Getting Schooled (The Wright Brothers Book 1) (14 page)

I followed her into the kitchen, grabbing her at the waist to turn her in my direction. “You gonna tell me what’s going on with you right now?”

She gave me a crazy look, like she didn’t know what I was talking about. “I’m good.”

“But tell me what’s on your mind anyway. You’ve
never
had a problem doing that.”

“It’s nothing, damn!” She pushed her way out of my grasp, then stalked over to the corner to toss the wine bottle in the recycle bin. “Just thinking too hard.”

I chuckled a little. “No such thing.”

Reese sucked her teeth, shaking her head as she turned to face me. “Um, yeah. There definitely is.”

She set to work cleaning our wine glasses in silence, and then left them on the dishrack on the counter. I followed her into the living room, where she turned off the record player and carefully slid the vinyl back into the protective sleeve.

“Is this your way of telling me it’s time for me to go?” I asked, sliding my hands into the pockets of my sweats.

Reese stopped what she was doing, her fingers frozen over the chrome handle of the glass cabinet. “So you
can
put two and two together, huh?” she snipped, then shook her head. “I’m not telling you anything, Jason. Do whatever common sense is telling you that you should do.”

Well damn.

She closed the cabinet, and then stalked over to the fireplace and bent down, getting ready to turn the gas off.

“Hold up,” I said, my stride unhurried as I walked over to her. I grabbed her by the hand, ignoring her slight resistance as I led her back to the couch.

“What are you doing?”

I smiled, then sat down, pulling her into my lap. “You said to do whatever common sense is telling me to, so I’m going to sit her for a few minutes, and I want you to sit with me. Aiight?”

She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t move either, so I relaxed into my position on the couch. After several minutes passed, Reese loosened up too, resting her head on my shoulder. Still, neither of us said anything. I actually started getting sleepy again, watching the soothing crackle of the fire as I made lazy circles on her back with my hand.

“I feel really stupid,” she said finally, mumbling the words into my neck. “I let my mind wander, today. While we were eating, and talking, and I started thinking… maybe this could be something. A not-just-a-convenient-booty-call something. And yes, I know how crazy that is, to already be thinking about that, but I got so excited, because it’s been forever since I really
liked
somebody. Really,
really
liked somebody. So there I was, thinking too hard. Doing too much.”

I frowned. “Okay, but those are just your thoughts. Make me understand the
problem.
”

“You’re leaving.
That’s
the problem.”

I could tell she regretted those words as soon as they came out of her mouth. She actually sucked in a breath, and started to climb out of my lap, but I looped an arm around her waist, keeping her there.

“And now you see the other side of “saying what’s on my mind”. If I’m not insulting you, I’m spilling awkward, inappropriate feelings. Wonderful, right?”

“Goddamn, when you bring out “high-strung” Reese, you really commit to it, huh?” Her eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth, but I spoke again before she could. “Relax, girl. Shit,” I chuckled. “To be so
observant
, you sure did miss that I said I
might
go back to Cali. I’ve got reasons to stay here, too. My family is here. Auto manufacturing is growing in this area, so I could potentially build a career. And… there’s the possibility of a lot happening in the course of a year that might give me more reasons to stay.”

“I’m not asking you for anything, Jason. Just venting. Real, meaningful connections don’t come easy for me, and it’s scary to think about getting attached to somebody who might be moving thousands of miles away.”

I pushed out a heavy sigh.

“See?” she asked. “This is why I said “nothing” when you asked me what was wrong. Now you probably think I’m some crazy stalker chick or something.”

“No I don’t. I think you think too hard.” I repositioned her in my lap, so that she was straddling me, and tucked my arms around her waist. “Listen… I know what it’s like to lose somebody that you care about. It stays with you, in different ways. Not to mention that shit with ole boy, and your friend. People you trusted. I lost my mother, I’ve lost friends. When you make connections, you don’t want to let them go. I was in the military, princess. Your friends, mentors, lovers, whatever… you learn to live with the knowledge that they can be reassigned and sent halfway around the world, sent to war, whatever, at any time. You ain’t gotta defend
those
feelings. Not to me.”

If someone had tried to tell me a few months ago that I’d be tucking cynicism to the side to comfort a woman –
this
woman – I would have called them a liar. I wasn’t this dude. I didn’t do this type of shit. Except… apparently I was. And apparently, I did.

And it felt completely natural, in the most abnormal way.

For the first time since I left the military, here was someone that I could be myself with. I loved my brothers, my father, they were family. The guys from Sammy’s, the guys from the service center, they were all cool too. But somehow, I felt most at ease with a woman who had the unique power to completely infuriate me and turn me on at the same time. Somebody whose life experience was so far removed from mine that I was shocked to find out we even had anything in common. Reese would trade jabs with me without batting an eye, teased me about my prosthetic instead defining me by it. She
got
me.

