Page 7 of Of Blood and Smoke
It was unbelievable. She’d been trying as long as I had to get a response, any kind of to at least one of her attempts to find a different job and within an hour, she’d gotten an interview appointment.
“I can’t believe it, this is great. You know I’m gonna fill mine out,” I replied.
Brett flicked the metal cap off a bottle of beer. “What job?” He dug into a carton of shrimp fried rice before passing it to Ashley.
“Some company in the city. Data entry and stuff. You know I’m sick of working two jobs, and my dad needs better care.”
“I thought Melinda was good?” Ashley let a warning tone creep into her voice. “Do I need to have a strongly worded conversation with her?” She closed the carton and set it on the table.
Andy chuckled and picked up the television remote as I answered, “No, she’s fine, she’s great. It would just be better to have someone here more often and that means a bigger bill.”
“I know, just making sure.”
Three episodes ofBreaking Badon streaming and two drinks later and Ashley and Andy were ready to go. Brett and I locked up after them and headed to my room, him stopping to grope me in the hallway.
This was how it usually went, we’d hang out with Ashley and Andy, or by ourselves, and then have sex in my room and he’d leave in the early morning. He was a good-looking man, usually fun to be around, and he wasn’t horrible in bed.
Brett wasn’t a bad catch at all on the surface.
He pushed me up against the wall and tweaked my nipple when I went to grab the door latch. My head hit the plaster wall as he began kissing my neck. “In the room, Brett, in the room,” I protested, taking his hand from my waist and guiding him into my bedroom.
Everything was relatively silent, outside the drone of the regular noise coming from my dad’s room across the apartment and sporadic sounds from the parking lot below. When Brett shoved the door shut a little too harshly, I didn’t flinch. Nobody would’ve heard it other than maybe the people above or below us.
After pulling my shirt over my head, I removed the rest of my clothes other than my underwear and sat on the edge of my bed watching Brett do the same and wishing I was more in themood. But beggars can’t be choosers, and it’d been a few weeks since I’d gotten any action. He was a safe choice and kept me out of the bar crawl and dating app sites that so many of my peers struggled with and relied on.
I knew what I was getting and what I had to do. And I knew where he lived and where he’d been, for the most part. These details repeated in my head on a loop although the “where he’d been part” was questionable at times.
Brett approached me and bent down, resting on his arms, and leaning in to kiss me. My hands met his shoulders, and he pressed in. As I fell back, he pressed his lips over mine and thrust his tongue inside my mouth.
He slid my panties to the side and inserted two fingers, curling them to reach my sweet spot. I wasn’t quite ready, so it was slightly uncomfortable at first. Breathless, I wiggled underneath him seeking friction. He pulled away and guided me farther up the mattress.
I rolled over and sat up, tugging the blankets down when he said, “Della.” He tried to get my attention, wrapping an arm around my middle.
“Mm?” I responded, flipping the sheets over.
He climbed under the comforter and positioned himself between my legs. I knew what was coming next and tried to keep my face neutral. “You know you’re the only one I’m seeing right?” he pleaded.
“Please don’t, Brett.”
FOUR
Della
The expression on Brett’s face tugged at my heartstrings but I couldn’t return his feelings no matter how hard I tried. It was completely unfair how he held things over me hoping I’d give in to him. I knew he was a liar no matter how much I tried to convince myself he wasn’t. You didn’t blackmail people you cared about.
I yanked him down on top of me, shoving the disturbing thoughts away. “Not right now, just fuck me,” I implored, lifting my hips as much as I could for emphasis.
A flicker of annoyance flashed across his face, and he did precisely that, shoving his cock into me so hard I grunted. It took me by surprise, his angry enthusiasm. He didn’t mean for it to be a turn-on, but it was, and I met him thrust for thrust until I felt the building pressure of a looming orgasm.
Grabbing his hand, I guided it to my clit. He knew just how to touch me to send me over the brink and as he rubbed me, speeding up his drive, my release remained frustratingly just out of reach.
“Are you there?” he rasped, pounding into me.
Rather than answer him, I wound my arm down and slid my own fingers through my lips trying to chase my orgasm. Brett stiffened over me, moaned, and then collapsed on my chest.
I let out a deep breath, the heaviness in my core sending an unsatiated ache through my middle.
“Della,” Brett grabbed my hip as I went to roll over, “come back.”