“He’s serious? What even is that?”“A European reality show. And yes, he does,” she said and made a charming facepalm.“I heard that!” he muttered from the living room, followed by the sound of the TV being turned on. Catherine grabbed a mug of lemon water and a plate with macarons, while I grabbed two glasses and another plate with the gingerbread men she made, but I was quick to grab one and stick it into my mouth. Then I stopped myself and made sure to bite off the head first, and gave her a knowing smirk which she returned.“So, what are your plans for the week?” I asked after we’d sat down. I sat in the armchair, while I let them take the couch, and I tried not to notice how natural Rocco’s arm wrapped around Martina’s shoulder when she cuddled up to him.You don’t like cuddling, Aaron.“Because you are staying until past new year’s, right?”“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” Jakesaid with a sheepish grin.“Not at all.”Then Jakedidn’t say anything more because he fell into the beginnin
“Christ...” I hissed through my teeth and clenched my eyes shut in pure arousal. Never in my life had I been more turned on, and never did I have a longer foreplay. If this continued, I would blow up in my pants for sure, and Catherine knew.Slowly, she moved so she could stretch out both of her legs, while she made sure not waking up Rocco. He was breathing heavily now, close to snoring, actually. But he was not breathing heavier than me.“Oh, fuck. I think I’m gonna cum,” I whispered, and she smiled. Her cheeks were heated and her eyes were dazed, but her only focus was to make me feel good. And holy shit, I felt good!“Fuck, Anny.”“Don’t hold back,” she whispered, and her voice was soft and slightly demanding at the same time. And it was exactly what I needed to reach there. The build of pressure rose from my spine and ignited every fucking vertebrae, until I was knocked out of balance and fell into the deep abyss. The pleasure was so intense that my whole body shook in the rhyth
Every year up until she died, she and her friends arranged a Christmas party for the homeless in New York. They hired an old gym that was closed down years ago and decorated it the best they could. Then they cooked food enough for an entire village and served thousands of Christmas cookies for dessert. The homeless were allowed to use the showers in the facility, and got new clothes from a charity organization they collaborated with. But the icing of the cake was something they worked on all year round.“They made mittens for everyone?” I asked in astonishment.“Yeah. They contacted all people they knew, who knew how to knit, even people in nursing homes, churches and similar institutions. They truly did an amazing job. But then my granny died, and the old gym was demolished to give room for new apartments, so... It stranded, I guess.”“That’s sad,” I said with a frown. I couldn’t quite fathom how people could be so selfless and give so much to others without getting anything in retur
“Great, Aaron. You’re already seeing things, and you haven’t even started drinking yet.”I groaned at the fact that I was talking to myself, but I still cheered to an invisible nobody before I took the first sip.“That’s what I’m talking about,” I murmured and sat back with a grin. The liquid burned in my throat, and I felt a warm wave of calmness spread through my body on its way down inside my stomach. It made me relax again.Maybe I should play some guitar?Without thinking twice, I got up and turned on the Stagepas. I connected the cable and turned the volume up. The sexy instrument was in my hand while I took another large gulp of royal liquid, and then I struck the first loud chord. But it wasn’t loud enough, so I turned the volume even higher, and then I played until my fingers bled. Not literally, of course. As the matter of fact, I didn’t get to play more than a good half hour, until old Mr. Dobbins knocked on the door. Or knocked? He pounded! With his fucking walking cane.“
“Good night, Aaron. Sleep well.”“So you’re avoiding me today?”Martina’s question was simple, yet so spot on that I didn’t dare to look at her at first. And when I finally did, I saw her pursing her lips in a way that made her dimples show.“No...” I dragged, but she didn’t buy it.“That’s mature.”“What is? I said I’m not.”I watched her shift her weight to one side, while she rested her hand on her hip. I didn’t miss the eye roll, either.“Yet you’re not talking to me.”I didn’t reply.“See? Point proven. You’ve barely said a word all morning. Even Jakefound it strange.”“I... Uhh. I didn’t have anything to talk about.”A raised eyebrow said it all.“Sometimes answering questions can be enough to keep a conversation going.”“I answered,” I muttered.“One-syllables doesn’t count, Aaron. Now can you please tell me what’s wrong? You’re confusing me with this hot and cold behavior.”I snorted."I’m confusing you?” I said a little too loud. Luckily, after a glance over my shoulder, I fo
Jake laughed.“Maybe we should ask Marty to teach us?” he suggested, which was not a bad idea.“Is she okay, though? She’s usually the first one up.” “Hungover as well. She kicked me out of the bed because she claimed I was snoring. Pff.”Our attention was drawn to the hallway, when we heard Catherine shut the door to their bedroom. Her hair was extra messy and only partially gathered into a bun, and she was wearing a white tank top that left very little to the imagination since she’d obviously skipped her bra. Adding her usual shorts that showed off her legs, and I almost groaned out loud. But that wasn’t the only reason why all the blood rushed to a certain body part of mine.She had bare feet.Oh, for fucks sake!I mentally kicked myself in the groin and forced my eyes away. Did she do it on purpose just to tempt me? I didn’t seem like it, plus Jakeacted indifferent. If I was him, I’d already be all over her, doing all kinds of dirty things. I literally struggled breathing just b