So… fuck it.

The
least
I could do was put her mind at ease right now.

“Just chill, okay? Let’s see what happens.”

She quickly nodded. “Yeah. I want to do that. I mean… we’re only halfway through fall semester, so you’ll be here until after spring at least.”

“Right.”

“And I could always sabotage you in mama’s class, keep you here to retake it in the summer.”

“Okay
now
you sound like a stalker.”

Reese laughed, and it brought a smile to my face to see the smile back on hers. She put her hands on either side of my jaw, and brought her lips to mine. The little kiss she gave was feather-light, and she did that over and over, grinning as her eyes swept over my face. They were still glossy with emotion, but she was over the little hump, moving back toward the playful, sexy mood she’d been in before.

I groaned as she flicked her tongue over my bottom lip, then grazed it with her teeth, a move that sent blood rushing straight to my groin. She opened her legs a little wider in her straddled position, so that she could move closer, pressing her heat right up against me as she slipped her tongue into my mouth.

She still tasted like wine, savory and sweet, as her tongue skated against mine in seductive, unhurried licks. A little whimper sounded in her throat as I slipped my hands underneath her hoodie, moving and caressing soft skin until they closed around her breasts. Her nipples had already pebbled into hard peaks, and she moaned again, a little louder, when I gently tweaked them between my forefingers and thumbs.

“I hope you’re not starting something you don’t plan to finish, princess.”

She grinned at those words, and then moved away from my hands, dropping her face to my neck. She kissed, sucked, licked her way up to my jaw, and I was painfully hard by the time she made it to my ear. She teased me there with a soft flick of her tongue, and a kiss, before she murmured, “Oh, I definitely plan to finish.”

That was all I needed to hear to snatch her hoodie over her head, leaving her naked from the waist up in the soft light of the fire. I closed my hand over one dark copper areola, and my mouth over the other, making her moan, and arch against me again. I outlined the hard peak with my tongue, then gave it a long, slow suck that made her press a hand to the back of my head, inviting more. I accepted that invitation and did it again, ending with a gentle tug with my teeth.

We played like that for a few minutes, giving the other breast equal attention before we stripped each other out of our clothes. When we settled back on the couch again, there was nothing between us except the thin material of a condom. We shared an “
mmmmm”
as she sank onto me, surrounding me in wetness and heat. My hands closed over her ass cheeks and squeezed, pulling her onto me deeper, and I dropped my head back against the couch as she purposely clenched her muscles around me.

Goddamn, she feels good.

She leaned forward, peppering my face with soft kisses as she began to ride me. I lifted my head, capturing her mouth to taste and devour as I looped an arm around her waist, keeping her anchored close to me. Her movements were measured, fluid as she rolled her hips against me, pushing her body up and down. Even when she sped up, she only lost her rhythm when I dipped my head, licking, kissing, sucking her hard nipples again.

Her hands gripped my shoulders, using me for leverage as she rode me harder, faster. I pushed my fingers between her legs, finding her clit, and used her wetness to massage it in tight, firm circles. She let out a loud, “
ahhh!”
and fell against my chest, burying her face in my neck as she continued to ride.

Her arms went around my neck, holding tight as I locked my arm around her waist, using deep thrusts to drive into her. “
Jaaay!
” she whimpered in my ear, then repeated again and again in helpless moans as she rocked against me, meeting my upward strokes with frantic movements of her own. I felt the quiver in her legs and tension in her hips just before she came. Reese melted against me, nails digging into my shoulders, her body gripping and squeezing to milk me out of my own release.

She didn’t try to move, and neither did I. We stayed where we were, locked together, with her face still buried in my neck, and me still inside of her. After a while, our breathing slowed to a normal pace, and Reese finally lifted her head, looking up.

“Jay?” she said, and I met her eyes in surprise. “Why’d you look at me like that?”

I chuckled. “Shocked you called me what I’ve
been
asking you to call me. You always call me Jason. I only get to be
Jay
when my dick is in you I guess.”

“Only time you’ve earned a nickname, to be honest,” she giggled, then laid her head against my chest again.

She shivered as I ran my hand up her back, then down again, letting it rest on her ass. “Hey, what were you about to say though?”

“When?”

“When you called me Jay.”

“Oh!” She shifted against me again, wrapping her arms around me. “I was going to ask if you were ready to heat up that spaghetti again now. I’m hungry.”

twelve.

“
Reese. Reese.”

