to one where Barrett’s arms are around me, holding me against his body, his hot lips burning my skin as I helplessly rut against him while he fills me up with all the kind words he can think of until I’m overflowing with them.
My desperate sob is muffled by my pillow as my toes curl, and pleasure burns me up from the inside out, my cock pulsing in my fist and painting my bare belly with streaks of cum.
I lay panting for a few minutes, my body nearly numb with pleasure overload, trying to figure out why I was stupid enough not to give him an answer last night about the date. Even if all he plans to do is take me out to a fancy dinner somewhere and then have his way with me before blowing out of town without a backward glance, I can’t see much wrong with that.
If he really does come by again today, I’ll accept his offer for a date. With that decided, I throw back my covers and get out of bed. I grab a t-shirt out of the hamper to clean myself off and then dart into the bathroom for a quick shower.
Once I’m clean and dressed, I peek into mama’s room. My heart jumps into my throat when I see her bed is empty and unmade, a piece of paper on her messy nightstand.
“Not again,” I mutter, slipping inside and picking up the note. I read it frustratingly slow, unsurprised to find that she’s met someone who promised her a better life and has left town with him. It’s the second time this year.
I laugh without a shred of amusement, crumpling the note and shoving it into my pocket. I wish someone would whisk me away from this godforsaken place. You can bet I wouldn’t be coming back like she surely will.
My heart is heavy as I make her bed and tidy her nightstand as well as the rest of her room, tossing out a dozen empty bottles and opening the window to air it out a little. Where she met a man when she don’t go nowhere but the liquor store is beyond me.
Worry and resentment war inside me, neither feeling all that good. I wish my gran was still around, she always knew what to do when mama would “take one of her constitutionals” as gran always called it. But all I can do is keep doing what I do every day, working and keeping the house, and hope she comes back in one piece once this new beau of hers gets bored.
I wish I had Barrett’s number so I could call him. The thought surprises me. I hardly know the man, even if he did talk my ear off last night about everything under the sun. But I feel like he could make me feel better right now when I’m so dang low.
The only thing that gets me through most of the day is Barrett’s promise he’d come by the bar again tonight. I hold his words close to my heart and keep myself busy tidying the house until it’s time to walk to work.
Barrett
I feel like a nervous teenager getting out of my car outside the bar. The butterflies in my stomach and the giddy grin I can’t seem to get rid of are completely foreign to me. I’ve had plenty of boyfriends, a handful of boys I’ve played with, a few even semi-serious. But I can’t remember a time I’ve ever felt like this.
With a bouquet of carefully picked flowers clutched in my fist, I push open the door and step into the bar. The swelling on Sterling’s cheek is worse than yesterday, and his shoulders are sagging as he works, despair or exhaustion radiating from him, it’s difficult to tell which. He looks up, and his expression slowly morphs into a tired smile that warms me all over.
He doesn’t notice the flowers until I thrust them forward, my heart pounding as I wait for his reaction.
“Barrett,” his voice is full of awe as he says my name.
“I stopped by a field on the way into town and picked them myself, so you can’t accuse me of any kind of charity,” I inform him sternly, fighting a grin as his cheeks and the tips of his ears pink.
“Thank you, they’re lovely.” He strokes a finger carefully over the blue petal of one of the wildflowers and then grabs an empty glass, setting it on the bar and