My Sunshine (3 page)

He propped himself up on one elbow and ran his free hand
across her breasts and down her stomach. He stopped just below her waist, teasing her. He lowered his mouth to her breasts and slowly moved his hand.

Chloe
thought she was going to explode. The feeling of his warm mouth against her skin and his hand creeping toward her most intimate spot was more that she could handle. She bucked her hips and grasped his hand, forcing it to where she wanted it to go. “Please John, I can’t wait,” she whispered.

John
could tell that she hadn’t been with a man in a while.

He let her guide his hand and he continued kissing her mouth,
breasts, and neck while he manually pleasured her. When he was sure she had been satisfied, he repositioned himself between her legs and slowly entered her. Chloe bit her lip to keep from screaming in pleasure.

“Don’t hold back, baby,” he encouraged. “Let me hear it.”

“Oh God,” she screamed, sure that if there was someone in the next room she was keeping them from sleeping. “Please don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”

John
continued thrusting into her until he could hold out no longer. With one final thrust and a loud moan, he felt satisfied. He flopped onto the bed next to her. Neither spoke for a few moments.

Chloe
’s stomach growled loudly. She giggled. “I told you I was hungry.”

John
got up from the bed and went into the bathroom.

“There’s plenty of food there,” he called over his shoulder. “Go
ahead and pig out. Unless you want to order a pizza or something.”

Chloe
laughed as she searched through the bags of food.

“Dominos stops delivering at 10:30.” She pulled a pack of
cheese crackers out of a bag.

“Really?”
John said in amazement as he joined her at the table. He opened another bottle of beer. “What’s the point of that? What do you do if you need a pizza after 10:30?”

“I guess they figure no on
e
need
s
a pizza then. You can drive 30 miles into Asheville and get one. The pizza places there stay open until midnight.”

“Well, that’s a pretty big assumption.”

He sat on the bed and turned on the television. “You want to watch some TV?” He patted the bed next to him.

No, I want to be doing what we were just doin
g
. She sat next to him and took some of the chips from the bag he was holding. She watched him for a few seconds before she made her move. She pounced on him and before he knew what was happening, he was on his back on the bed with Chloe straddling his hips.

He smiled up at her. “You’re quick.” He closed his eyes
and enjoyed the feeling of her stimulating both of them by rubbing herself against growing erection. She tugged at his boxer shorts. John took the hint and shed them. She lifted herself slightly and lowered her body onto him.

“Wait
Chloe,” he said, causing her to stop moving for a second. “We’re not using any protection.”

“It’s okay,” she said, not wanting to stop for anything.

He shook his head. “No.” He wiggled out from underneath her and found another condom in his bag. He knew he was taking the chance of hurting her feelings, but he had to protect himself. And it wasn’t disease he was so much afraid of, rather than the fear of being used for the daddy of an unwanted baby.

He believes that I’m a whore, too. Of course, why wouldn’t
he? That’s the impression I’m giving him. He has every right to protect himself. He’s going to be gone in less than a day and

I’ll never see him again. Just do it,
Chloe. That’s what you want.

John
came back to the bed. “Now, we’re good.”

She forced a smile and pushed him back into a reclining
position. “I believe I was up here somewhere.” Again, she lowered herself onto him. He put his hands on her hips and held her steady while she rode him until they both reached orgasm.

She toppled off of him and lay on the bed while catching her
breath. Once her breathing was steady again, she got up and began retrieving her clothes.

“Where are you going?”

“I guess I should go home now.”

“Are you mad?” He pulled on his underwear.

She shook her head. “No. I just thought that you’d like to get some sleep.”

He caught her hand. “Stay. It’s only a few hours until
you’re supposed to pick me up. Sleep here with me.” Even as he heard his own voice saying the words, he couldn’t believe it.

He never asked a one-night stand to spend the night.

She cocked her head to one side. “You really want me to?”

“Yeah, please stay.”

                             Chapter Two

John awoke to an empty room. He had gone to sleep with Chloe in his arms and he didn’t remember waking any during the night. The other bed in the room hadn’t been slept in. He got up and pulled on the gym shorts that had been discarded the night before. He glanced out of the window at the parking lot. Chloe’s car was still parked right outside the room. He pulled the door open. She was standing just outside the door smoking a cigarette.

“There you are,” he said, relieved.

She smiled and smashed the burning cigarette into the
concrete wall. She dropped the butt on the ground at her feet.

“Here I am.”

“I was scared that you left,” he admitted.

Chloe
could see the sincerity in his eyes. “I wouldn’t leave. I owe you a breakfast. I’m still hungry by the way.”

He chuckled. “You want me to distract you again?”

Oh yea
h
. She shook her head. “Let’s go eat.” She knew that if she got back into bed with him she wouldn’t want to ever leave.