“
Whaaaat?
”

Reluctantly, I dragged my eyes open, squinting against the growing light in the room. It couldn’t have been later than seven or so, on a Saturday morning, and Jason was hovering over me, nudging my shoulder.

“I’m leaving, and I want you to get up and come lock your deadbolt,” he said, chuckling as I batted his hand away.

“Just turn the lock on the knob.”

“Nah.” He nudged me a little harder, and then his hands were under the covers, pulling me into a seated position. “I need you to come and do the deadbolt.”

I pushed out a heavy sigh, and let my head roll back. “Oh my God, come on. What do you think is going to happen?”

“I don’t think anything is going to happen, because you’re going to get up and lock this door behind me. I know you think your nice neighborhood is safe, but crazy folks are everywhere.”

I pouted for a few more moments, but he’d already sufficiently ruined my sleep. I climbed out of the bed, still nude from the night before, and Jason groaned when I bent to snag a t-shirt from my drawer.

“Stop making it hard for me to get out of here this morning, princess.”

I shot him a grin as I tugged the shirt over my head, leaving it hiked around my waist as I bent to get a pair of shorts. “Who said you had to?”

“Promise I made my brother,” he sighed, his eyes glued to the bare juncture of my thighs as I shimmied into my shorts. “Told him I’d watch Bri again this morning. He’s on a deadline, trying to get his book finished. I’m already gonna be cutting it close on the time.”

I poked out my bottom lip, then turned to pad out of the room. “Too bad. No pussy for you this morning.”

“You gave it all to me last night anyway,” he shot back, following me out of the room. I grinned as he caught me around the waist, pressing a kiss to my cheek before he passed me on the way to the front door. When I made it there, he put his arm around my neck, pulling me in to kiss my forehead. “I’ll see you later, aiight?”

What time?

Where?

What day?

What should I wear?

“Okay.”

He pressed a close-mouthed kiss to my lips, and then he was gone, and I drew the deadbolt behind him. I let out a little sigh once I was alone again. I still felt great, but Jason had a certain energy about him and now that it was gone, the house felt empty.

I shook my head.

Already in too damned deep, Reesie.

But it was his fault, for being all smart and fine and easy to talk to. How could I not feel drawn to that? The only thing I could do now was try not to drown in it.

I was heading into the kitchen to see what I could figure out for breakfast when my doorbell rang. I turned on my heels and walked back, unlocking and pulling open the door.

“Um, excuse the
hell
out of me – was that the fine ass army vet I just passed coming out of your driveway?” Devyn didn’t wait to be invited in- she brushed past me, stepping into the foyer to take off her coat. “Well, answer me girl!”

“Yes,” I laughed. “That was Jason.”

“
Really?! Ayyyee!
” She slapped her hands together, doing a little hip roll in front of me. “I
knew
you loved me Reesie!”

She kept dancing, and I laughed as she grabbed my hands, making me join in. “What are you talking about Dev?”

“I asked you to get that dick again and you did. Cause you love me.”

I giggled as I pulled my hands from hers to lock the door, then grabbed her again to pull her into the kitchen with me. “I
do
love you, but that’s not why I slept with him again, sorry.”

“What better reason could you possibly have? I mean you swore you didn’t like him, you two didn’t get along—”

“I was wrong.” I shrugged, then let out a sigh as I sank onto one of the bar stools.

Devyn raised an eyebrow. “Ya think? You were crushing on him before you knew him. Then you found out he looks like he does. And you found out that he can handle going full force, toe to toe with you. And the sex was amazing. And you’ve been talking about him for months. How could you
not
like him?”

“Exactly,” I said, pushing my braids out of my face. “But the thing is, he’s leaving when he finishes school.
Might be
leaving when he finishes school. And that’s—”

“Tough.” Devyn sat down at the counter beside me, and squeezed my hand. “You like him enough to see what happens?”

I nodded. “Yeah. That’s what we agreed to do.”

“Good,” Devyn smiled. “I think that’s a good decision. You wouldn’t even be thinking about whether or not you’d still have a relationship a year from now if you didn’t
know
his staying was in question. But really, any guy could pack up and move away for his job, family, whatever. So just think about it like any other budding relationship. Stop freaking out. We’re still in our twenties. From everything you’ve told me, I think Jason is really good for you. A nice balance. Maybe the
best
guy you’ve chosen in years.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Maybe?”

“I’m holding back on making a definitive statement until I meet him for myself. And I expect that to happen sooner than later… right?”

“Right,” I laughed. “What are you even doing here so early anyway? What time is your test?”

She let out a loud groan. “My test is at one, and I’m here because you wanted to take your braids down, remember? I cannot study
any
more, so I’m here to help myself by helping you. Netflix and a braid takedown until I have to go.”’

