The Call: A Psychic Paranormal Romantic Comedy Page 15

  "I was born so early, and then I had problems and didn't start walking at a normal time. I had seizures as a kid. My mom didn't adjust well. She tried, I think. But it was hard on her. Watching me struggle to thrive had to have been hard on her.

  "She made it until 3 days before my first surgeries. I wasn't even two.

  "'Disability' wasn't something she could process. It didn't fit in with her worldview. She came from money and was very sheltered. I was just a little too real. Too hard. Too permanent. Too ugly."

  “Wrong word,” he said quietly.

  “No, not really,” she disagreed. “There are scars. And, as a kid, I didn’t move well. The limp was much more pronounced. I had some trouble with my hands.”

  He wouldn’t argue the point. He wondered about the scars and wondered what was going on in her mind. “Scars aren’t going to bother me, Matilda.”

  Well, physical scars aren’t going to bother me, he mentally corrected. It seemed likely emotional scars were fucking up his day.

  She shook her head.

  OK, not the scars...

  In all the time they spent together over the last year, Matilda had never once mentioned her disability. She didn’t talk about it. This had to be a hard conversation for her.

  Jake turned his head and kissed her temple. Please, God, I love her…

  "So, it was my dad and me."

  He hugged her tightly to himself. Please God...

  "My dad was a lawyer then but he knew he couldn't do the single parent special needs thing and practice law. So, dad quit his job and bought the bar. He was available all day to be with me and then worked at night. We lived in an apartment above the bar.

  "I had 15 surgeries throughout my childhood so I could walk. My gait isn't great, but I'm mobile."

  "You're magnificent." Jake breathed. The thought of her going through that, being in pain, made his chest tight.

  ✽✽✽

  She kissed him. A real kiss on the lips. They hadn’t really kissed before. She wallowed in the luxury of exploring his mouth, of tasting him.

  I can pretend, just for now, that we can have this. Then he'll see and that'll be it. Soon, but not yet. I can have just a little bit more time.

  This was going to hurt, but she had to make him see. It would just get more difficult, more painful.

  ✽✽✽

  Jake kissed her back and tried to convince himself it didn't feel like a goodbye kiss. Please…

  "I did well through high school, got accepted at Northwestern. He was so proud. I met Ellie, then Eric. I was finding my way.

  "I had two months left in my senior year when my dad was shot in the chest and killed over a $28 bar tab.”

  Fuck. He knew her dad was dead. He didn’t know her dad had been ripped out of her life. The thought of losing Hank like that brought tears to his eyes.

  "I lost some time after the police came to Ellie and me. I'm pretty sure Ellie planned my dad's funeral. I don't remember.

  "The bar was a crime scene for more than a week. Ellie and Eric paid for a service to come in and clean up the blood. Did you know there are services that specifically clean up crime scenes and suicides?"

  Jake shook his head. A few tears slipped down his cheeks. Note to self: buy Ellie and Eric everything they could ever want.

  "After it was done, Ellie, Eric, and I went to clean out the apartment and found my graduation gift.” Matilda choked back a sob.

  "It was a black leather carryall with shorter straps for my small frame. My initials were on a gold inlay. I only used it for special occasions because it was dear to me. You've seen it. It was ruined the day we met.

  Jake sighed. He kissed her forehead.

  She tucked her head back on his shoulder and fell silent.

  "Can I help?" He asked.

  She laughed. A real laugh.

  "Hmm?"

  "You must think I'm nuts. And you're still trying to help me. You keep offering me help when there’s nothing to be done. You're such a good person, Jake."

  He kissed her temple again. Please, God...

  After a few minutes, she took a deep breath and let it out.

  Here it comes, he thought. We’ll fix it. Whatever’s coming. We’ll work through it.

  She started talking again.

  "My mom came to my dad's funeral. She said she hoped that we could get to know each other as adults. I couldn't process it at the time, but I reached out to her several months later.

