Fourth Down Baby: A May-December Romance (8 page)

“
M
om
, I have to go to Jacksonville.”

I'm wiping down the plates from dinner, and I can't say that this is unexpected. It was just a matter of time before Whitney came to her senses and joined Troy in Florida. Still, it hurts, knowing that I'm going to be alone again.

“I know you do, honey,” I say, putting the plate in the dishwasher. Laurie's in the living room, doing some coloring, and like she's done for the past three nights, it's pictures of Troy playing football. “And while it's going to hurt like hell, I'll help you pack.”

“Mom . . .” Whitney says, coming around and hugging me. “Are you sure about this?”

I nod and wipe away a tear. “You and Troy belong together. He loves you, and you love him. You need to go to him and make your family whole again. Just try to do one thing for me.”

“What's that?” Whitney asks, and I give her a smile.

“Try to come home every once in a while. Maybe during the offseason or something?”

Whitney's starting to tear up now, but still, she smiles and nods. Our team won't be broken up again, not after just coming together again. “I promise. Troy already talked about that before I screwed everything up. I'm sure if I asked, he'd be more than happy to come back to Silver Lake Falls and spend time here in the offseason.”

I nod, then give her another kiss on the cheek. “Tell him his soon to be mother-in-law loves him when the time is right. I already know he's going to ask you, and I know what the answer will be.”

Whitney chuckles, and as I hold her, I think about the joy of the past few months. Having my daughter back in the house and getting to spend all the time I have with Laurie, I've gotten a gift I wasn't sure I'd get. We were a team, a pair with both of us doing our own growing up, and in going to Europe, I almost lost that bond. It's back now, and I love Whitney all the more for it, because I know even with her going to Jacksonville, it's not going to go away. Still, part of me hurts now, and while I do love him, there's a little piece inside me at the moment that hates Troy Wood. Or I guess, more appropriately, hates Larry Kardarelli, the idiot who traded Troy to Jacksonville and took him away from Seattle and Silver Lake Falls.

“Whitney, while you make the arrangements, do you mind if I go for a little drive? I could use a few minutes to clear my head, and maybe I'll grab some special dessert while I'm out.”

She smiles and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “As long as you don't mind Laurie getting a jump on the packing.”

I grab my keys and go out to my Chevy, trying to think of where to go. There's only one name that makes sense right now, even if she is Whitney's friend and eighteen years younger than me.

I feel a bit weird knocking on the door of the cute little two-bedroom place, but when Dani Barkovich opens the door, she greets me with a smile. “Ms. Nelson! This is a surprise.”

“Patricia, please,” I reply. “Especially as I was hoping that I might bend your ear? You seem to have worked miracles for Troy and Whitney, and I'd appreciate if you could at least be a sounding board for me too.”

Dani immediately smiles again and turns around. “Pete, honey? I'm going for a walk to the corner store!”

“Okay, Harley!” Pete yells. “Who is it this time?”

“Patricia Nelson!” I call in, and I hear the clatter as Pete drops something. “Thanks, Pete!”

“He's a sweetheart,” I tell Dani, who nods. “How's marriage going for you so far?”

“Still head over heels together,” Dani says with a little blush, and I'm glad to see that she's just as open as I hoped. “Come on, you owe him some Ben & Jerry's for this, and the corner market has his favorite flavor.”

“Perfect. I told Whitney that I was going to get some dessert for her too,” I say, jamming my hands in my jeans pockets as we walk. “She's decided to go to Jacksonville.”

“Good for her,” Dani says as we walk. “It's really the best for all three of them.”

“It is.”

“But lonely for you,” Dani adds, and I nod. “I'm guessing that's what brought you here.”

I shouldn't be surprised. She’s a psychology student. “Like I said, you did miracles for Troy and Whit. I was hoping you could hit a three-peat.”

Dani laughs softly, then shakes her head. “I don't do miracles. I just gather info and tell you what I think.”

“And what is it that you think?” I ask. “I'd prefer not to be an old maid at forty-two, you know.”

“Troy won't like that,” Dani jokes, and I laugh. “You know you don't have to be. Besides, you're way too young to be an old maid.”

“Thanks, but you know what I mean. Besides, I'm on a pretty long dry spell when it comes to romance.”

Dani stops underneath a streetlight and arches an eyebrow. “I thought you were just in a holding pattern for another couple of months.”

I gape, then shake my head. “Are you sure you don't work for the CIA?”

Dani laughs and shakes her twin ponytails. “Nah, I'm way too cute to work for the government. Actually, it's just that when Cory was working for you, I saw how he was. I've seen how he's been since then too. And to let you in on a secret, I've been his sounding board too. Actually, I'm surprised that Whitney hasn't noticed it.”

“Timing, that's all,” I admit. “That, and I'm a little embarrassed to be thinking this way about one of her former classmates.”

“A classmate who's nearly twenty-four, looks dashing in a suit, and is busting his butt down in San Fran to try and feel worthy of you. Oh, to have your problems when I get to be forty-two.”

I laugh, and we reach the corner store. I pick out the ice cream I'm getting while Dani grabs some
Cherry Garcia
, and I pay for them both. “So you don't think it's weird?”

“Well, if it were back when we were in High School, I could see some people having a problem with it, not that I’m one to judge. Hell, I say go for it. But these years since then, he’s buckled down and done a lot of growing up. And I suspect you’re the reason.”