“Sounds good to me. But, I need to go take a shower, brush my teeth, all of that first.”

Devyn wrinkled her nose at me. “Ew. Go ahead, wash your little pum-pum. I’ll go grab us some breakfast and come back.”

I perked up at the thought of breakfast. “Ooh, where are you going?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. What do you want?”

Hmmm.

“Oooh,” I said, snapping my fingers. “You should definitely go to—”

- & -

“Batter Up,” I said, putting a plate of food in front of my niece at my kitchen table. I’d taken her to the little food truck that served waffles with “interesting” fillings and toppings on one of my first days back in town. With all the traveling I’d been doing before I left the military, and then rehab and everything after, I hadn’t exactly gotten to spend a lot of time with Brielle for her to know me very well. At first, she wasn’t impressed, but the first trip to that food truck – something she’d never been to before – was all it took to get her to warm up to Uncle Jay.

But now she expected it every time I saw her.

And well… she was adorable, so obviously I made it happen.

“I couldn’t get a plate, Uncle Jay?”

I shook my head at Justin as he dropped onto my couch, letting his head fall back against the cushions. “Nope. You’re not as cute as she is,” I said.

I left Bri in the kitchen, dancing as she chomped down on bacon-covered waffles sticks and more syrup than she probably needed. The TV in there was on some colorful cartoon pony crap she’d begged to watch, so I went into the living room, and dropped into a seat across from Justin.

“What’s up with you?” I asked. “I was expecting you to cut out of here as soon as you dropped her off. I thought you were on some tight deadline?”

“I am,” he groaned. “Procrastinating as long as I can, because I hate this fucking book.”

My eyes went wide, then shot over to Bri, who was blissfully unaware of the conversation. “What do you mean, you hate it?”

“I mean exactly what I said. I wouldn’t even be writing it if I wasn’t under contract for this last one. Still can’t believe I signed a four book deal with these clowns.”

“
Wouldn’t have happened if you’d stuck with Toni.
”

“Hey,” Justin said, sitting up. “The hell did you just say?”

I scoffed. “I said it wouldn’t have happened if you’d stuck with Toni.”

Justin rolled his eyes, then dropped his head back down. “I don’t want to hear that shit.”

“Good thing I wasn’t asking what you wanted to hear. Toni was good to you, and—”

“
Good to me
wasn’t getting my books on bestseller lists, and Toni understood that. I did what I needed to do for my career.”

“And look where you are now! Complaining because that big publishing house thinks they own you now, and your fancy ass agent got you locked into a crappy deal, and you have to finish this little wack series—”

“Wack? The series isn’t wack.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “The series is kinda wack. It’s the
only
wack thing you’ve done, but...”

“But it’s not wack.”

“It’s definitely wack.”

Justin scowled. “It’s
not
… shit.” He groaned. “Yeah, the series is wack. Which is why I don’t feel like writing this wack ass final book.” He stared off into space for a few seconds, and then shook his head. “I should have listened to Toni.”

“Yep,” I nodded, as he stood up, looking dejected. “Definitely should have.”

I stood up too, watching as Justin dropped by the kitchen to talk to Bri. He doted on that little girl, and as much as I rode him about the choices he’d made with his career, I knew he did it for her. He said goodbye to her, then planted a kiss on her forehead before he walked with me to the front door.

“Later, I want to hear about where you spent the night,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder. “You
and
Pops.”

My eyes went big. “Yo, are you serious? He spent the night at her house?!”

Justin shook his head. “Yeah, man. I don’t know how to feel about that.”

“Hell,
I’m
happy for him. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you haven’t seen this woman, Jay!”

I narrowed my eyes. “And you have?”

Pops had been consistently tight-lipped about the woman in his life, and unlike my brothers, I wasn’t bothered by that. They were concerned about somebody trying to take advantage of him, use him for money, but if I knew our father like I thought I did, I doubt we really had to worry about that.

Was he lonely? Yes.

Was he stupid? Hell no.

“You know I had you watching Bri while I had that dinner meeting with my agent, right? We’re sitting at a table by the window, and who do I see walking down the street holding hands, necking like teenagers?!”

I tried not to grin. “Who, Jus?”

“Our father, and a woman half his age!”

Then, I did laugh. “How would you even know that? Did you ask?”

“I didn’t have to! I couldn’t really see her face, but if you’d seen the boots, the dress, and the body, you’d know what I mean. And early this morning when I drove by, his car still wasn’t there.”

I shook my head. “Come on, Justin. Stop tripping. So dad got him a little honey dip. Let him have his fun.”