and I across from each other, and Melanie at the head, and the mood around the table is disjointed and weird. There’s a heavy energy between Xavier and I. We’re stilted and silent. But Melanie is completely indifferent. She’s positively incandescent as she talks about how great it is for the three of us to be back together again, and how New Mexico was just “faaabulous!”“You would love New Mexico!” is the first thing she says to me when we sit down at the table—as if I had the opportunity to go and opted out. “For an artist like you, it’s so inspirational. I swear I did some of my best painting work out there. Oh! I need to show you The Faces of Love. That’s what I call it. It’s a painting of Cathedral Cliff—get it? Rock faces?”I don’t react at all, and I don’t have to. Melanie doesn’t
HazelI lower myself slowly onto the couch, too stunned to know what to do. From downstairs, I can hear my parents’ voices, which means they’re being loud—the house is so soundproof.Melanie’s here. She’s back. And I have no idea what that even means.Are we supposed to go back to the way things were before?The doorbell rings again, and it takes me a minute to even remember that we’ve ordered a pizza. It feels like hours have passed since Melanie arrived at the door. It feels like years since Xavier picked me up from school, his eyes dark with lust, asking to see my panties.This past month with Xavier has been the best month of my life. For the first time ever, I truly had Xavier all to myself. In the past, Melanie was always on the horizon. Even if she was off on one of her ‘sprees,’ cheating on Xavier with some dirtbag, he was still distracted and distant, his thoughts and energy still pulled in her direction. But this time, creating a naughty, secret world of pleasure together, i
“Of course I do! She’s my daughter.” For a moment, I almost believe her. For a moment, I’m almost relieved to think that she might actually love Hazel after all.“But I’ve been going through a lot,” she continues, and the illusion shatters. Melanie doesn’t care about anybody but herself. “I’ve been going through a lot, but I’m doing the work, you know? I’m figuring a lot of stuff out. Stuff that I wish I could have figured out a long time ago, so that I never would have hurt you the way I did. I wish, I mean…I wish I could undo those things, Xavi I know I fucked up, and I’m sorry.”I don’t say anything. Months ago, I wanted to hear those exact words more than anything. Despite everything that had happened, shortly after Melanie left, all I wanted was for her to come back. I had delusional notions about how we could rescue our relationship, how the cheating would stop if I could just understand her better, if I could just love her harder.But eventually I realized that life without Mel