  “She lives on the Gold Coast. She’s been within easy distance my entire life. She didn’t come to see me, not even for birthdays or Christmas.

  “But, she was the only parent I had left. The only family I had left. My dad was an only child, and his parents died when I was a teenager.

  "We had lunch a couple of times. She had remarried years ago. I have a couple of half-siblings that are three and four years younger than me. I've seen pictures, but haven't met them.

  “She’d talk about them over lunch. Where they were going to school. What they were planning to do when they finished. They were both deep in the family fold.

  “I google them every once in a while. My brother is angling to take over the investments firm my grandfather built. My sister doesn’t work. She’s a socialite now, about to marry an investment banker that works for my grandfather. I’m not sure if they know I exist.”

  Matilda looked into her empty glass. “More?” Jake asked.

  She shook her head and reached to put the glass on an end table.

  "When I asked to know them, my mom kept hedging. They were very busy, very focused on their studies. I kept bringing it up. I have so little family, I’d like to know them.

  “Eventually, she made noises about me being better off not knowing them. She said I wouldn't be comfortable with them. They are able-bodied, with no disabilities at all. She didn't want me to feel bad in their company.

  “I told her it wouldn’t bother me. I honestly thought she just didn’t know me well enough to understand that. The disability is just part of who I am, I told her. I didn’t think about it anymore than having freckles.

  “I was foolish. More foolish than showing up to a meeting after being dumped in a sludge puddle, and that was fucking idiotic.”

  Jake tried to smile. She wasn’t looking at him, she didn’t notice it was more of a grimace than a smile.

  Sam and I are going to find these people and make them regret this neglect. They will beg for her attention.

  Jake might not have enough money to make them squeal on his own. But, there were only a few people on the planet richer than Sam. Midas will fucking strangle these people.

  "I didn't catch on and kept questioning her." He hugged her again.

  “In the end, she bluntly told me that I'm not welcome with her family. It was nice that we had lunch occasionally, and she was impressed with what I’d made of my life. But, I wouldn’t ‘fit in’ with the family. My disability… I would embarrass them in society. I couldn’t be involved in that part of her life."

  Jake tasted a rage so violent that he could not breathe.

  ✽✽✽

  Jake stopped breathing. He understood.

  He sees it. He had not thought that far ahead. Maybe the sex could still happen, but it'd be our secret.

  Jake tipped her head back and kissed her.

  So sweet...

  "I'm sorry, love. I'm so sorry." He whispered.

  Her heart lurched at the endearment. Then her chest hurt, knowing what was coming. "Me, too. I understand. I really do. It's just hard." A tear dripped down her face.

  She kissed his cheek and breathed in the scent of him. "I'll never play pool again or see Scooby without thinking of you. After some time, I would like to try to be friends if you're willing."

  Fast, like ripping off a band-aid. It didn’t help.

  She started to untangle herself from his lap.

  "What?" He asked. "What the fuck are you talking about? Matilda, STOP!"

  As she was tryi
ng to untangle herself, he kept trying to hold on. The end result was Matilda falling out of Jake's lap and landing at his feet.

  ✽✽✽

  THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING. SHE CAN'T POSSIBLY THINK … THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING. He didn’t see the freight train coming. He should have seen it when she said her mom’s family had money.

  She wiped tears from her eyes and started to crawl away.

  “Jake, I know. It’s killing me too-” she said

  “THEN STOP IT! This is fucking insane. Stop. Matty, stop.”

  She looked back at him with tears racing down her cheeks, half kneeling on the floor. She had paused in standing up when he bellowed at her. “It’s better this way. It doesn’t seem like it now, but it’s only going to get more painful.”

  Jake slid off the couch and grabbed hold of her. He pulled her back to the floor. She tried to yank herself away, but he had more than a hundred pounds on her.

  "You cannot seriously believe that I'd be embarrassed to be with you! You cannot think that. What have I ever done that would make you think that?"

  "Jake, stop. Let go of my arms."