She waited while h
e got dressed. “Can we go by my place and let me freshen up a bit?”

“You’re in charge.”

Her home was only a mile away from the hotel, and within minutes they were pulling up in front of the garage. “You can check on your car while I get ready.”

He watched as she climbed a set of stairs that scaled the
outside of the building. After she disappeared into the apartment, John entered the garage.

Daniel
was bent over his Lexus. He raised his head and gave a quick nod to John. “Morning,” he greeted. “How’d you get here?”

“
Chloe’s upstairs. We’re going to get some breakfast.”

Daniel
nodded and John wondered if he had heard that Chloe had spent the night with him. “So what’s the diagnosis?”

Daniel
wiped his hands on a red shop rag. “It looks like you need a new fuel pump. It should run you about $650 plus labor.

I’ll have to order the part from the parts store in Asheville. If
you’re lucky, they’ll have it in stock. If not, I can call the dealership in Knoxville and maybe they’ll have it. Worse case, you won’t be ready until late Monday or Tuesday morning.

Best case, you’ll be on the road this afternoon.”

John nodded. “Sounds good,” he said almost wishing that it would take a few more days to get the part.

Chloe
entered the garage. “You ready?” She asked John.

She had changed her clothes and put on a little lipstick.

“Morning, Daniel.”

“Did you get any sleep last night?” He asked.
            “You look tired.”

She shook her head and yawned for effect. “No. You knew
that I wouldn’t though. I’ll catch a nap after breakfast.” She grabbed John’s arm. “Let’s go.”

“Where are you going?”
Daniel asked.

“Probably IHOP or Cracker Barrel,” she replied.

“Turn your cell phone on. I might need you to pick up a fuel pump at the parts store.”

“Sure thing,” she called over her shoulder. She and
John climbed into the car.

“Where did he think you were last night?”

“I told him that I was going to hang out at the camp ground with some friends. There’s a lot of people up there since it’s Labor Day Weekend.”

John
nodded. “He wouldn’t suspect that you spent the night with me? I mean, I don’t want to come back and pick up my car later just to have him punch me in the face for messing with his sister.”

Chloe
laughed. “I think you’ll be okay.” She nodded toward the glove compartment. “Look and see if my cell phone is in there.”

John
opened the glove box and dug her phone out from underneath a stack of Subway napkins. He turned it on for her.

“Is
Daniel married?”

She shook her head. “No. He’s been dating this girl named
Rebecca for about forever, but they’re not married yet.”

“Does she live there, too?”

“No, she still lives with her parents. So what do you feel like for breakfast?”

He put his hand on her knee. “I feel like getting a biscuit
from McDonalds and going back to the motel.”

Chloe
couldn’t turn him down again. “Sounds like a plan.” She steered the car in the direction of the fast food restaurant. Once there, she went through the drive-thru, ordering them both a small breakfast that they inhaled on the way to the hotel.

John
unlocked the door and they rushed to the bed, tearing off clothes as they went. “Oh crap,” John said suddenly. “I don’t have any more condoms.”

“It’s okay,” she reassured him. “I don’t have anything.”

He shook his head. “I can’t take the chance of getting you pregnant.”

She shook her head. “I’m on the pill,
John. I promise.”

John
considered it and decided to take the chance. “I don’t normally do it like this.”

She smiled. “You just do it like you did it last night and
we’ll be just fine.”

He laughed. “You liked that, did you?” He pushed her
back on the bed, putting his full body weight on her as he found her lips with his.

They were lying together on the bed, wrapped up in each
other and half-asleep when her cell phone started to ring. She reluctantly untangled herself and reached for it.

“Hello?”

“Chloe, I need you to go by the parts store and pick up some things for me. I already told Ray my order, so he should have it ready for you.”

“Okay,
Daniel. I’ll see you in a bit.” She glanced at John through half-closed lids. “We’ve got to go get some parts for your car.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I need to check out anyway.” He started
pulling his clothes back on.

Chloe
accompanied John back into the office to turn in the key. The same old man was behind the counter. He smirked.

“I see you got her for the whole night. That’s what? Twelve
hours? How much did that run you? She charges what? Ten dollars an hour? I can’t imagine she’s worth much more than that.”

Infuriated,
John leaned across the counter and grabbed the old man by the shirt collar. “You listen here you old son-of-a bitch. If I ever hear you say something like that again, I’ll shove my foot so far up your ass you’ll be able to floss with my shoelaces. You got that?”

The old man was shaking. He nodded.

“Tell her you’re sorry,” John commanded.

“Sorry,” he croaked out.

John released his grip on his shirt. “Come on, Chloe,” he said, taking her hand and leading her out into the parking lot.

