803 Wishing Lane by Shaw Hart

Thirteen

Caroline

It’slunchtime on Monday and I’m almost giddy as I wait for Heath to come in for our daily lunch date and make out session. I can’t stop smiling as I wipe down the counter, keeping one eye on the front door.

I get a rush out of sneaking off with him for a few minutes, and it’s like I’m finally getting the wild childhood that I never had. I was always busy with friends, family, and work growing up and to be honest, I always felt like an adult in a teenager’s body.

Now, with Heath, I get to feel like a kid again. We’re doing fun things like mini golf and Ferris wheel rides and sneaking off to make out together.

Heath grins as we lock eyes through the front window and my heart starts to race.

“Hey, Amelia, I’m going to take a––”

“Break. Yeah, I know,” she says with a knowing smile

I just laugh as I set my towel on the back counter and head over to our usual booth. We slide in across from each other at the same time and Heath reaches for my hand right away.

“How’s Charlotte?” he asks and I melt at how concerned he is for her.

He texted me last night and again this morning to see how she was doing and if we needed anything.

“She seems better. She napped for a bit yesterday, so I think she was just overtired from the big sleepover.”

“Good,” he says and his shoulders seem to relax.

“What have you been doing this morning?” I ask as Amelia sets down our usual order in front of us.

We talk about our mornings as we eat. I got my weekly produce shipment in this morning so it was busy putting all of that away. Heath got in some new camping gear that he’s really excited about.

“I should get back to work,” I say and I can’t help the mischievous smile from curving my lips.

“Yeah, me too.”

Heath drops some bills on the table, even though I keep telling him that he doesn’t need to pay, but he still keeps leaving money.

He follows after me down the back hallway and into my office. As soon as the door closes, I turn and jump into his arms. My legs wrap around his waist as our mouths fuse together.

Our lips mold together in a heated kiss, our tongues fighting for dominance.

Heath’s hands grip my thighs and then he turns, pinning me against the door as he grinds against me. I wore a skirt today for just this reason and I grin against Heath’s mouth as his fingers slip further up my thighs, beneath the fabric and he finds me wet and ready.

“Are you needy for me, baby?” he whispers against the shell of my ear.

I nod, goosebumps rising on my arms as I wait to see what he’ll do next.

His hands reach for the hem of my shirt and he pulls it off, tossing it behind his back. It lands on my desk and my bra follows soon after.

He keeps me pinned to the door as he unzips his jeans and pulls his cock out, the heavy rod pointing straight up between us.

“Ready?” Heath asks again, his fingers testing my folds and I nod enthusiastically.

Having lunch with him always gets me worked up. I think it’s because I know that soon we get to sneak back here and get each other off. It’s like a Pavlovian response now. I’m conditioned to want him.

He lines up at my entrance and starts to lower me onto his length. I can’t help it. As soon as the first inch is in me, I start to wiggle and rock my hips. Heath just grins at me as I try to work him into me.

“That’s it. Work that little pussy down on me. Take it all.”

I gush at his words, sinking down another inch.

“Fuck,” Heath hisses as my wet heat envelopes him. “We have to be quick. Your staff loves to interrupt us,” he groans and I nod, dying to feel him move in me.

He starts up a furious pace, pounding into me as we both cling to each other. His mouth is all over me, licking up my neck, biting under my ear, molding to my mouth and stealing my breath.

I’m surrounded by Heath as he ruts into me and I’ve never felt more protected or loved.

He angles his hips, his cock brushing against my clit with each pass and I can feel my orgasm building and building inside of me.

“Fuck!” I cry, biting down slightly on his shoulder as I come.

Heath grits out a few curses as his pace falters and I feel him come in me a moment later. We sag against the door, both of us breathing heavy and grinning like loons.

He lets my feet slide to the floor and I wobble slightly before I find my balance.

“That was fun,” Heath says, still slightly out of breath as we start to get dressed and I huff out a laugh.

“Yeah, it was,” I say as I hop, tugging up my skirt and fastening the button at the back.

My phone falls out of my pocket and I tug my shirt on before I scoop it up, checking the screen to make sure that I didn’t crack it.

“Oh my God,” I breath as I see the missed phone calls from Charlotte’s preschool.

I hit redial right away and hold my breath as I wait for the call to connect.

“Cherry Falls Preschool. This is Janet. How may I help you?”

“Hey, Janet. This is Caroline. I’m so sorry. I just saw that I had a few missed calls from you.”

Heath moves closer to me, sensing my anxiety, and I know he’s trying to comfort me, but I can’t bring myself to look at him right now. Not until I find out why they called.

“Hey, Caroline. Yeah, we were just calling to see if you could pick Charlotte up. She and a few of her classmates have some kind of flu.”

I can hear Charlotte crying in the background and my heart breaks. What kind of parent am I? I was in here screwing around with Heath when I should have been there for Charlotte.

“Yes, of course. I’ll be right there,” I say, already grabbing my purse and keys and pushing past Heath.

“Thanks. See you soon.”

I hang up and practically sprint toward the back door and my car.

“Caroline. What can I do?” Heath asks as I climb into my car.

“Nothing. I think we’ve done enough,” I say and I can tell that I’m close to tears.

“What? What’s going on, Caroline?”

“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t see you anymore. I’m sorry,” I say and Heath steps forward, grabbing my door before I can slam it closed.

“What? Caroline, just stop and talk to me. What is going on? You can’t just end this. I love you.”

My heart breaks clean down the middle at those words and at the pain and panic I see on his face.

Part of me wants to stay, to tell him what happened and let him help me take care of Charlotte, but I can’t.

“I have to go,” I whisper, slamming my car door and peeling out of the parking spot.

I wipe away my tears as I hurry across town to pick up Charlotte. I can’t believe that I did this. I can’t believe that I got so wrapped up in Heath that I didn’t notice Charlotte wasn’t feeling well.

It feels like I’ve let down my brother, sister-in-law, and Charlotte. I know that’s probably not reasonable, but I can’t help feeling that way. They entrusted me with their baby girl, they put me in charge of caring for her, and making sure she was safe, and I failed.

I park outside of the preschool and rush inside. My heart breaks even more when I see Charlotte crying with her face in a trash can.

“Hey, bunny. Let’s get you home,” I say and she nods against my shoulder as I scoop her up in my arms and head toward the front door.

“Feel better, Charlotte!” Janet calls and I give her a tight smile as I head out to the car.

“Let me buckle you up, bunny,” I say and she nods miserably.

She throws up twice on the way home and every time I look in the rearview mirror and see her tear-stained face, my decision to swear off men until she’s out of the house solidifies.

I feel the final piece of my heart break as I pull into our driveway.