  "Not until you promise to stop this nonsense."

  "That's what I'm trying to do! Stop being a jackass. Get off me! You're just making this harder."

  "MATILDA, STOP. STOP SQUIRMING." He roared.

  She stopped moving.

  Jacob was breathing hard and trying to get a grip on his temper. "Matty, I love you. I love everything about you that makes you who you are. I am not embarrassed to be with you. You're the most beautiful person I've ever known."

  Her hair was getting wet from the tears leaking off the sides of her face. "Jake, don't. I'm trying to do what's right. We can't do this.

  "Think about Bella," she said. He flinched at the mention of Bella.

  WHY IS SHE TALKING ABOUT MY BITCHY EX?! WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!

  "Think about Bella," she said again. "Think about why you stayed with her for so long. You didn't even like her, but you stayed with her. She was arm candy, remember? Remember that conversation? You need a date for social events. That can't be me. We both know that."

  "WE don't know that. I very much disagree with what you're saying."

  "You're not thinking clearly. And even if you are serious, the novelty of being with me will wear off over time. You’ll be ashamed to be seen with me eventually."

  "I am not ashamed of you. I could not be ashamed of you."

  Words weren't working. He could tell words weren't working. He wasn't finding the right words. He was failing. He was failing her. And he was panicking.

  I have to do something. I have to do something. I don’t know what to do. She’s going to leave. She can’t leave. She won’t come back. I have to do something.

  He shifted his hips a bit to pin her with his body. Letting go of her arms, he propped himself up on a forearm, then turned her face toward him and kissed her.

  She’s not fighting me...

  It was a forceful, possessive kiss, meant to surprise her. When she gasped, his kiss drifted to her jaw, up to her earlobe, and then down to the sensitive spot where the neck joined the shoulder.

  Her pulse was beating chaotically. He shifted his hips again so she could feel exactly how much he wanted her. When her hips lifted to meet him, he moved against her. They both groaned.

  He kissed her again and aligned the thrust of his tongue with the shifting of hips.

  "Jake…" she murmured.

  Not like this… This is not right. She’ll fuck my brains out and then walk out the door.

  He stopped all movement then picked his head up to look at her. "Do you want me to stop?"

  She lifted her hips to rub against him.

  "Answer me. I won't force you. Do you want me to stop? Do you want me to get off you?"

  "No, I don't want you to stop." She whispered. “We can pretend for a little bit longer. It’s OK.”

  FUCKING FUCK FUCK FUCK FUUUUUCKKKK! FUCKITY FUCK FUCK. How was he going to fix this? She’d decide they ‘pretended’ long enough and then leave.

  "Promise you won't leave unless I walk you out."

  "Huh?"

  "Promise. Please promise me? I don't want you to sneak out. I won't make you stay if you want to go, I just want to talk about it first."

  ✽✽✽

  Her eyes searched his face. He looked… Panicked. Scared.

  He hasn’t thought this through, yet. He’s thinking about sex. He’ll think it through once he’s calm.

  "OK,” she said.

  "Say it," he demanded.

  "I promise I won't sneak out."

  He kissed her again, kissed her face, kissed her neck.

  She started undoing the buttons of his shirt. He pulled it off over his head and took his undershirt with it.

  He pulled at the buttons on her shirt. They popped free of the fabric like little pieces of popcorn.

  Fuck. It was one of the only button-down blouses she had that fit over her boobs without gaping.

  Her satin and lace bra was now visible and doing nothing to hide her erect nipples.

  He sucked at each nipple through the bra. She jerked against him when he bit down on one and then the other.

  "Jake… please…"

  Jacob chuckled as he pulled her free of her bra. "So polite when orgasms are at stake."

  "Don't be a dick, Jacob." She was short enough that she could bend to lick his nipple, even though she was pinned at the hips. He groaned.

  This was going to turn out badly in the end, but holy fuck it felt good.

