Loving Kate (Acceptance #3) (21 page)

In the morning, we wake up wrapped in each other’s arms. It’s nice; I haven’t woken up with someone since Kate. I never thought I would get to this place where I’m glad my sleeping around is over with and also where Kate isn’t the one I’m happy to wake up next to. But I’m glad I’m here because it definitely beats the alternative.

“Good morning,” Misty whispers shyly.

“Good morning. Did you sleep okay?”

She covers her mouth and yawns.

“Yes, actually, better than I have in years. What time is it, anyway?”

I glance over her shoulder at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s almost nine,” I tell her and she jumps up. “Hey, it’s okay, I thought you didn’t have to work today. I was hoping to at least take you to breakfast.”

“I…I really… I need to get to my grandma, Mike.” She’s stammering and I get the feeling she’s not exactly telling me the truth.

“Are you sure that’s it?”

She won’t meet my gaze, instead just rummages through her bag. “Of course, silly, what else would it be? Do you mind if I take a quick shower?”

She’s smiling now. Maybe her grandma just makes her really nervous. “Of course not. Since you’re in a hurry, I’ll shower downstairs.”

This needs to stop; she needs to open up to me if this is going to work. I’m going to let it go for now because we had such a great night last night but next time we go out, I’m going to get it from her if it kills me. I throw a towel around my waist in case anyone is home and go downstairs. It’s a good thing, too, because Connor is here.

“Hey, loverboy,” he greets me, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

“What are you doing here? I figured you’d be gone for the weekend.”

He looks bored. “Nope, Jess kicked me out first thing this morning. Said she had things to do.”

“You’re letting her push you away.” Jess will keep pushing until he’s gone.

“I’m not. I’m giving her space so she doesn’t feel the need to push me away. There’s a big difference.”

He can tell himself that all he wants, but I know Jess. “Just be careful, Connor. It’s a very fine line with her. If you knew her mom you’d understand why.”

“Was she really that bad? I mean, she didn’t even spend any time with her so how much damage could she have done?”

God he really has no clue. “Look, let me shower real quick and throw on some clothes. If Misty isn’t ready yet, I’ll come down and give you a short lesson in Chloe.” He nods and turns his head back to the game he was watching.

Of course I’m ready way before Misty, but she looks sexy as fuck just wrapped in a towel. I’m half-dressed when she opens the door to tell me she’ll be about fifteen more minutes. Without saying a word, I walk over to her pull her to me, and kiss the hell out of her. I’m determined to break down her defenses and if it has to be with sexual torture…well, so be it.

“Wow,” she says when I pull away, “that was…”

“Fucking hot,” I fill in for her and she smiles.

“That was definitely fucking hot.”

My mouth drops because she rarely cusses and when she does, it kind of turns me on.
Shit.

She laughs at the look on my face. “I can cuss, too, Mike. I just usually choose not to.”

I pull her to me, her back to my front so she can feel the effect she has on me.

“Oh,” she says softly as I suck on her neck and move up to her ear.

“Yeah, oh. For some reason, you cussing has this effect on me. Maybe because you’re a dirty girl under that sweet exterior.”

She turns around and drops to her knees, pulling down my shorts and boxers at once. Within seconds, my dick is in her pretty little mouth.
Motherfucker.
She wraps one hand around the base and cups my balls with the other. This feels fucking amazing. My hands grab her head as she bobs up and down. Her tongue slides up my shaft and then circles the head and she squeezes the base even harder as she goes as deep as she can, taking it all and moaning at the same time.

“Fuck, baby, keep that up and I’m going to come.” With those words she sucks me deeper and harder. “Misty, I’m going to come.” She doesn’t move; she just keeps going. When I come in her mouth she just keeps going, slowing it down and swallowing it all.

“Fucking hell, that’s hot.”