When they got to her car, he turned to face her. She was
shaking, too.

He kissed her on the forehead and rubbed his hands against
her upper arms trying to soothe her. “He shouldn’t talk about you that way. I don’t care what you did to his grandson.”

Chloe
felt a tear roll down her cheek. “No one has ever stood up for me like that.”

John
hugged her close and he knew right then that he didn’t want to leave town just yet. She pulled away. “We’ve got to go get the parts for your car. You’ve got to get back on the road, right?”

No, not reall
y
. “Yeah, I guess so,” he said.

Chloe
climbed in behind the wheel and took a deep breath. “Thanks again for that.”

He put his hand on her knee and gave it a small squeeze, but
didn’t say anything. The silence continued for a few minutes.

Finally
John spoke. “So do you work at Subway full time?” he asked, wanting to make small talk in the hopes of finding out more about her.

Chloe
shook her head. “No, just on the weekends. I’ll come in sometimes in the evening during the week if they really need me. I’m off today, though.”

“Are you in school or something?”

“No, I have another job. I work at a bank downtown. I’m a teller, but I’m planning to work my way up. I’ve been working there since the middle of June. I graduated from the college in May.”

“Really? With a degree in banking?”

“No, accounting.”

“Oh, so you will move up.”

“Or go to work somewhere else entirely. That’s the only job I could get here in this town.”

“So why are you working at the Subway? Surely the bank
pays you enough to live off of.”

She nodded. “Yeah, it does, but I’ve been working there for
three years and they’re short handed. I didn’t want to leave them in a lurch.”

“Did you always want to be an accountant? Was that your
childhood dream?” “Not hardly.” She shrugged. “I didn’t really have any dreams. I was pretty good with numbers and I’ve been doing Daniel’s books for a while, so it just seemed natural.”

“Do you have any dreams now?”

“I don’t know. I’ve always liked to write. I write lots of short stories and things. It would be fun to be the kind of writer that, you know, got paid.”

John
laughed. “What about your personal life? Would you like to get married?”

“Okay,”
Chloe said with a smile, accepting his unintentional proposal. She shook her head. “I don’t know if I want to get married. I don’t know if I want to take on the responsibility of a marriage and family.” “So no kids?”

Chloe
shook her head. “I’ve never been around kids much, and I just don’t know if I would make a good parent.”

That’s right, banana. You can hardly take care of

yourself - a baby wouldn’t stand a chance
,
a voice in her head teased.

John
nodded. “Me too. I mean, I’ve never really thought that much about getting married. And kids…well, they’re great and all, but I’d just as soon hang out with them for a while and give them back to their parents.”

Chloe
smiled. “Are you around many babies?”

John
nodded. “Yeah, I have a one-year-old nephew and Mike has a two-month old baby. I don’t know. Maybe in a few years, I’ll feel different.”

“How old are you?”
Chloe asked, thinking it was something she should already know.

“I’m twenty-one; twenty-two in December.”

“Are you the oldest or the youngest, or in the middle somewhere?”

“You mean in my family or in the group or in the general
population?”

Chloe
smiled and blushed slightly. “I meant in the group, but do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“I have sisters, one older and one younger:
Catherine and Garby. As far as the group goes, I’m next to youngest.”

“So you hang out with those guys a lot?”
“Yeah, quite a bit. Tyler and I still live together. We’ve been roommates since we were freshmen in high school. We went to the same boarding school. We finished a tour in February that was almost nine months long. We took a few months to do our own thing, but we generally hang out together.”

“I’m sorry I don’t know more about
Parrison.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry. It’s refreshing to talk to someone who
isn’t all ‘Oh my God! Oh my God’.” He waved his hands around his head as he said it.

Chloe
laughed. “So does that mean you don’t want me asking you questions that might be related to your status as a celebrity?”

“You can ask me anything you want.”

“How did you get to be in the group?”

“I went to a boarding school in high school and
Tyler and I were roommates, like I said before. We both liked to sing and we were in the choir. Josh was in the choir, too, and the three of us sang together a lot. The three of us formed a little group, and we sang in a talent show. Our manager’s niece went to school there, too, and her mother saw us in the talent show. She called her brother, Carl, who is now our manager, to come see us, and he did. Carl thought we needed someone else though to round out the group, so he brought in Dennis who had been in another band he was managing in Atlanta. So the four of us signed a contract. We picked up Mike along the way and got our big break down at Disney.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know anything about you
guys. I don’t know any songs. If it doesn’t come on the country station, then I’ve never heard it.”

John
smiled. “That’s okay. So what about you? What

about your family?”

She frowned and shook her head. She didn’t normally talk about her family, but since John was practically a stranger and she would more than likely never seem him again, she was a little less reticent.