“And since you two aren’t especially close, it was a great opportunity to do so.”“Right. I think you two did enough bonding for all three of us,” he murmured sourly.“That’s enough!” I exclaimed.“You’re fucking treating your wife like shit, Rocco. And you dare trying to make her feel guilty for wanting to have fun, when you’re the reason why she doesn’t? That hella cruel.” Catherine looked at me with wide eyes, startled and surprised, but gorgeous nonetheless.“But dad...”“Don’t fucking try to make excuses. That’s not the way to treat your wife.”He scoffed and rolled his eyes, and somehow I knew what he was going to say before he spoke again.“Like you were the husband of the year? All I can remember from my childhood is you and mom fighting and being mean to each other. How do you think that made me feel? I was in the middle of it, yet I couldn’t say anything to make it stop. You were too busy trying to hurt each other than to realize that you hurt everyone around you as well. ”
“No. You can’t do that to her,” I groaned to nobody, while I followed the pavement on an aimless path that left me walking in circles in the big city. It was like I’d never been here before. I was lost even though I knew exactly where I was, and I found that I didn’t really mind. I just needed to clear my head. It didn’t help much though, and after a couple of hours, I unlocked the door to my apartment and kicked off my shoes. Then I dumped down on the couch like a heavy stone.It was almost midnight now, and I actually felt relieved to be home by myself. Sometimes being alone is the best medicine you can get, and tonight it was exactly what I needed.I strummed my guitar but wasn’t in the mood for blasting holes in my amplifiers. So I chose the acoustic one instead and ended up playing one pathetic love song after the other. When did I even learn those?Suddenly, I was pulled out of my catatonic state by the sound of the door shutting closed. I didn’t even hear it open. Maybe they’d
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, and it was like she was glowing when she spoke.“Wait and see,” I said, staying secretive. It wasn’t much I could arrange on such a short notice. I mean, just this morning I’d gone from taking my son, or whatever I should call him, to the police station, to finding my girlfriend at a totally unexpected place, then finding out that she was pregnant, to the point where I actually started to get accustomed to the fact that the child was mine. That’s quite a leap in one day. But I still managed to get a table at one of the nicer places in the city, and I hoped it was good enough for our first date.Oh, my God. You’re actually nervous, Aaron. You’ve never been nervous about taking out a woman before. With one hand on the wheel and the other resting on Martina’s thigh, with her tender palm on top of mine, I took us to the right place and parked. Then, with the same courtesy, I made her laugh again as I helped her out of the car, simply because I loved
“But, Marty...”“No! You don’t want to talk about what happened at the police station, and I don’t want to talk about that. Are we clear?”He nodded silently and seemed sadder than ever. Good. He deserved to feel bad about it.“Now, let’s get to business and get this over with.”So that’s what we did. After about one and a half hour everything was sorted out in peace, and I finally had the paper in my hand. The divorce was final, and I didn’t regret it one tiny bit. I wished Jake good luck with his life, and especially the part about him coming out as bisexual. I knew he needed that. When his grandfather did what he did to me because of a failed marriage, then I didn’t dare to think about what he’d do to Rocco.Barely five minutes after he’d left, there was another knock on the door. I hadn’t ordered any room service, so I immediately assumed it was Jake who had forgotten something.“I thought you were in a hurry to get to the airp...” I started to say but lost my vocabulary the secon
I read her note over and over again and wandered restlessly around until my phone finally rang.“Bambi! Oh, my God! Are you alright?” I exclaimed the moment I picked up.“Yeah...”“How’s your mom? Is it serious?”I felt confused as to why she was so reluctant to answer. Did I do anything wrong? Is that why she left? Maybe she was jealous of Sarah and couldn’t keep up her façade anymore? But that wasn’t a problem anymore. As soon as she confirmed that her mother was okay, I blurted out:“I’m not the father!”She was silent on the other end, but I could clearly envision her beautiful smile.“The kid, who was pretty adorable by the way, was way too white to be mine. She was blonde with milky-white skin, maybe even lighter than Sarah herself, and so far from my darker Caucasian genes. I don’t even need to read the result of the paternity test. She’s definitely not mine.”I felt the relief flush through me, just like it did at the hospital when I first saw her. I would never forget Allison
I turned to her and noticed that she looked extremely uncomfortable. She kept staring at Allison’s huge belly and scratched her arm.Seriously. How much larger can she get without popping?“Uhm. Wednesday. Are you coming?”“No.”Catherine gave me a glare. She obviously wanted me to go.“Are you sure?” Sarah tried, but I rolled my eyes.“Yep.”Then Catherine pulled me aside and scolded me with her eyes.“That was rude, Aaron!” she whisper-yelled.“She obviously wants you there, and your baby will only be born once. You’ll regret not going later.”Then she noticed that Sarah was about to leave and called out to her.“He’ll be there! What time?”“10:30!”Catherine gave her a thumbs up, and even I could see how relieved Sarah was. Maybe I was a bit too arrogant towards her, but I didn’t really care. Okay, maybe a little bit.“I’m sorry,” I muttered when Catherine didn’t say anything for a while.“I know I’m an ass sometimes, and...”“An ass? Do you know how mean that was?” she exclaimed.