She places her hand in mine and I pull her up so she’s standing and then she kisses me. Her tongue greets mine with my essence still lingering, and I pull her closer, my fingers seeking her clit as we continue to kiss. With my thumb on her clit, I slide two fingers inside of her, never breaking the kiss, swallowing every moan and cry that escapes her pretty little lips. She fucks my hand and in seconds, comes bucking like crazy. I pull back from the kiss long enough to lick my fingers and then pull her back to me. Now we taste like both of us and I’m so ready to go a second round.

When she pulls back, she smiles at me deviously. “Maybe I am just a dirty girl after all,” she says as she walks away. “Oh, Mike, make that twenty five more minutes. I need to shower again.”

There’s something to be said for falling in love with a kinky girl. Quiet on the outside and freak on the inside; I’m one lucky son of a bitch. After I’m dressed, I go downstairs and take a seat next to Connor.

“See, that’s
exactly
why I’m not pushing it with Jess. We’re still the same freaks now we were in the beginning of our relationship.”

“Connor, no matter how old you get, or how married you become, some girls will always be kinky and Jess is one of those girls. She knew how to be a freak way before I did. She’s the first person to encourage anyone to let their freak flag fly.”  He gives me a cockeyed glare like he doesn’t trust what I’m saying and I laugh, patting him on the shoulder “You’ll figure it out soon enough. In the meantime, you need a crash course on Chloe.”

“Do I need a beer for this?” he asks seriously.

“Dude, I needed a beer for it and I wasn’t old enough to have one yet. It’s only nine, you can deal.”

“Fine,” he pouts. “Fill me in while I’m completely sober.”

I know Connor’s sarcasm is just his defense mechanism but sometimes he lets his guard down when things are important. I think this is one of those times because he’s actually paying attention.

“Look, I really think this is something Jess should talk to you about, but Chloe is her least favorite subject on the planet.”

“She’s actually told me some but I want to hear another person’s take on it all.”

That’s surprising; Jess doesn’t just tell anyone about Chloe. She must really care for him to let him in.

“Chloe was rarely around and when she was, it were her one and only goal to pick on Jess until she cried.”

“What the hell? Who does that?” he asks incredulously.

“Chloe does. She’s a real piece of work. Jess was kind of a chubby girl when we were little. And every chance she could, Chloe tormented her, called her fat, and told her she would grow up to be ugly and unlovable.”

Connor’s hands are in fists and I can see his anger rising to the surface.

“When your mom is a worldwide supermodel little girls want to emulate and boys jack off to, it can mess with your head. Especially when you know she’s a nasty bitch through and through.”

He’s shaking his head but doesn’t say anything, so I continue. “Maryanne tried to lessen the blow but it still nagged at Jess. And then the only time Chloe really did anything with her was when she was getting married. I think Jess was a maid of honor in at least five of Chloe’s weddings. The longest marriage lasted, I think, six months. Chloe threw around the word love as if it is just a thing that comes and goes at a whim. Jess has worked really hard to be nothing like Chloe. She’s kind, considerate, generous, and there isn’t a mean bone in her body, but…”

“When it comes to love she’s afraid she doesn’t know how or she won’t want to keep it so she pushes it away instead,” Connor finishes.

“Exactly, so if you’re going to love her, you have to love her in spite of her issues. You have to love her enough for you both. And if you can’t or if you keep giving her breaks, while it
might
work in your favor, it might also backfire on you completely.”

“I’m fucked,” he says, finally releasing his fists and pumping circulation back into his hands. “I’m in love with a girl who doesn’t know how to be loved. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”

“Not necessarily. Jess, although stubborn, eventually always admits when she makes a mistake. Sometimes it can be years later but she’ll admit it. If, for whatever reason, things aren’t meant to be now…maybe someday down the line they will be. Don’t ever count Jess down for the count.”

“Thanks for filling me in,” Connor says as Misty comes downstairs. She’s blushing, probably because she didn’t think Connor would be here.

“Hey, Misty,” he says with a knowing look in his eyes. He’s such an ass but she can hold her own.

