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  Great.

  I dislodge myself from his hold and scoot further to the edge of our king size bed, placing a pillow over my head and praying for sleep to take me quickly.

  Chapter Four

  Past- 10 years ago.

  “Another example of these normative issues is...umm.”

  “Keep reading.” Alex scolds.

  “Is the qq-question of determining how sss-sustainability...ah…I can’t...keep reading.”

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  Alex lifted his head from between my legs, his beautiful golden brown eyes half-lidded and hazy with passion.

  “No. God. No.” I rasped out.

  “Read.” He demanded. I forced my eyes to focus on the words in front of me but couldn't seem to get my brain to make sense of anything I was seeing.

  “I…I lost my place.”

  “Sustainability.” He prompted before lowering his face again and blowing lightly at my swollen sensitive flesh. Words continued to flow from my mouth, but I had no clue what I was reading. Just repeating what seemed like random gibberish. I was studying for a final exam when Alex stopped by with an offer to “help me.”

  “80% of the population…” I heard myself saying between gasps.

  “Mmmhmm.”

  “Ah...imply some specific investment.”

  “Yes, invesssstmmmment.” He hummed against my wet folds.

  My hips began to rock against him of their own accord as he flattened his tongue to lick my slit from top to bottom and stopped to wiggle the tip at my clit.

  “Oh my God, Alex.” The textbook fell from my hand and down to the floor beside the bed. The only thing I could do was throw my head back and moan as I urged him to continue.

  “I love the way you taste, baby.” Alex said before he placed his hand under my ass cheeks in order to hold me more firmly against his mouth.

  “I’m so close.” I reached out to hold both sides of his head as I anchored myself to his face.

  “I know. I love how wet you are for me. I could eat you forever.” He lapped and sucked everywhere except the place I needed him the most.

  “Just for you. Please, Alex.” I begged. It was the truth. No man had ever turned me on like this. I was so close to the edge that I could fall any second. He delayed touching my most sensitive spot a few moments longer, loving the way I squirmed and pleaded with him to make me come. Finally he gave me what I craved by pushing two fingers inside and pushing up on my g-spot while applying the same amount of pressure to my clit with his tongue. And just like that, I exploded, coming hard and squeezing his fingers with each contraction of my release.

  Amazing.

  When the stars disappeared and I made my way back to earth, I opened my eyes to see him staring down at me with a sexy grin. My belly clenched at the sight of his perfect full lips still glistening with my wetness.

  “You’re so beautiful, Court.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me, kissing him deep, tasting myself on him.

  “Just so you know,” I said against his mouth, pushing against his chest lightly. “You’re a lousy study partner.”

  Alex chuckled while he nuzzled his face into my neck. “Yeah, I could tell how disappointed you were with me. Not my fault that you can’t do two things at once.”

  I could feel his neglected erection as he rested between my legs, my lower half still completely naked. The rough material of his jeans rubbed deliciously against my swollen and still sensitive flesh causing me to gasp softly.

  It had only been a couple of weeks since the night of the concert and our relationship hadn’t made it to having actual sex yet. We made out for a while in the front seat of his car the night of our first date. Our next date, which happened to be the very next night, ended with more making out and touching on his couch. Now we’d graduated to the tasting stage.

  “Oh, so you think it would be easy to concentrate? Like walking and chewing gum?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Is that a challenge?” His full lips twisted with amusement, but his eyes smoldered with realization of what I planned to do to him.

  “If you think you can handle it?”

  He rolled off of me, grabbed my textbook from the floor then gave me a hot as fuck “bring it” glare. After that he simply opened the textbook and started reading aloud.

  I reached over to undo his button, then slid his jeans and boxers down to the top of his thighs. Straddling him, I grabbed his already rock hard cock and watch the pre-cum bead on top of the swollen head. His voice was moving in a steady rhythm but I couldn’t for the life of me make out anything he was saying with the way my heart was slamming in my chest. I pumped him a few times with my hand before lowering my head following along the thick vein of his shaft with my tongue. Once I reached the top, I slowly licked around the head.

