Until Lilly (20 page)

“Mom
my, Jax isn’t touching me! Stop not touching me!” Ashlyn cries and I laugh. Looking through the rearview mirror, I can see that Jax has a finger close to his sister, but far enough away that he is not actually touching her.

“Jax
, leave your sister alone,” I say, trying to sound firm, but it’s really funny so it’s difficult. I never had siblings growing up, so I have no idea what it’s like, but I love how Jax is with Ashlyn. I love that she has someone there for her. And I know that, yes, he picks on her, but let someone else try to pick on his sister and he turns into a twenty-year-old and lays down the law. No one, but no one, picks on his sister except him. Things have been good—no, that’s wrong—things have been perfect…well, that is if you don’t count getting accused of check fraud and losing your job.

The good thing
is that I had my meeting with the school board and my case was dismissed. They were not happy about what happened, but after the union heard my case and saw for themselves the evidence against me was all false, they said I could return to work. And I would, just not at that school. I don’t want to work somewhere where the principal didn’t even give me a chance to speak, due to her own feelings and her own situation. I want to be somewhere that people know me and my character enough to realize I would never do what I had been accused of.

So for now
, I’m a stay at home mom. I love having the kids, but I miss teaching. I have put in an application at the local middle school, and I’m waiting to hear back from them. So, things are going awesome, and we have all settled in. I’d thought that it would be weird living with Cash, but it isn’t; I love it. I love that the kids have each other. I love that I get to wake up to Cash every day. I love him coming home to the kids and me, and having family dinners. I love that his family has started acting more comfortably around me. The only thing that I don’t love is his ex. I know in my head that she is Jax’s mother, but my heart doesn’t like that very much. I hate seeing the disappointment on his little face when she is supposed to show up and doesn’t. When he does see her, I hate the way he acts when he comes back to us. I hate that Cash is subjected to dealing with her when she wants to act like she cares about Jax, then how he has to put up with the aftermath of Jax, and trying to explain to him why his mom is such a bitch. So if not for his ex, things would be perfect, and that is one thing that worries me. When Cash and I were together before, things were like they are now, minus the kids. I’m concerned about getting too comfortable, but at the same time, he makes it so easy to fall back into a place where I feel safe and loved.

“Mommy
, where are we going?” Ashlyn asks for the fiftieth time since we got into the car.

“I told you
, love bug, we’re going to the hairdresser.”

“Oh
, yeah,” she sighs, making me laugh. I pull up out front of the salon, park, and hop out of my giant SUV. When I open the back door, both of the kids are standing and waiting for me to help them down. They each grab a hand as we make it into the building. The woman behind the counter greets us right away with a huge smile.

“Hi
, I have a three o’clock appointment with Justin.” She looks over her shoulder into the back of the salon.

“He is just finishing up with his client
; if you could give him about five minutes, he will be right with you,” she says, looking down at the kids. “Do you guys like to color?” she asks, and they nod. She ducks behind the counter and comes back up with some coloring books and crayons. We go over to the sitting area, and Jax and Ashlyn kneel in front of the table and start coloring.

“Lilly?” I look up when I hear my name
being called. My eyes make contact with a very pretty Spanish man, and I say pretty because he has on more makeup than I do.

“That’s me.” I stand
, looking down at the kids.

“You both be on your best behavior. I tell them
, walking into the back of the salon. The reason I chose this place is because it is one of the only places around that allows you to bring your children with you, and while you are getting your hair done, they watch your kids.

“They will be fine
,” the girl who was behind the counter when we arrived says, looking over at the kids.

“Thank you
,” I say as my hand is grabbed and I'm dragged into the back of the salon.

“I'm Justin.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say as I'm sat down in a chair and a cape is tossed over my shoulders.

“I love this color
, honey. Who is your stylist?” Justin asks, making me smile.

“That would be Nutrisse 6.60
,” I say, and smile when his mouth opens and closes like a fish.

“This is from a box?
” he asks breathily, lifting my hair and letting it run through his fingers.

“
It is,” I confirm. “I came today to have you cut ten inches of it,” I tell him. Watching him smile.

“Ten inches will leave you hair here
,” he says, holding my hair up to just below my shoulders.

“That’s fine.” I smile
, looking at him in the mirror.

“Are you sure about this? I mean
, your hair is so amazing,” he says quietly.

“Well
, I really just want a change, and I think that a new cut is a good place to start,” I tell him.

“Let’s do this then
,” he says, pulling a rubber band out from a drawer. I watch as he pulls my hair back into a ponytail at the base of my neck, and then pulls it down some before reaching over and grabbing a pair of scissors. “Last chance, love, then there is nothing I can do.”

“Do it.” I
grin, watching as the scissors open over my hair and I hear the distinct sound of my hair being cut. Once he has gone through my hair, I watch as it falls down around my shoulders. My first thought is,
it’s really short
. My second thought is,
Cash
. He has no idea that I planned on cutting my hair today. I wonder what he will think. Then I look at my hair in Justin’s hand, then back at myself in the mirror, shaking my head back and forth. I already feel lighter. Once he’s done, he stands behind me, gathering my hair before letting what’s left run through his fingers.

“Now
, love, on to the really fun part. When all is said and done, and I walk into the waiting area towards the kids, I feel hot. My red hair sits just above my shoulders in a mass of wild waves and flips. I feel sexy. I loved my long hair, but this cut…something about it just makes me want to hold my head a little higher.

“Mommy
, you look so pretty!” Ashlyn yells as soon as she sees me. She jumps away from the table in front of her, running to me.

