Say Nothing... (The Speak Series Book 2) (25 page)

We spot Eli as we approach the entrance and I'm yanked back.

"Ouch."

"Sorry, it's just. Fuck." Vonne puts her hand over her mouth like it will help take back the fact that she just dropped an F-bomb. "How do I look?"

"You look great. Now, take a deep breath and calm the hell down. You're making me nervous." I hold her shoulders and take a few deep breaths until she begins to mimic me. "You have this. Let's go."

We turn toward Eli and notice that Ben is already chatting it up. Thankful for the distraction, we slowly make our way over. I give her arm a little squeeze in reassurance.

Eli immediately pulls Vonne into a hug, and I think I hear him tell her to breathe. Ben sidles up next to me and laces our fingers.

"Mom, Dad, this is Vonne and Ari."

Eli is the spitting image of his father. The man, who insists we call him Rodrigo, is tall with sandy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. Not one hair is out of place and his stance demands attention. Marie Montenegro is the epitome of a trophy wife. She's petite, blond, and has had her fair share of augmentation. Unlike Rodrigo's warm welcome, her large blue eyes size us up.

"It's nice to meet you," we say in unison, sounding like members of Charlie’s Angels.

She offers a limp handshake and a smirk. Ben's mom seems like Mother Theresa compared to this woman.

"Okay, well, I better go line up." Eli leans in and gives Vonne a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you after?"

She nods and watches as Eli walks away, her eyes nervously flit back and forth between him and his parents. She looks at Ben in sheer panic.

"All right, let's go grab some seats," he says breaking the awkward silence.

Two and a half hours, one sore butt, and a lot of small talk later, Eli is an official college graduate. Vonne's fingernails have been chewed down to nubs, but she survived the meeting of the parents. Rodrigo asked the basic getting to know you questions, but Marie couldn't be bothered. Ben had mentioned that Eli's and his parents were best friends, and I could see why. Marie carries the same arrogance Elizabeth does. It's a miracle their boys turned out the way they did.

It takes Eli a few minutes to find us, and we take turns congratulating him. Ignoring his mother's obvious annoyance, he declines their dinner invite and decides to spend his last night in L.A. driving Vonne back to San Diego. Her eyes get a little misty at the suggestion, and I'm so happy he reciprocates her affection for him. We say our final good-byes, and I'm thankful to be heading home.

"Are you hungry?" Ben asks as I get into the car.

"Not really. I'm still full from earlier." I wait for him to get into the passenger seat and pull away.

"Can I ask you a question?"

He smirks. "If it's about Marie . . . no, she hasn't always been that way." I don't know how he does it. I swear between him and Vonne, one of them is psychic.

"So at one point she was sweet and then out of nowhere she turned into a Disney villain?”

He laughs. "That's a good one. I’d say she's more Evil Queen than Maleficent. What do you think?"

"I'm serious. Why the sudden change?" He takes a deep breath and rolls his neck. All tells that I've noticed recently. He does this when he doesn't want to talk about something. "Spill, Rodriguez. This involves my best friend's possible future mother-in-law."

He shakes his head. "They just made it official and now you've married them off?"

"Stop avoiding the question." I cross my arms over my chest and narrow my eyes at him. It's supposed to be intimidating, but it only makes him laugh harder. Which, in turn, makes me smack him in the arm.

"Fine, geez. This stays between you and me." I nod in agreement. "I'm serious."

"Okay, I promise."

"Cross your heart and hope to die, stick a needle in your eye."

I roll my eyes. "What are we, ten? You want to become blood brothers when we get home too?"

"No way. I don't think we've talked about it, but I have a fear of blood."

"Ugghh . . .” I groan in frustration.

"Okay . . . okay. When Eli and I were younger, Marie was more the soccer mom type. She baked us cookies, drove us to little league, and was the room parent, but then she started to change. At first, it was just her hair color, then a few months later, it was her clothes. Then her body started changing," he says waggling his eyebrows.

"Gross! That's your best friend’s mom." Earning him another smack. "So do you know what caused the change?"

"Not at first. We thought she just wanted to look better. We were kids, so we didn't question it. We didn't find out the real reason until our senior year in high school. Eli and I were on our way to a party after one of our football games. He had forgotten to pack an extra pair of socks, so we stopped at his house. I waited in the car while he ran in." He scrubs a hand over his face as he replays what happened.

"It should have only taken a few minutes, and he was gone like ten. I honked once and nothing, so I got out to see what was keeping him. As I got to the back door, a half-naked girl came running past me." My eyes widen in shock.

"Marie was screaming for Eli to stop, and it took me a minute to notice that he had his dad in a choke hold. I jumped in to break it up, and his mother just sat on the floor sobbing and asking why? Why she wasn't enough. She kept saying that she had done everything he wanted."
Bastard.