  “Fuck, Court.” He finally hissed.

  “Uh-uh. Keep reading.” I said, smiling to myself because I knew I was getting to him. Deciding that teasing time was over, I took him into my mouth fully and as deep as I could before bobbing up and down in a quick then slow rhythm. His steady cadence began to falter and I only managed to catch a few words before he stopped speaking. I released him with a pop before prompting. “Statistics.”

  “Sss..tatistic..sss…Oh God…” He dropped the book and reached for my head to move me back into position. “Ah, fuck that book. Please don’t stop, baby.” He reached up and pushed my hair away from my face to look at me. I met his eyes with a knowing glance.

  “Oh, look who can’t do two things at once either?” I teased. He just chuckled and shook his head. The heat and intensity in his eyes made me wet for him all over again.

  Now that my point has been made I continued to devour him until his hips were pumping forward with each pull of my mouth. Feeling encouraged by his reaction, I grabbed the base of his cock, moving my hand in time with my mouth. The room filled with our moans and heavy breathing. The muscles in his lower abdomen began to contract, so I knew he was close.

  Alex sucked in a breath and called a warning. “Court, fuck. Baby, I’m going to…” He tried to push me away but I firmly locked my hands on either side of his hips and continued taking him as his movements quickened. It only took a few more thrusts before he was groaning out his release and I felt warm spurts hit the back of my throat.

  As soon as I lifted off of him, he hauled me to his chest and kissed me hard. When he finally pulled away, we were both panting.

  “Damn, girl.” He rested his forehead against mine, still breathing heavy. “What subject are we studying next?” I threw my head back and laughed, he slid his fingers to the back of my neck and forced my head down to look at him. There was something in his eyes that I couldn’t place, but it melted my soul anyway. “I really like you, Court.” He whispered.

  “I really like you too, Alex.” I whispered back and lowered my mouth to his.

  But I knew even then that I was way past like with him.

  *****

  It was Wednesday, and the doorbell chimed. I knew instantly that it was him. I could feel him near. It was the weirdest thing.

  "Hi, Alex." The salon chanted in unison. He gave a nod to the room and in my direction he flashed a sexy dimpled grin that I knew was just for me. When he was all done with his task, he walked to the desk.

  "I'm sorry, Courtney. I forgot my clipboard in the truck." The look in his eyes said that he was up to something. "If you follow me out, I'll hand you the invoice."

  "Um, ok." I smiled at bit skeptically but I couldn't resist the feeling of excitement. "Nico, will you watch the desk for a minute."

  Nico sauntered over, his disappointment evident. He had made it clear that he wanted a shot at Alex. To Nico, all men were gay. As if it was a dormant trait just waiting to be discovered. On my way to the door, I caught Dee's eye, and she beamed at me before winking. She recently told me all about her feelings for Cole. Being truly in love looked good on her.

&n
bsp; I followed Alex outside and around to the driver's side of his truck. As soon as we were out of eyesight of the salon window, I was in his arms.

  "I missed you. I felt like I would die if I didn't touch you soon." He whispered against my mouth before his lips were on mine. His arms grew tighter around me as he devoured me in a hungry kiss. Our tongues met over and over, hot and unhurried. My legs felt like jelly. My heart pounded wildly and soft moans escaped my mouth. God, he was so perfect. Incredibly hot and amazingly sweet. The best part of all was that he wanted me. I felt myself falling hard and fast for this beautiful man.

  Chapter Five

  Present.

  “Hi, it’s me. I saw something on the news about thunderstorms causing delays, just checking to see that you’ve made it to Houston. Just…um…call me and let me know. Okay…love you. Bye.” I press end on my phone and chew at my thumbnail.

  Alex left this morning for his business trip to Houston and I still haven’t heard from him. It’s now five o'clock, and I’ve called him twice and sent a text.

