Anything but Minor (26 page)

“I’ve got a few things to do today before briefing, but I want to take you out tonight, okay? I’ll explain everything.”

“Maybe,” I said as I poked my head out of the bathroom with a wink.

“You’re a hard woman to please, Alice,” he said as he pulled a t-shirt over his chiseled chest.

“Whatever, I’m so easy. All you did was wash my hair and I gave you the booty.”

Rafe paused in the bathroom door. “This visual ought to keep me hard all day,” he said with heat in his voice as I rinsed my mouth. He was behind me now, my bare butt pressed against his covered crotch.

I moved to kiss him goodbye and he stilled me. He gripped my hips and ground his hardness into me again.

“Let me see them,” he urged as I looked back into the mirror and met his hot gaze. His hands wondered freely, covering my breasts, massaging my back. His fingers drifted to my entrance, and I could hear the breath leave him. I boldly kept my eyes on his as he slipped his fingers in and out of me. Our connection never breaking, Rafe unzipped his pants and thrust inside me hard.

“Every bit of this sweet pussy is mine, do you hear me? This body,” he said as he ran his hands along my sides and underneath my breasts, “is mine. Say it!”

“It’s yours,” I rasped out as he drew back and buried himself where I ended. He moved his hand up to grip my neck and forced my head back. Shocked but electrified, I sucked in audibly as he squeezed slightly.

“The soreness you feel today is me. It’s me, Alice, still inside of you, reminding you that you are mine.”

“RAFE!” I shrieked as he took me roughly and completely. “Oh God,” I mouthed as his pace picked up and my legs began to shake.

“It’s time you knew,” he said as he pressed my breasts flat on the counter and leaned over me so our bodies locked. “You were made for
me
. You fit
me
like a glove. I want you always to remember that.” He leaned in and sucked on my shoulder as his hot gaze burned me. “I love you. I love your body. I love being inside this pussy. You. Are. Everything. My everything.”

My orgasm crept up and I let out a long moan as he continued to screw me ruthlessly.

“When I fuck you hard like this, I still love you. Understand?”

I nodded as another fast orgasm hit me, and I damn near lost my mind.

“Say it, Alice.”

“Fuck me, Rafe,” I moaned and saw a slow, satisfied smile cover his face. He continued his assault, his thrusts punishing in the most delicious way. He stilled as we kept our eyes locked and he spent himself inside me and bit the tender flesh of my neck. Rafe grabbed a towel off of the rack and wiped off and then leaned in and kissed me like we would never see each other again. I was at a total loss for words when he pulled away.

We’d totally just had porno sex.

“See you later, baby. I’ll let you decide if you want it soft or hard.”

I stood there in shock as he smacked my butt, my lips swollen from his kiss. He winked at me. “Tonight.”

Still in a stupor, but determined to have a lot more of what I’d just been given, it only took me seconds to throw on a long t-shirt. I raced after him through the living room and called after him as he passed through the door. “Hard! Rafe, I’ll take it hard! It’s yours!” I called out to him as I grabbed the door just before it clicked and screamed out into the hall, “MY PUSSY IS YOURS!” I heard Rafe’s laughter as he descended the stairs and passed my new neighbor, who had a leash in her hand and what looked like a mop with eyes that walked next to her. My eyes widened as she gave me a smirk and continued to her door. I shut mine, breathless as I ran my hands down my t-shirt with an embarrassed smile.

I walked into the classroom of pilots and was thrilled to see the new addition. It was a woman, mid-thirties, by the name of Edee. I’d originally overlooked her name and thought it Eddie and gave her a broad smile as I introduced myself. She gave me a confident wink with her greeting, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled.

Feel that estrogen, boys?

Filled with a new confidence and excitement of my love’s confession and possessive claim to my nether region, I got through class without so much as a defeated sigh. I’d called my mother on the way to work and was thrilled about her news of an upcoming date with Abe. The world seemed right again, but I guess that was love’s illusion. Everything good was magnified by the feel of it. I made my way out the door of the plant to find Rafe standing next to my Prius. He was dressed to the nines in dark jeans, a black dress shirt, and shiny, black boots. His hair was void of a cap and neatly combed, and his hands held at least three dozen white roses. He wore his signature smirk, but his eyes searched mine for approval.

God, I loved him.

I walked over with a wide smile and inhaled the bouquet in his hands. “White?”

Rafe towered over me as I looked up at him quizzically.

“The florist told me white meant new beginnings.” His eyes darted down to his feet briefly and then back to me. “I need the chance to make up your birthday to you.”

“Rafe,” I said with wide eyes, “it’s not a big deal.”

“It was. It
is
.”

I gathered the roses in my arms and held them to me. “They’re so beautiful.”

“You’re so beautiful,” he said as he lifted both the roses and me inside his Jeep.”

“Should we go to my place so I can change?” I had on slacks, heels, and a simple peasant blouse, and felt underdressed.

“You’re perfect,” he said as he cranked his Jeep and pulled the elastic out of my hair. I held my roses to me as I stared over at him.

“What has gotten into you, Rafe Hembrey?”

He looked at me seriously. “I’m happy. For the first time in a long time, I’m happy. You showed me what it looks like and then you became a reason.” My heart pounded inside my chest at his declaration. I felt the same but was completely taken aback by this new side of him. He’d always been good to me, but it was a whole new level of intimacy. He put the Jeep into gear as we slipped through the crowded streets of downtown Charleston and ended up at a restaurant on the outskirts with an unparalleled view of the marsh. Seated outside with a breathtaking view, we dined and sipped wine as daylight dimmed and globe lights illuminated the dock around us. Rafe and I got into a deep conversation about our bucket list as I named off a few things I must do by age ninety-nine.

