AndrewNo, Lanie wasn’t like that. She was Liza’s polar opposite in every way.“Why don’t you stay in town a little longer?” Liza asked. “You gave me a wonderful tour of Seattle when I was out in your neck of the woods. Let me return the favor. I can show you some wonderful little places I know you’d love.”“Uh—” I opened my mouth to tell her no. A firm no. But she steamrolled right over me.“You like seafood, right? There’s this little place not far from here that serves the most decadent oysters I’ve ever tasted. And their wine pairings?” She paused and slid off the desk to press one hand lightly to my bicep. “It will ruin all other seafood for you. I promise.”I carefully lifted her hand from my arm. “I appreciate the invitation,” I said, trying to be as respectful as possible. Liza was my client, and the business deal we were working on was still in the fragile stages. I’d miss out on a massive payout if I fucked things up between us. But I wasn’t going to be used as a plaything,
LanieAndrew had messaged me early that morning to tell me he missed me. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t think of anything worth saying. Of course, I missed him too, but I was hurt. I’d spent New Year’s Eve alone after he’d promised to show up for me.The fact that it hadn’t been that big of a surprise was bothering me almost as much as the fact that he didn’t show. I shouldn’t be able to predict my fiancé bailing on me on one of the most romantic holidays of the year. In my opinion, it was the most romantic, followed closely by Christmas and then Valentine’s. And what made it even worse was that I was the only one at the party solo. How embarrassing.As I got ready to head to the school, I tried to forget about him. While at work, I needed to focus on my job, not dwell on everything that was wrong in my relationship and host a pity party inside my head all day long. I had to prioritize.Lucky for me, the day was sunny and bright, which helped with my mood instantly.Traffic was hell, and
LanieAndrew texted me at a quarter to midnight, asking me to meet him at his place at two. I considered texting him back and saying no. I had an early morning tomorrow for a teacher meeting that was mandatory, and my head wasn’t in a good place right now. I was still mad at him, and part of me thought it might be a good idea to let the anger fade to a dull ache before I talked to him, rather than try to sort through it when the fire was still burning and there was a chance of me losing my cool.But I found myself pulling up his driveway in the middle of the morning anyway. I was in love.I parked my car and got out, shrugging into a cardigan as I walked to his front door. I knocked and waited. No one answered. I sighed and pulled my phone out and called him. No answer. So I called again.Still no answer.A little pit of anxiety formed in my stomach. Had something happened? It wasn’t like him to just not answer like this, especially if he knew I was coming over. His car was in the dri
AndrewShe looked like she was about to start crying again. Damn it all to Hell. Why was I so incapable of just being gentle? I wasn’t mad, not really, but the look on her pretty face had me convinced that she believed I was.Lanie looked away from me and dabbed at her eyes. She sniffed softly and continued to stare at my kitchen floor. When I moved toward her, she stiffened and turned sideways in her chair, showing the right side of her body.“Baby,” I said, as softly as I could manage. “I’m not mad.”“I feel like an idiot. I was just trying to get to you.”“I know. And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to all come out like that. I woke up startled and let my emotions get the better of me. But it’s behind us now.”She dabbed at her eyes again and still refused to look at me, so I crouched down beside her and grabbed her knees. I turned her in her chair to face me and stared into her glassy eyes. “Forgive me for yelling, okay, baby?”Her eyes darted back and forth between mine as she co
AndrewI pulled away and lifted Lanie’s shirt over her head. Then I unclipped her bra, which clasped at the front between her breasts. It fell open, and her perfect, perky tits sprang free. Her nipples were taut, and I closed my hands over her breasts, massaging them gently as I began moving inside her.Lanie sighed softly as I thrust slowly in and out of her tight wetness. Her body hugged me, drew me in, and threatened to consume me. If she could, I would have let her. That was how good it felt when we were making love, like we’d been put on this earth to do only this.I was reaching my climax, and Lanie was breathing in that quick telltale way that I knew she was close, too. I nibbled her neck and her earlobe and held her to me as I fucked her harder. I knew what she liked, and I knew how to push her over the edge. Her moans grew louder, more intense. Her eyes were heavy and hooded and then rolled back in her head as she was swallowed up by the intense pleasure. Watching her made me
LanieTwo Weeks LaterIt wasn’t that I had been intentionally avoiding Andrew over the last two weeks. I just hadn’t intentionally reached out to him, and he hadn’t reached out to me, either. We’d spoken briefly over the phone once every few days to check in and update each other about our days. I always asked about Raven, and he always said the same thing, “She’ll be home soon.” But still, I asked.Time crawled by at a snail’s pace, and I developed a compulsive twitch and was continuously reaching for my phone to see if I had any missed calls or text messages from Andrew. I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for. Maybe all I wanted was something sweet. Something that reminded me why I fell in love with him in the first place and assured me that no matter how tough things got, we could work through them together.But the distance between us just kept getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and the more time that passed, the harder it felt to take the step to just call him. Why did I put th
LanieThe pep rally got underway, and it was impossible to maintain a conversation over the noise. Mr. Winters took a seat a few chairs down from me after he had all the kids engaged and excited, and by the time the event was in full swing, my mind was spinning a mile a minute.All I could think about was Andrew. The ring on my finger felt like it weighed five hundred pounds, and every cell in body screamed for resolution. I couldn’t take all of the tension and not knowing. The unknown had always been the worst for me, and our lack of communication and his willingness to leave me in the dark was getting to me.Not being able to take it anymore, I stood up and left the gym. I walked down the long hall and took a right, where I pressed my back to the lockers and slid down the length of them to sit on the floor.What was I doing?Was I about to make the biggest mistake of my life and marry a man who was not only seventeen years older than me, but also completely willing to neglect me for
AndrewNone of the vehicles I owned would accommodate the cast on Raven’s leg or provide the lumbar support she needed for the ride home, so I booked a spacious van with drop-down side steps for her. She raised a skeptical eyebrow at it when it pulled up in front of the exit, and she tried to peer around at me where I stood behind her wheelchair.“Really, Dad? A minivan? Have you lost all your mojo since I’ve been in the hospital?”I rolled my eyes and helped her to her feet. “I was hoping you’d lose some of your attitude along with your movability.”“My attitude is genetic.”“Touché.”She hobbled along beside me to the van. Had this gone down a few months ago when things with her were still rocky, I was sure she never would have leaned on me for support. In fact, I’d bet money that she would have crawled on her belly military style if she had to.The driver came around and pulled open the sliding door. It locked into place, and I half lifted, half slid Raven into the seat in the back