  I know he’s ignoring me.

  We had a disagreement last night over his announcement or should I say declaration that Olivia would not be able to participate in dance classes until her grades improved.

  Without consulting me.

  There wasn’t anything I could do about it while it was happening since we vowed to not disagree in front of the girls, so I waited until after Olivia and Jordyn were in bed. My heart ached for Liv, who moped about the rest of the evening.

  While I disagreed with his decision to eliminate her activities entirely, I wanted to encourage compromise. I explained to him that he would be in Houston and conveniently miss the tantrum Olivia would throw. Nor experience feelings of guilt over not allowing her to go to a performance the group has been practicing for weeks. The very same event that I typed and printed all of the programs for and purchased a special outfit that Olivia could wear for her solo routine in said performance.

  Oh, that was another thing he had no idea about. Her solo. Why? Because he never looks on the fridge where I keep the activity calendar, where Dance recital /Liv’s solo is clearly noted in hot pink marker.

  “All I'm saying is that it would have been nice for you to speak to me first before telling Olivia she couldn’t go to her performance,” I said as I climbed into bed. Alex let out a long tired sigh.

  “School is important, Court. We have to make sure the kids understand that.”

  “I agree, Alex, but I think we could have discussed…”

  “What is there to discuss? Should we just ignore bad grades and offer no consequences?”

  “No, but she has a dance solo coming up and…”

  “I don’t care, Court. Until her grades improve. No. Dance.”

  “You're not being reasonable, Alex. We’ve paid for her to take these classes, for the costumes and I’m a team mom. We can’t just not show up to this performance.”

  “Sounds like you’re more upset about missing this than Olivia.” He turned to me and points his finger at me punctuating each word. “This. Is. Not. About. You! It’s about our daughters taking their education seriously. It is our responsibility as parents to make sure they understand this. If it means eliminating distractions, then that’s what we have to do. So don’t try to make me feel guilty. I’m not the bad guy here. I want her to have fun, I know she enjoys dance, but maybe it will encourage her to focus on her grades.”

  “She’s seven, Alex.” I plead. “One C on her report card is hardly failing. Second grade is tough. Have you seen the stuff they are learning? Oh wait, no you haven’t since I’m the only one that helps with homework.” Sarcasm is dripping from my voice, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a low blow. I never claimed to be a fair person especially when I'm angry.

  “Don’t do that. Don’t try to make me feel guilty. You know with my hours, it’s hard for me to get home in time for homework.”

  “Yeah, yeah. So you say.” I don’t even know why I just said that, but it seems fitting.

  “What the hell does that mean?” He counters angrily.

  “Nothing.” I snap.

  Not wanting to spend another second in the same room with him, I grab my pillows from the bed and go downstairs to sleep on the couch. When I wake up the following morning, Alex is already gone.

  While getting the girls ready this morning, I see the news stories about the heavy hurricane winds hitting the gulf. I’ve been worried about Alex all day. Partly from the guilt over the way we left things last night. It felt wrong. This wasn’t us. We never walked away angry, and Alex most certainly never left on a trip without kissing me goodbye. It was a silly superstition of his. So yes, I’ve been worried all day.

  I was just finishing the dishes after dinner when the house phone rang. Olivia immediately grabs the phone when she sees Alex’s name on the display. To my surprise, her sadness over the dance recital is already forgotten.

  “Hi, daddy.” She squeals into the phone and proceeds to rattle on about her day. After a few minutes she begins a series of “yes, daddies” in a somber tone before jumping up and down and “Yes, daddy! I will! Thank you, daddy! Ok, I’ll get mommy.”

  She sprints towards me bubbling with excitement. “Daddy says I can go to my recital!”

  “Did he? Well, that’s great, Liv. Now go and get your pajamas on and help Jordyn with hers, too.” She nods and scurries off.

  “Hello.” I hesitantly speak.