“Thank you
, love bug,” I say, crouching down in front of her. Her little hands automatically go to my hair, bouncing it. I look over at Jax, who is looking like he would rather be anywhere but here. “Are you ready to go, honey?” I ask, and he nods then hops off the chair, grabbing my hand. Once he has it, I stand, and he starts tugging me to the door of the salon. “Bye guys,” I call over my shoulder, laughing as Jax drags me behind him. Once we’re out at the car, he drops my hand and looks up at me.

“I'm star
bing.” His head is back and I can’t help but to laugh.

“You had breakfast a couple hours ago
,” I remind him, opening up the door so he and Ashlyn can climb in.

“That was foreber ago
,” he says as he gets into his chair. He buckles in, and so does Ashlyn. I hop in the back to make sure they are both secure before getting out, shutting the door, and climbing into the front seat. “What would you like to eat?” I ask, reversing out of the parking space.

“McDonalds
!” both he and Ashlyn say at the same time. I don’t take them very often, but when I do, we end up spending at least a couple hours. The first thirty minutes is me trying to talk both of them into eating; the rest of the time is spent watching them play in the indoor play area.

“Okay
,” I say, and then wait a second for them both to stop yelling ‘yippee!’ “But if we go, you have to promise to eat before you go play.”

“Promise
!” Ashlyn claps.

“Promise
,” Jax says, and I know they are both lying through their adorable little baby teeth.

*~*~*

“Don’t stop
,” I moan, my hands in Cash’s hair. Between my legs, his mouth is on me, and his fingers are digging into my thighs. I’m close…so close. My hips try to raise, and his fingers press in deeper, holding me down. “Cash,” I whimper, my head arched back as he pulls my clit into his mouth, sucking it. His hands travel down the length of my thighs, spreading my legs farther apart, then down under my thighs to my ass, lifting me up higher into his mouth. His head moves back and forth as his mouth devours me.  My hands tug on his hair, trying to pull him off, but all that seems to do is egg him on. “Cash!” I call again, using my feet to push up the bed. He growls low, and then wraps his arms around my thighs, putting his mouth back on me. He’s keeping me on the edge; this is torture. It is my new haircut’s fault. The minute he walked into the house when he came home, his eyes got dark and hooded; I felt my pulse speed up and between my legs get wet. He likes it a lot. After he said hi to the kids, he came to me in the kitchen, wrapping a hand around my waist, his mouth going to my neck, his tongue touching me there before his lips traveled up to my ear.

“Love the hair
, babe,” he said against the shell of my ear. “Tonight, I'm going to show you just how much I love it.” He kissed the side of my head, his fingers digging into my hip and stepping away.

I'm brought back to the moment when he fills me with one thick finger. “Come for me
, Lil,” he grunts before his mouth covers me again. One finger slides out, and two slide back in. I do as I'm told, my head digging into the bed, my legs fighting to close. Behind my eyes, the world lights up; my body starts to sing and I convulse around his fingers. Before I have a chance to recover from my orgasm, I'm flipped to my stomach. His thighs spread mine a little wider and his hand comes down hard on my ass before he enters me in one long thrust. “Higher,” his deep voice commands as I cry out and lift my ass higher up to him. His hand smoothes over my skin before coming down hard again, the sting from his palm hitting my skin making me tighten around him, bringing me closer to the edge.  “Higher, Lil,” he says with another smack. I moan, my hands grabbing the sheets above me, my face going farther into the bed, and my ass tilting higher. “Give it to me, baby; fuck me back.” Another loud smack lands against my ass. This one sets me off, making me pound back against him. My breath is coming in loud pants, my body slick with sweat. “Harder!” I press back harder, his hands grabbing my ass, pulling it up. “That’s it, baby,” he groans, slamming into me harder. I can feel myself being moved up the bed by the force of his thrusts.

“I’m going to come
,” I moan into the mattress. My thighs shaking, Cash brings down his hand yet again.

“Come for me
,” he says, spanking me on the opposite side. I feel the first waves of my orgasm begin to crash over me. My eyes close tightly; I feel like my body is catching on fire. My pussy starts to convulse, pulling Cash deeper. I cry out; his hands reach forward, wrapping around my breasts, lifting my upper body back so I’m kneeling in front of him. His fingers pinch my nipples. The feeling pulling me deeper under. My orgasm blinds me. His strokes become faster before his mouth meets my neck. I can feel his groan all the way to my clit as he finds his own release. His cock is planted deep inside me. His chest moves quickly up and down behind me, his hands still holding onto my breasts. My hands go to his at my chest, my fingers interlocking with his. I lean my head to the side, my body completely boneless. “I love the hair,” he says, licking my neck.

“I think I got that.” I laugh
, and I can feel him smile against the skin of my neck. His hands squeeze my breasts before traveling down over my ribs, along my sides to my hips, pulling me even closer to him. One hand leaves my hip, following the same path before his hand closes around my neck. I can feel my pussy still convulsing around him with aftershocks.

“You wanna shower?” I feel his breath against my skin as he speaks the words
, making me shiver.

“Yes
,” I tell him and groan when his hips pull away and I lose him and his warmth. I fall forward on the bed and laugh when he starts to tickle me.

“Let
’s go, baby. We need to get cleaned up. You and I know the kids are not going to magically start sleeping in until ten.”

“God
, when was the last time I slept past eight?” I ask out loud, not expecting an answer.

“How about tomorrow you sleep in and I will take the kids to my mom’s?” he asks as his hands run up my calves and over my ass.

“I don’t know,” I sigh; his mom has been amazing, and I don’t want her to feel like I'm trying to pawn the kids off on her.

“Ma loves having the kids over. Plus
, I think she wanted to do something with them. There is supposed to be a storyteller at the library in town. I think she wanted to keep the kids overnight. And that would be perfect; I wouldn’t mind taking you out on a date or just having you to myself.”