AndrewI darted around the living room, fluffing pillows and putting stray books back on the shelves. Lanie had been over to the house before, but something was different about tonight. There was no Karen. No Raven. Just me and the woman I craved.She was upset, and she was coming to me. Which meant it was my duty to make her feel better.The doorbell rang, making me spring around and bolt across the room and into the foyer. Lanie stood under the porch light, her eyes puffy.“Hi.” She sadly smiled.My heart cracked in two. “Oh, Lanie.”She shook her head and stepped inside. “It’s not that bad.”“Really?” I closed the door and turned to face her.Lanie’s lips pressed hard together, and her chin quivered. “No,” she gasped.Out of nowhere, tears flowed. Without thinking, I crossed the foyer and pulled her into my arms, pressing her head against my chest with one hand and wrapping my other arm around her waist. Her chest heaved with a couple of thick sobs, but then she pulled away.“I’m s
AndrewLanie’s hand fell on my knee as she looked earnestly into my eyes. She seemed unaware that she was touching me, but the shivers of pleasure running through my leg took up all of my attention.I licked my lips and got my brain working again. “Maybe you should take that kid from the coffee shop home. They’d probably like him.”“Oh my god,” she groaned. “Was that a joke?”“Maybe.” I made a pained face. “Humor was never my forte.”A chuckle slipped from her. “It was decent. For someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”“Gee, thanks.”“Sorry,” she said, laughing.“I’m just glad to see you not crying,” I softly said, trailing my fingers down her cheek.Lanie sharply inhaled, and the sound made goosebumps rise on my arms.“Are we doing the right thing?” she delicately asked.I had to swallow before answering. Her hand was still on my leg, and my arm around her waist. In that moment, the “right thing” was happening. We were together, and it seemed nothing else mattered.“What do yo
Lanie“Let me down!” I cried, unable to stop the laughter bubbling from my throat.“Not a chance,” Andrew answered, his strong arms around my legs.Up the stairs and down the hallway we went, passing closed doors. A door opened with a bang, and we were in a bedroom. Andrew’s bedroom.A small lamp on a side table softly lit the room, but that’s all I got to notice before I was gently dropped onto the bed. Andrew’s weight pressed down onto me, his hands twisting in my short hair and his nose brushing against mine.I wrapped my arms around his neck, studying his eyes. This close, they were dark pools sucking me in.Slowly twisting a strand of my hair, Andrew dropped a quick kiss on my lips before taking his mouth higher. My forehead. My cheeks. My chin. His lips didn’t miss any part of my face.I closed my eyes, relaxing my weight into the soft comforter as his mouth meandered down to my neck. Somehow, Andrew knew just where the most sensitive spot was. Sucking gently on my throat, he sw
LanieGently climbing off me, Andrew pulled me against him and tossed a blanket over the both of us. Nestled in the crook of his arm, I sighed happily.“This is …” He paused. “Good,” he simply finished.I laughed. “Yeah, it is.”“I was worried we would never have this again.”Emotion clogged my throat. I was happy he couldn’t see my face because I was afraid of what could be showing there.“I’m sorry about all this,” I whispered.Andrew squeezed my shoulder and pressed his face into the side of my head. “Lanie, don’t do that. None of this is your fault.”“I just wish you didn’t have to go through this.”“I’m more worried about you.” He lightly stroked the arm I’d tossed across his shoulder.“What do you mean?”Andrew sighed. “I can’t ruin your relationship with your parents.”“Don’t worry about that. I’ll figure it out.”“I’m going to talk to Bob.”In the blink of an eye, I was sitting up and looking at him.Andrew put a finger up. “Don’t protest.”“I—”“Uh-uh.”I tried to stop the sm
AndrewThe familiar beep of a text message entered my dreams, drawing me away from reliving Lanie’s soft embrace. Rubbing my eyes, I rolled across the bed, heart thumping and blood rushing between my legs.Expecting to see a good morning text from Lanie, I grabbed the phone from the nightstand and swiped the screen open.Bob Jacobs:We need to talk. Today.And boner gone.I started to cuss but bit down on my lip instead. I’d accepted this situation, and talking to Bob was what I’d been planning to do. Sending him a text back asking him to meet at the country club, I put my phone back on the stand and jumped into the shower.Just like my bed, the shower contained an air of sadness. With no Lanie, it almost seemed there was no point in waking up, getting cleaned, doing anything I used to.If only she could have stayed.I didn’t have to imagine what waking up next to her would be like. We’d had that one time in the hotel, but that didn’t compare to what nights and mornings in my bed—our
AndrewDamn, he was relentless. “I don’t want to call it off. I haven’t met a woman as special as Lanie since Danica.”The confession was hard to make, on account of it being so true, but if I wanted to win this argument, I needed to pull out all the stops.“I know you, Andrew.” Bob spread his hands. “And you don’t get out much. You’re not exactly pursuing dates on the regular. The only reason you found Lanie was because of convenience. She works at the school your daughter goes to. Let me guess. You went into a function or a parent-teacher conference, and that’s how you met.”My skin turned hot and itchy. “Just because we met at school doesn’t mean she’s any less special than someone I would meet at a speed dating event.”I could have taken it further, demanding to know if Bob thought Lanie wasn’t special, but that would be a low blow and not even practical. I knew Bob thought the world of his family, and I hadn’t come to the club to fight. It was time to make amends.“I don’t have t
LanieMy phone rang as I scanned the street for parking.“Hold on, hold on,” I murmured, resisting the urge to pull it out and see who was calling.Finding a spot across the street from the yoga studio, I tugged the phone from my purse as the second call started.Dad. Double gulp.But better now than later.“Hi, Dad,” I answered, bracing myself. We hadn’t spoken since he stormed out of the house, and Mom hadn’t been in touch either.“Lanie, I’m sorry about yesterday.”My jaw must have fallen halfway to my lap. I struggled to answer but didn’t know what to say. My father hardly ever apologized. He was always so positive the things he did were right.“I talked to Andrew and figured some things out,” Dad continued. “I know you weren’t lying to me. You’re a grown woman, and you get to do what you want. That’s, uh, it’s hard sometimes for a father to realize that. To remember their kid is all grown up.”“Yeah,” I slurred. “I understand.”“Anyway, that’s all I needed to say.”“I really appr
AndrewCranking the stereo’s volume, I cruised into my neighborhood. The street lights were coming on, taking the day into the first minutes of dusk. After talking to Bob the morning before, every minute following had been nothing less than perfect.Seeing Lanie again—and this time with Bob’s approval—meant that I’d been in a good mood all day long. Work had flown by, and the only time I’d felt any sense of irritation was when I looked at my phone and found no texts from Lanie.Call me spoiled, but I wanted to hear from her each and every hour.As the garage door opened, my phone rang as if on cue.“I was just thinking about you,” I answered.“Good things?” Lanie asked with a laugh.“Bad things,” I growled. “Really, really bad things.”“Oh. That’s, uh.” She cleared her throat, and I laughed.“What are you doing?” I asked.“Just making some dinner. Is it okay that I called? I wanted to, you know, say hi.”“Stop. Hearing your voice is the perfect ending to my day.”“That’s sweet,” she c