“Hey, Connor,” she replies, sounding more confident than she looks. “Are you ready, Mike? I’ve really got to get going.” Her phone dings and she silences it quickly but looks anxious.

“Later, man,” I say as we walk outside.

“Later, guys,” Connor yells from behind us.

When I pull up into the hospital parking lot, Misty directs me to her car so she can unload her things. After parking the car, I lean over and kiss her goodbye. This girl makes me feel things, things I never felt with Kate. I don’t even know how to describe it but I bet Kate would because I know she feels them with Daniel.

“Thank you for last night. I’m sorry I was a downer but I really did have fun,” Misty says as she pulls back from our kiss and her phone goes off again.

“You weren’t a downer, you’re just dealing with a lot right now. Everyone gets it, you don’t have to apologize.”

Just as I’m about to ask her about it, she turns to open the door. “Thanks, Mike,” she says as I reach out, grabbing her arm.

“Don’t thank me, Misty, let me in, let me help you.”

Her eyes fill with tears and she quickly turns away. “How can you help, Mike? I’m in this mess because I deserve to be. There’s nothing you can do.”

Oh hell
,
I didn’t mean to make her cry. I jump out of the car, open her door, and pull her into my arms. “I know you’ll say no but hear me out, okay? This isn’t the place I wanted to talk to you about this but I also didn’t want to make you cry, either.”

She sniffs and mumbles, “Okay,” as she clings to me.

“I’ve got a lot of money, Misty. There’s an inheritance from when my dad died I just found out still remained a couple of weeks ago. I’ve got money saved up for a rainy day, anyway, and now I’m part owner of our construction company.”

She tries to pull away but I won’t let her. “I’m not telling you this to brag, Misty, I’m telling you this because I can help you. Because I
want
to help you, more than anything I’ve ever wanted. I’m in love with you, so let me make your life a little bit easier. Let me pay for school so you can quit your job and spend more time studying so you can get done with school quicker. I’ll get your grandma a full time home health nurse when she comes home so you don’t have to worry if the help you hired for the day shows up or not.”

This time she does effectively pull away. “I’m not your charity case, Mike, I’m your fucking girlfriend. Do you see HO tattooed across my forehead?”

What the hell?

“Misty, you know I don’t think of you like that and you most definitely aren’t a HO.”

The fury blazing in her eyes is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. She could even incinerate Jess’s evil glare with these puppies. Her phone goes off again and the tension in her body is visible.

“You know what, Mike? This just isn’t going to work for me. I’m sorry, but it’s over.” 

“You don’t mean that,” I whisper, barely able to get the words out as my heart crashes and burns.

“I’ve never meant anything more in my life. Goodbye, Mike.” She takes off running toward the hospital, leaving me crushed and confused in her wake.

I’ve spent the past few hours driving around and end up at Daniel’s house, watching the waves crash against the shore from his deck. Kate and I have been texting off and on and we both think Misty is pushing me away because she’s afraid her secret is about to come out.

It’s so peaceful here today and as the sun sets, I begin to wonder how well I really know Misty Lowe after all. The only thing I can come up with that makes any kind of sense in my head is she has some kind of abusive ex. Or a background in porn because that blow job she gave me today was
definitely
experienced. She’s too sweet and kind to be in porn but that’s exactly the kind of girl some asshat would try and push around or blackmail.

I’m completely convinced that’s what’s going on. I tried to text her but the only reply I got was she’s going to be at the hospital all night and we’ll talk tomorrow. I decide to forget the sunset and go home. When I get in the car, I realize I still have her bag; she never put it in her car. I’m not sure if she needs anything in it or not, but I’m sure she doesn’t want to see me tonight. I’ll just drop it by the diner on my way home and maybe grab a cup of coffee and a piece of pie while I’m there. She’s not working tonight so there’s no chance of running into her. I know she avoids that place like the plague when she’s off.