And then we made love again.Yes, we made love. For the first time in my life I learned how that felt, and how different it was from fucking. And it felt so good that I cried a little bit because of that as well. I mean, when I first was at it...Whatever.“Aren’t you tired?” she asked softly in the early morning hours, while stroking a finger along my jaw.“I am,” I admitted truthfully.“Then why aren’t you sleeping?”I was silent for a little while and tried to explain it with words.“Because I’m afraid you’ll be gone when I wake up,” I said quietly.She smiled and kissed my shoulder and let her finger trail in circles on my chest.“I won’t leave, Aaron. Not unless you tell me to.”She yawned and rolled over to her back, but her arm was still wrapped around my waist, and I was hugging hers.“I need to go back to New York to work. But I won’t leave.”Then she placed her palm on my chest where my heart was.“From here.”I covered her hand with mine and squeezed it a bit. Then I brough
Mom’s startled face appeared in the doorway.“What?”“Please don’t ask,” I said weakly. If she started asking questions, I would start crying for sure, and she would worry more than she needed.“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”I smiled.“Yes. And I promise to tell you everything later.”I just hoped the news I brought back home was of the good kind. So I folded my hands, looked up and whispered:“Please, don’t let anything happen to him.”🌼🌼🌼The day went by as usual. I did my job and ignored everybody’s attempts to make a conversation. Even Dom. He seemed more concerned for each day that passed. But he had no reason to worry. I wouldn’t do anything stupid.That's not what you thought last night.I went grocery shopping, but never ate any of it. I didn’t know how to make the things Catherine did. I just remembered what was on the list she wrote and bought that. I didn’t care that the food expired, and I ended up throwing it instead. It was some sort of comfort in having it. I only
Like Anny.“Let’s turn it around for a bit. What if it was someone else? Like, hypothetically.”“What do you mean?” I asked and squinted a bit.“That it wasn’t Sarah who was pregnant, but Martina?”I just stared at him.“I’d still be gone in a heartbeat,” I growled, and tried to ignore the panic that was creeping up my back. What if both of them were pregnant? I didn’t even use a conGraywhen I fucked Martina. How the hell could I be so stupid?You know why, Aaron. She’s different. And it felt so fucking good that you want to do it again.“Man, that’s cold,” Graysaid, and pursed his lips.“Whatever,” I mumbled.“No! It isn’t whatever, Aaron! I swear, sometimes you’re the biggest asshole I know. You love her, but you refuse to admit it, and I know for sure you’d man up enough to be there for her. Hell, when you managed with Bree, you’ll handle that with no problems at all. And Sarah too.”“I don’t even know why we’re having this discussion,” I muttered.“Hey. Cheer up, man. You don’t ha
“HEY! GET BACK HERE!” I yelled after Allison, ripped the door open and ran after her. She’d almost reached the stairs.“ALLISON!”“But I thought...” she started, but I had already grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back to my apartment.“What the hell did you just say?” I said in a tone that sounded both threatening and angry. I wasn’t. I was panicking, and I wanted to scream at her and tell her she was delusional.“I’m pregnant and you’re the father. Obviously.”I snorted and combed my hands through my hair, so roughly it hurt.“Obviously? What the hell is obvious about that? We’ve used protection every single time, and you’re on the pill, dammit!”Then I paused for a moment when a sick thought made me freak out even more.“Unless... Fuck! Did you trick me? Did you save one of the condoms and... Oh, my God. That’s disgusting!”“No! Aaron! How can you even think that?” she protested.“Well, how the hell did you get pregnant, then? This has to be some sort of a sick joke.”I was fum
Eventually I realized that Catherine had somehow gotten dressed while standing behind me. Only, it wasn’t her own clothes. They were mine.Damn! This is not a good time to get horny again, Aaron. But man, she looks fine in your clothes. “You’re just like mom said! You’re a sick bastard and a lowlife!”“Me sick?” I barked back.“You’re the one puking all over the floor!”“I didn’t mean literally, idiot! You’re sick in the head! An old pig! And you’re...”“Rocco! Please stop! You don’t know what you’re saying,” Catherine said, and tried her best to calm him down. She gave him a glass of water and brought a moist cloth so she could wipe his mouth like he was a big baby, and that’s when I realized how wrong their relationship was. She was acting more like a mother to him than Bree ever did. The only difference was that they had sex.“Sit down,” she demanded, but he shoved her away.“I’m not staying here a minute longer!”“SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!” Catherine yelled and made everyone stare