We're quiet on our way back to her house, and I shake my head at the insanity of it all. “Okay, okay. I feel better, but I might end up buying you more ice cream before you know it.”

“Let's not,” Dani says, then smiles when she sees that I'm worried and that I misunderstood her. “I mean, no more ice cream. Pete's nowhere near the athlete that Troy and Cory are, and I happen to like my baby still Navy lean. He was cute as a soft teddy bear, but as a lean teddy bear, he's more fun when he and I play.”

“Do I want to know what you play?” I ask, and Dani shakes her head. “Didn't think so.”

“Why, Patricia, you're relaxing more and more every day,” Dani teases. “Next thing you know, you're going to say the truth.”

“Which is?” I ask, and she smiles a mysterious little smile.

“The truth is . . . Cory doesn't have to do a damn thing to make himself worthy of you. Hard part is that he needs to figure that out for himself. That, or you’re going to have to tell him. Good night, Patricia.”

* * *

I
look around
, sad as the house is already empty again. We worked like fiends for twelve hours after I got home last night, packing up as much as we could before Whitney and Laurie's flight. After a dinner discussion, she booked the earliest flight she could.

Part of me is glad, of course. I want them both to be happy, and for that, they need to be in Jacksonville with Troy. Still, our packing job was frantic, rushed, and she and Laurie both left with just the two bags that the airline allowed with no extra fees.

I sigh, thinking about what Dani and I talked about last night. Now, after working through the night and dropping them at SeaTac and driving home, I'm exhausted but not really able to go to sleep.

I flop onto my bed, and my movement jostles the little bedside table. Something rattles, and I roll over, hoping I haven't broken something.

I open the drawer, surprised that I’d forgotten it was even in there. I reach in and take out the little device, about six inches long, candy pink, and smooth, with a rounded tip.

I look at the vibrator and find the button at the base, pushing it. Even though I’ve used it before, I'm shocked when it turns on, and I drop it on the bed, staring at it while it hums in the seductive sound. I know that if I just use it for what it's supposed to be used for, I can at least relieve part of the tension in my mind. Maybe then I can think clearly, or maybe I'll be able to get some sleep.

I pick it up again, and lying back, I bring it up to my breasts, tracing it around the cups of my bra. Warm tingles start to trickle through me, focusing on my nipples, and I sit up, pulling my t-shirt off.

To hell with it. If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right. I turn off the vibrator and set it aside, getting off the bed and stripping off my jeans and underthings, turning to look at the mirror on the back of the door.

What looks back at me isn't as bad as I feared. I turn and smile at the butt that sticks out. I may be busy, but I still do my hour a day of exercise ever since the madness with the long weeks of drive-thru were finished.

I lie down on the bed and pick up the vibrator, bringing it back up to my left nipple, sighing when the tingly pleasure rolls through me again.

“Mmm,” I sigh, bringing it over to my right breast. Warmth fills my chest, creeping down my body to between my legs, and my knees part slightly. I bring the toy down between my legs, drawing it between my lips and mewling at the feeling.

I'm so wet, the vibrator slides in with almost no resistance at all, and I'm shocked at the pleasure that starts rolling through me.

Fantasy fills my mind, and it's Cory I see, his arms strong and lean, that little smirk on his face that he has when he's being funny, the twinkle in his eye when he's making me laugh. I've never seen him naked, but in my mind, he's naked now, his body covered in smooth, wiry muscle. He doesn't say anything, but instead, his eyes tell me everything. I open my legs for him, giving myself to him.

He fills me so slowly, and he wants to take care of me, but in a few strokes, he's all the way inside, his body taut as he begins making love to me, each stroke of his body sending ripples through me. His lips find my ear and he kisses the curve before coming to my neck, his hands finding each and every secret area that lights my nerves on fire.

Cory's patient, sensuous strokes in and out lift me higher than I've ever been before. My eyes flutter shut, and I whisper his name for the first time. “Cory . . .”

He chuckles in my ear, like he knows exactly what I want to say, but there's no need. Instead, he begins to thrust faster, his . . . his cock filling me again and again. I'm gasping, moaning in anticipation of what I know is coming, and I need to feel it so badly.

He begins to tremble, sending wave after wave of pure bliss through me, and I let myself go, knowing that regardless of what else happens, I'm going to be taken care of. “Cory, please . . . I need you . . .”

He looks into my eyes and smiles again, and I know he needs me too. We're moving, faster and faster, until I'm caught on the edge, wanting him to give me that one last little push, that little bit I need to find the release I'm so desperate for.

“Come,”
he whispers, and I let go, my body uncoiling and spasming. I cry out, wishing it would never end, that he would always be here with me.

I come to slowly, realizing that the vibrator has slipped out of me. I look down, and a wave of sadness and shame washes through me. I kick the cursed toy off the bed and fall back, weeping with frustration and loneliness.

I need someone in my life so badly. But why is it that the one man I really want is hundreds of miles away?

* * *

F
rom
: Patricia Nelson

To: Cory Dunham

Subject: How's It Going?

Dear Cory,

As I'm sure you know by now, Whitney has joined Troy down in Florida. The house is . . . well, to be honest, it's too quiet nowadays, and I really miss the sound of other people in the house, even if it's Laurie with her silly cartoons or Whitney wanting to talk about art with me, or at least teach me a little bit about it.