“Fly with a Blue Angel,” I said with a sigh. “I had a chance once but was afraid I’d pee.”

Rafe chuckled.

“I want to meet Nolan Ryan,” he sounded off in thought. “That man is a truly decent human being and amazing pitcher. He’s kind of my man crush.”

“Oh?” I said with a smile. “Good to know. Find a four leaf clover.”

“Go to Ireland for it?”

“Hell yes,” I said with enthusiasm.

“You don’t cuss much.”

“I was raised not to. It kind of stuck with me.”

“I like it.”

“Yeah, well...you’ll know when I’m serious. It’s my verbal exclamation point. You don’t get one because every other word you use is eff.” I said as I sipped my wine and tossed my napkin on my plate. “That was delicious, thank you.”

He gave me a smile and then sipped his beer and replied, “Welcome.”

“Rafe,” I asked as he looked over the marsh, “what would you do if you didn’t play ball?”

He didn’t miss a beat.

“Male escort.”

I narrowed my eyes as he chuckled.

“I’ve never known life without it, so I don’t think that way.”

“What if you hadn’t found it?”

“Male escort.”

“That wasn’t funny the first time,” I scorned.

He set his beer down and wiped the sweat from his palms down his pants. “It’s always been ball.” He looked at me across the table, lost in thought. “When my dad bought me my first glove, I refused to take it off for a week.” He chuckled. “I was three, and according to my mother, I bathed with it, ate, and slept with it. It’s so much a part of me, Alice, there’s never been an alternative future. I still have that glove.”

“What will you do when it ends?”

“There’s no end, Alice.”

I looked at him pointedly. “That’s not very realistic.”

He gave me an eye roll. “Leave it to you to take the romance out of baseball. Do you tell all jokes and lead with the punchline, too?”

“Sorry,” I offered with a wince.

“Alice.” He grabbed my hand over the table and tugged my arm until I moved to sit in his lap. I turned to look up at him as he continued. “There’s no end because, even when I don’t play, I’ll still love it. It will still be a part of me in one way or another. I’ll be involved somehow. I’ll still feel that leather fit on my hand.”

“That’s beautiful,” I said as my eyes glazed over and his lips kept me slightly dazed. “That’s how I feel about flying.”

“Alice, you have got to get back in the air.”

“I know, and I will,” I said as I nuzzled his neck and rubbed a hand down his smooth jaw. “Anything else in your future?”

He smirked. “I see a runt in my bed with a killer body and beautiful brown eyes...Wait”—he tapped his temple—“she’s muzzled.”

“Har har,” I said as I fell limp against him and his arms encased me.

“I love you,” he whispered, his warm breath at my ear.

It was the third or fourth time he’d said it without me reciprocating, and just as I was about to, he spoke up. “Night’s not over. Let’s go.”

He pulled us from the chair, and I heard the song he’d played for me in the Jeep chime over the speakers.

“It’s our song,” I reminded excitedly as he pulled me to him and we moved around in a slight dance before he whisked me out of the restaurant. “I’ve never had a song with a boyfriend before.” I laughed as I looked over at him. “I’ve never had a boyfriend before.”

“Free” played through the speakers on the top of the small building as we made our way to the parking lot.

Rafe stopped and looked over to me at the entrance as couples and families made their way inside. “That’s a lot of pressure on a man.”

“It’s sad, I know.”

“No, it makes you even more mine.” While we walked the short distance to the Jeep, I forgot about everything but my need to tell him how I felt.

“I guess there is something to be said about virtue.” I looked over at Rafe, who shined so brightly next to me. “I wish...I wish I would have kept it for you.” This stopped Rafe in his tracks as he held his hand on the Jeep door, my door, which he opened for me. My heart tugged hard in that moment. “I guess because I’ve never loved a man before, either.”

I felt my confession hit Rafe as a tear slid down my cheek. Rafe wiped it away with his thumb, leaned over, and drew my lips to his. When he pulled away, I gave him the most honest words of my life.

“You could really fuck me up, Rafe.”

He only hesitated a second before he promised me, “I’ve got you.”

“I’ve got you, too.”

Hours later, we lay in the sand, Alice’s head on my chest, her body wrapped around mine. I’d never done the romance thing, never had a desire to. I wanted to win every part of her. I could only hope, as cliché as our night had been, she, on some level, appreciated it. I had nothing original to offer except myself, and even then I wasn’t sure it was what she needed. She had such high expectations of life, and I wasn’t sure I could be the man to meet them. It was only when I’d realized I’d fallen so goddamned hard for her that I really began to worry. She’d confessed she loved me too, and that was all I could really ask for.

We listened to the lull of the waves as Alice remained paranoid about the possibility of the return of the no-see-ums. She twitched in paranoia every few minutes as I laughed at her and forced her to lie still.

“Tonight was awesome,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

“Let’s do this every night.”

“Okay,” she said with a sigh. “Let’s just live on the beach.”

“Even better,” I said as I ran my hands through her hair. It was a tangled mess from whipping in the wind in the cabin of my Jeep.

“What were you figuring out, Rafe?”

“My dad mostly. It’s a long story.”

“I know. I read about it online.” I looked down at her. “He’s an effing a-hole for doing that.”