Page 34 of Take Two

She exhales in relief. When she looks at me, I see unshed tears in her eyes. “Good. I’m glad. I love my boys, and I love and accept anyone they choose to have in their lives. As long as you’re good to my boy, I’m gonna be good to you. Like this one here.” She drops my hand and wraps an arm around Vickie’s waist as she kisses her cheek. “Now, I’m going to go talkto my sons. I’ve missed them so much while I was gone.” She practically skips out of here.

She’s a tall woman, likely six feet or more, but I wonder if the boys look more like their dad. Mary Leigh has dirty blonde hair and fair skin while the boys have dark curly hair and darker skin.

“Now that she’s gone, tell us the dirty details,” Tara says. I feel a blush spread across my face. “Vick, she’s blushing. It must be filthy,” Tara whispers.

They both move closer and wait. I decide I’m not going to give details because what goes on between me and Charlie should stay between us. “Let’s just say I have no complaints.”

They both high-five each other. “God, I hope that means you’ll be in such a good mood, you’ll take it easy on us going forward,” Tara says. I won’t, and she knows it. Tara excuses herself to go check on her baby, and a couple of the kids come running to Vickie. While she deals with them, I order sparkling water with lime.

“I’ll see you outside,” Vickie says. “I have to go change Johnny.”

“No!” Johnny says as his mom carries him away. I walk through the grand house and out the sliding back door. Charlie’s back is to me while he talks to his mom. I start to walk to them, but Colt intercepts me.

“Hey,” he says. He’s doing his best pretending to be the friendly guy I met all those months ago. He even smiles, but I’m sure it’s not genuine. He eyes the glass in my hand and looks back at me. The fake smile is now gone.

“Hi,” I say back.

“Did you get that drink inside?” he asks.

“I did.” When he doesn’t respond, I say, “Is that a problem?”

He eyes my glass, turns, and looks toward his brother, who still has his back to us. “Charlie said he’s told you about hisdrinkin’.” It’s not a question, so I don’t answer. I stare into his face and wait to see where he’s going to take this. “Look, it’s probably best if you don’t drink that around him.” He inches closer. “Especially if you’re gonna kiss him,” he whispers.

I arch my eyebrows and force myself to smile at him. “I don’t think my sparkling water with lime will upset him too much. Unless he’s allergic to lime?” I say, feigning ignorance. “Is he?”

He looks at my glass as if he doesn’t fully believe me. I raise it to him and say, “Want a sip? I haven’t tasted it yet.” To my shock, he takes the glass from me, smells it, and hands it back. “Did it pass your sniff test?”

“I’m looking out for my brother,” he says without any embarrassment.

“And you think I would jeopardize his sobriety?”

“No, I don’t. Not intentionally,” he says while looking me directly in the eyes.

“Not intentionally? Hmm,” I say as I pretend to think about his words. “What exactly does that mean? Either I’m a ditz or so inconsiderate that I’ll forget he’s in recovery and what? French kiss him with vodka on my tongue?”

“I’m not sayin’ anythang like that. Mistakes happen. That’s all, but a simple mistake could cost him years of hard work.”

“What do you suggest I do then?” I ask. “Stay parched?”

“Don’t drink around him,” he says back. “And that’s not a suggestion.”

“So, it’s an order?” I challenge.

“It’s whatever is best for my brother,” he says.

“Noted,” is all I say back. I leave him standing there and go to Charlie. He puts an arm across my shoulders and pulls me close to him. When his mom excuses herself, I turn to him. He takes my glass and drinks from it.

Feeling eyes on us, I turn to find Colt watching, but I decide to ignore him and not tell Charlie about the encounter we just had. At least not yet. Not while I’m a guest in his house.

“You hungry?” he asks. There’s a buffet, along with the food truck and appetizers being passed around.

“A little, but I want to just stand here with you,” I whisper. He puts the glass down and pulls me close.

“You smell good,” he says. “You feel really good.” I inch closer and press my body against his. I can feel him through his shorts, and my own body reacts. My nipples harden and my pussy starts to get wet.

“Take me inside and really make me feel good,” I whisper. “It won’t take us more than five minutes.”

“Five minutes? Darlin, it won’t take me more than two the way you’re lookin’ and feelin’ right now, but I’ll make it extra good tonight,” he promises. “You gotta move away.” I can hear the want in his voice. Instead of moving away, I inch closer. “Lettie, you’re moving in the wrong direction.”

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