  She finally got to run her hands over his shoulders. They were as defined and smooth as she had imagined. She dug her fingers into the tense muscles around his neck.

  When she nibbled at his nipples again, he growled: "Behave yourself or fun time is going to be less fun."

  As she laughed, he shifted up to his knees and unzipped her skirt. He met her eyes as he yanked the skirt over her curves and down to her legs.

  ✽✽✽

  “Of all your very interesting curves, these are still my favorite,” he said as he put his hands on the flare from her waist to her hips.

  In a blink, he was on his feet. Jake bent over and scooped her up.

  "I'm going to require some additional information, Matty," he said with a grin.

  She laughed when he tossed her on the bed and then followed her down. She tried to scoot for a position with more access. Jake wasn’t having it. Wandering hands might ruin fun time.

  With a bit of shuffling and some wicked squirming on Matilda's part, they ended up in roughly the same positions they held on the living room floor. He kneeled around her legs and pinned her hips with his hands.

  "What information do you require, sir? And you seem to be overdressed for this occasion."

  Pants muffle wandering hands. And lips. And glorious breasts. He gave himself a mental head slap. Back on task, Three-Minute Wonder.

  "Well, first, I'd like to understand these incredible stockings," he said while running his hands up and down her outer thighs.

  "Ah. My hips are too wide."

  "I beg to differ,” he said with a grin.

  "If I buy nylons that fit my hips, they're way too big in the waist and loose in the legs. I spend all day tugging them up.

  "If I buy nylons that fit everywhere else, they're too tight over my hips and ass. They inevitably get torn or pinch parts that shouldn’t be pinched."

  He ran his hands over her ass before massaging a spot on each of her hips.

  Are these birthmarks? He looked more closely. Scars. They were faded old scars. Barely visible, but a different texture than the rest of her smooth skin.

  She was tensing up. Moving on...

  "Ah. Let’s talk about this little triangle of fabric and the connected floss. What purpose do these panties serve? There’s nothing to them."

  This question was more difficult to answer, as hands wandered around her upper inner thighs. She shifted, trying to encourag
e the hands to drift higher.

  "Don't rush fun time, Ms. Benton."

  "Mr. Trellis, tardiness is frowned upon."

  He grinned. "Answer the question, please."

  "They're incredibly impractical, but they make me feel good."

  "They make you feel sexy?"

  "Yes."

  He pulled the little triangle of fabric back and forth over her sex. "And now? What do you feel?"

  She panted a bit. "Umm. Ready."

  "Well, that's not the answer I wanted. It was much too sensible and didn't involve bucking against me or gasping my name."

  He ripped the silly panties away.

  "Oy! First the shirt and now the undies."

  He bent forward and kissed her. "I'll make it up to you." Then he sat back up.

  "Next question?" She asked.

  He pulled her knees up and forward, pinning her feet between his knees. Then he spread her legs wide open.

  "OK?" he asked.

  "I'm feeling a little exposed."

  "Mmm. You are. Painful?"

  She shook her head.

  "If I dropped my pants and shoved my dick in hard and fast right now, would you orgasm again immediately, like before?"

  "I don't know, we could try it and find out." She said with a smirk.

  "Mmm. I have plans. Don't rush fun time," he smirked back. "What is your personal best for the number of orgasms during one fucking?"

  She raised her eyebrows at him.

  "I intend to crush the record, so I need a goal."

  "Does another person need to be involved in the session?" She asked.

  "Ungh. Don't rush fun time. Yes, with another person."

  She blushed against his white sheets.

  "That many?" He asked.

  Matty shook her head. "You hold that record already."

  "Oh, sweetheart. So neglected."

  "I had no idea I was exposed before a multiple orgasm sex god. How many orgasms have you inspired in one fucking?" She asked, eyebrows raised.

  "I make no such claim. But you came twice in the quickest fucking of my life. You're capable of so much more."

  "I have untapped orgasm potential?" She asked with feigned hope.

  "I believe in you, Matilda," Jake said with a chuckle.