Page 57 of Dear Mr. Brody
“She was fucking around for a while, then?” he asked, and I wanted to smile at his irritation. It was almost protective.
“No, but when she saw me with my client, she assumed I was cheating. I guess it was enough for her to finally act on her feelings for him.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah… shit.” I finished my beer and set it on the side table. “It seemed impulsive to me at the time. How could she throw away everything for some random guy? Turns out he wasn’t that random.”
“You guys are still close?” he asked, picking up my hand. He turned it over in his lap, tracing the lines of my palm with his finger. “For Anne?”
“We want to do what’s best for her, but Lanie was… is a huge part of my life. It’s different now, but it’s better this way. We weren’t invested anymore. Our relationship had run its course way before she cheated.”
“Does she know you’re bisexual?”
“No, but I told my sister and my brother.”
“Were they okay with it?”
“They were. My brother thinks my parents won’t be as accepting, but I don’t know. They’ve always been supportive, it’s hard to say how they will react.” I squeezed his hand. “What about you? Are you out to your parents?”
Parker’s gaze was distant, his posture smaller than it had been two seconds ago.
“My mom was good about it, my sister too.” He swallowed; his voice hoarse as he spoke. “I never got to tell my dad. He passed away when I was ten from a heart attack.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it would have been like, losing a parent that young.”
“I would think losing a parent at any age would suck,” he said. “It was hard, but we got through it. We moved a lot because he was in the Air Force. He was stationed here in Georgia when he died, and the hardest part was how final it all felt. When he died, our lives kind of stopped and became static.” He exhaled and let go of my hand. “I joined for him, you know. The Air Force. I wanted him to be proud of me.”
“I’m sure wherever he is, he’s more than proud.”
“I’d like to think so,” he said with a hesitant smile.
“You should write about him.”
“I have.” He bit the inside of his cheek, like he had something to say, but wasn’t sure if he should or wanted to. “I mean… I can show you what I have sometime… if you want.”
“I’d love to read it.”
The television was on in the background, playing some old comedy from the nineties. The volume, a low hum, did nothing to break the charged silence between us. I wanted to kiss him, to bring back the mischievous spark in his eyes, but I wasn’t sure if he’d want me to, or if he was stuck in his head, remembering things much bigger than anything I’d lived through. He wet his lips, and his bright blue eyes darkened like they had back at the restaurant. Clumsy and unsure, I leaned in quicker than I’d anticipated, and he chuckled as our mouths collided.
“Easy… like this…”
He pressed a slow, soft kiss to my upper lip, to the corner of my mouth, making a lazy circuit from my chin, along my jaw, and back again. My hands framed his face as he sucked on my bottom lip, his fingers in my hair held me steady. I inhaled his spicy, soapy scent, pulling it into my lungs, my heart thumping loudly in my chest as he moved with easy grace and straddled my legs. My hands shook as I snuck them under the hem of his t-shirt, remembering the images he’d sent me on the app. I traced the lines of his muscles, his skin prickling under my fingertips. The heat of his flesh soaked into my right palm as I flattened it against the ridges of his abs. He lifted up onto his knees and reached behind his neck, pulling his shirt off in one swift movement. I gripped his hips, my gaze roaming over every inch of exposed, golden skin. Quiet, he watched me explore the dips and valleys of muscle, each breath shorter than the last as I skimmed my lips over the carved curve of his hip, to his belly button, to the dark blond hair that disappeared below his jeans. My curiosity and fear were both fighting for the number one spot in my head as I stared at the bulge in his jeans.
Firm fingers ran through my hair, tipping my head back, a crooked smile appeared on his full lips. “You can touch me if you want to… or not.” He lowered his big body, pinning me to the couch, and rolled his hips. “Or this is fine too.” He kissed me, his tongue diving into my mouth until I moaned. “This is enough. We don’t have to do anything else.”
I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to do everything and nothing at all. I wanted to stare at him all night, kiss him until my lips were properly chafed from the stubble on his sharp jaw. I wanted to feel his calloused hands on my dick. I wanted to taste him. Need scrambled and jumbled all my rational thoughts, but the burning blush on my cheeks spoke of my inexperience, and I had to count to ten before I could find my voice.
“I’m nervous,” I admitted. He started to climb off my lap, but I grabbed his hips and pulled him closer. “Stay… this is… this is good. Just…” I sucked in a breath as he moved against me, grinding his hips, stoking the fire, the ache that threatened to consume me. “Fuck… just… Just kiss me.”
Parker didn’t think twice, his hand wrapping around the back of my neck as his lips caught mine with a bruising kiss. I couldn’t touch him enough. My hands skated over his broad shoulders, my fingers clinging to his back, the muscles like granite as I lifted my hips to meet his, over and over again.
Panting, my head fell back into the couch. “Park… I…” I was about thirty seconds away from coming in my pants, my balls tight, all the friction too much to take. “Shit… wait.”
He lowered his nose into the crook of my neck, his breath harsh and out of control. Smiling against my skin, he said, “Why did you stop?”
“You know why.”
He leaned back and grinned at me. “I don’t think I’ve come in my pants since I was like sixteen.”