"Why is she still with him?"

He shrugs. "Eli says they went to counseling, acted happy for a while, but then she turned in to what you saw today. She's an angry, bitter, Stepford wife." I don't understand why anyone would stay. Why you would subject yourself to that kind of abuse day in and day out.

"He still cheats on her, doesn't he?"

"Eli caught him a few more times, but he stopped mentioning it and I stopped asking. He's embarrassed about it, Ari. He never brings anyone new around his parents. That's how I know he's serious about Vonne."

Wow. I'm taken aback by this story. You would never know by looking at Eli that he carried so much. It does explain why he didn't jump right into anything with Vonne.

We pull up to the apartment, and I've never been so thankful to be home. It's only Wednesday, and it already feels like the longest week. I follow Ben into the apartment; my eyes are heavy and curling up under my covers is my only objective. Our clothes end up in a pile on the floor; we kiss good night and do exactly that.

"BYE, BABE, I'M LATE." I
crack open an eye in time to see Ari lean in and press a kiss to my forehead.

"What was that?" I grumble. "Am I your grandpa? Come here." My arm snakes out before she can walk away, and I pull her on top of me. She yelps in surprise as I cradle her face and go in for a long passionate kiss. Her body melts into me, and she moans at the contact. It's been too long since we've been together like this. With all the changes going on around us, we just haven't made the time. Our hands are everywhere, and our kiss goes from passionate to ravenous in a matter of seconds.

My morning wood is hitting her sweet spot, and she quickly straddles my lap seeking out the friction. "Fuck, I'm gonna be so late." Her head is thrown back as she continues the torturous grind over my boxer brief covered hard-on.

Minutes away from blowing my load like a horny teenager, I attempt to regain some semblance of control. Sitting up on my elbows, I watch as her skirt begins to bunch around her waist, giving me the smallest glimpse of her lace covered heat.

"I need inside you, babe." I groan. "Now." She's in a lust-filled haze, and I doubt she even heard me. My hands wrap around her waist as I lift her, allowing me to sit up. "Please," she begs missing the contact. I spring myself from my boxers; her hungry eyes take me in as she moves the last scrap of material blocking us from our goal. She slides over me in one swift move, and my eyes roll back in appreciation. "Fuuuck . . . that's good." I moan.

"Quick . . . hmm . . . we need." No words needed, my hips meet hers in a maddening rhythm. I'm on the brink, so being quick will not be a problem. It's too good; I've missed her, missed us, and missed this.

She rests her hands on my shoulders for balance. "I'm close . . . please." Three quick thrusts and I erupt, making her quickly follow. My hands tangle into the back of her hair as I press a searing kiss to her lips. "Hmm . . . I'm so late." She peppers kisses down my neck before moving off the bed.

"Well, these are ruined." Her lace panties are tossed into my lap. I waste no time bringing them up to my nose, her scent making me ready for another round. She shakes her head as I watch her put on a fresh pair.

"Looks good to me," I say with a laugh as I watch her try to tame her freshly fucked hair. She scowls at me through the mirror; her flushed cheeks and wrinkled clothes making me want to pound my chest like a caveman. I start to slide out of bed, and she turns to me with a raised finger.

"No. I know that look, and you've already made me late."

"I made you late?" I place a hand on my chest looking affronted.

"Yes, you," she says pointing her accusatory finger at me. "I was just giving you a quick kiss good-bye and-"

"C'mon," I interrupt. "You and I both know that was a crappy way to kiss someone good-bye. It wasn't my fault I was forced to teach you the proper way to give a good-bye kiss."

She smirks as her heated gaze rakes over my still naked body. The fact that she still wants me just as badly stirs me back to life.

"I have to go." Her eyes are glued to mine as she nervously chews on her bottom lip.

"You said that already." My hand wraps around my rock hard cock, and I hold her gaze as I seek some relief. She hisses. Her hazel eyes look crazed and the wildness behind them makes me pump a little faster. My vision begins to blur with pure need.

The bed dips suddenly, and a warm hand wraps around my own urging me along. Opening one of my heavy lids, I watch as her tongue begins to dance around the head. Beads of sweat begin to gather on my overheated skin, and I grip the sheets as she takes over.

"So fucking good . . . babe." My back arches off the bed as she takes me deeper into her mouth. She moans at my praise, and the sensation brings me to the end. "Fuuuuuck,” I groan as I continue to pump my hips. She licks me clean and drops down next to me.

"You're welcome," she says giggling.

"Hmm . . .” is all I can manage as a response.

"This time, I am leaving, and you seem too incapacitated to chase me. Bye, I love you." She presses her warm lips against my cheek before crawling off the bed. I mumble some form of I love you too, listen as the front door closes, and fall back to sleep.