  “Hi.” His deep voice vibrates through the phone.

  “How was your flight, the weather must have been terrible. I called you.”

  “Yeah, I know. My flight made it in just fine. Once I landed I went straight into all day meetings and just now found time to listen to my messages.”

  “Oh.” I replied quietly.

  “So, about last night...” He starts but then stops.

  “Yes?” I finally prompt.

  “I thought about it, and you’re right, I should have talked to you first. I told Liv that she could go to her performance, but she needed to promise to finish all of her homework and read a book for twenty minutes afterward. I will call her every night to make sure.

  “Sounds fair. Thanks for reconsidering.” I resist the urge to bring up the fact that yet again, he’s made a decision without consulting me, but I decide to leave it alone.

  Don’t be an ungrateful bitch, Court.

  “Listen, I gotta go. My cab has just gotten to the restaurant. I told Stiller I’d meet him and his wife for dinner. So, I’ll call you later. We need to talk about some things.”

  Talk about things? What sort of things? Why did his tone make me nervous?

  “Ok, we’ll talk later then.”

  “Yeah. Later.” Click.

  Later? Later? My husband, the man I’ve loved for ten years, just ended a phone call with “later” to his wife.

  After tucking the girls in, I wait for Alex to call me back. My mind races at all of the things he could want to discuss. Things have been strained between us and we are long overdue for a talk. Will this be a good conversation or a bad one? I decide to distract myself with checking my email and browsing Facebook. That’s when I noticed that Alex Turner has been tagged in a photo by Curtis Stiller.

  In the picture, I recognized Stiller, Alex’s Houston area manager, with a beaming redhead who I assumed was his wife with the way she was sitting in his lap and his arm curled around her pregnant belly. On the opposite side of the table sat Alex and a pretty brunette who was leaning back against him, Alex visible over her shoulder, both with huge smiles. It was quite a cozy picture. My face instantly began to heat. I know Alex’s type and that chick is totally it, with long dark hair, voluptuous body and big breasts.

  I hated her instantly.

  She was also tagged in the picture. Ashley Danielle.

  Ashley Danielle?

  Oh, she was one of those girls who hides her last name because she’s a skank who goes after married men, but doesn
’t want people to find her outside of Facebook!

  I closed my laptop and call Alex but his phone connects straight to voice mail. I dialed it two more times hoping he would pick up. Still nothing. I go back to Facebook to see if any more pictures have been posted, but there were none. In fact, I can’t even find the picture I’d seen earlier. I checked Alex’s page, but it was gone. I tried Stiller’s page and even Ashley Danielle’s page, but they were set to private so I would have to friend them to see any of their photos.

  That sneaky bastard either untagged himself or had the photo deleted!

  The more I sit here and think about the picture and the fact that he isn’t answering his phone, the more panicked, insecure and pathetic I become. I called Alex three more times and sent a text each time before I finally fall asleep, emotionally exhausted.

  This wasn’t the first time I discovered him with another girl.

  And to make things worse, Alex never does call me that night.

  Chapter Six

  Past- 10 years ago.

  Finals were over, and I was feeling relieved. It had been several days since I'd seen Alex. As much as I liked his study techniques, he wasn’t able to help me retain anything useful for my exams. I opted to study alone going forward. He wasn’t very happy about this, but I promised to make it up to him. After five weeks of dating we still haven’t taken things to the next level. We’ve touched and tasted each other but haven’t sealed the deal, and it has by far been the hottest experience of my life. My experience with men was very small, and Alex is the only one to every make me orgasm.

  It was unspoken between us, but we both seemed to be waiting for the right moment. We knew what we had was special and far from a casual hook up. The anticipation was exciting. Each time we silently wondered if this would be the night. Would he make the first move or would I? It was a delicious game.

  I was positive that when we finally did go all the way, it was going to be amazing which is why I had decided that tonight was the night. I didn't want to wait anymore. I knew without a doubt that it was the right time.