Make You Miss Me by B. Celeste
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Bex walks over to where I’m standing in front of the mirror and gives me a motherly smile that I’ve seen her give her two kids. I haven’t had time to speak much to either of them, but her daughter is the spitting image of Bex with the same welcoming, warm personality as her mother, and her son has the same dedication and family loyalty as she does. Seeing the three of them together, exchanging stories over coffee and whatever food her daughter brings home with her from school, always makes me smile, especially when her daughter brings me brownies since her mother apparently talks so much about me to them.
“You look beautiful,” she tells me, putting her hands on my shoulders and squeezing.
I flatten my palms down the front of the black belted wrap dress and lean my head against the side of hers when she leans in and rests her chin on my shoulder. “You don’t think it’s too much? It’s pretty fancy.”
“Does it make you feel pretty?” she asks.
I nod.
“Do you feel confident in it?”
Another nod from me.
“Do you think Fletcher will be wiping drool off his chin the second he sees you in it?”
This time, I grin. Fletcher has seen me in dresses before, but none of them look like the high-low hem one I’m wearing now. The dresses, skirts, and other clothes he’s complimented me in are all for work. Nothing showy or too expensive. Most of the time, he sees me in jeans and a slightly fitted T-shirt or blouse, and occasionally, whatever pajamas I’m too lazy to change out of on the weekends.
And, in hindsight, he’s seen me in far less too. Multiple times. Whether half-dressed with his head between my legs or fully nude with his fingers trailing between my thighs as my hand works his cock. We’ve had plenty of stolen moments where Fletcher has gotten me bare in some form or another with a wicked grin on his face while doing it.
My neighbor laughs. “Then I don’t think it’s too much. I think it’s perfect. Us women need to knock a man off his feet once in a while, and I have no doubt this number will do just that.”
She pats my shoulder before holding up her fingers, disappearing from the dressing area of the store where we’re shopping before coming back with a pair of strappy black heels. When she passes them to me, I see they’re the right size and quickly shoot her an appreciative smile.
“It’s been forever since I treated myself to new clothes,” I admit, sitting to slide the dressy shoes on. The heels aren’t too high or too thin, both good things since my clumsiness knows no bounds. “It feels strange.”
She must sense the slight guilt to my tone over going on a shopping spree for something as vain as a dress and shoes for the date Fletcher and I are going on tonight because she says, “You deserve it, Stevie. Self-care is important. We all have to treat ourselves to something that makes us feel good once in a while.”
Though true, I can’t help but sigh. “I know you’re right, but all I can think about is what I could be spending the money on instead.”
My house is mostly all set up with furniture. It could use more décor to cover the bare walls, but as time goes on, little things like pictures taken or drawings that Dominic or other students have given me are hung throughout the house. My kitchen has turned into a beautiful oasis of various houseplants, livening up the space. And since Fletcher has taken over my lawn care, including shoveling and salting whenever the snow and ice comes, and promising he’ll mow the grass when spring graces us for more than a day at a time, I’m saving money on the service I’d been hiring since I moved over six months ago.
I shouldn’t beat myself up over buying new outfits considering most of my work wardrobe came from secondhand shops and clearance racks. I didn’t exactly spend a fortune on the things I wear at school, so the few times I buy brand new items won’t break the bank.
“Enough about me.” I stand and examine the outfit fully, tilting my foot and smiling at the final result. “How are you and Sexy Santa doing?”
Her cheeks turn pink. “His name is Todd,” she tells me, giving me a tiny laugh before giving me a once over. “And he’s fine, I’m sure. We decided it wasn’t going to work out.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I frown, wishing I’d asked sooner. Last I heard, which has probably been a month or more, they’d been seeing each other at least once a week. Sometimes twice. “I know you liked him.”
She pats the hand I put on hers. “It’s okay, Stevie. It was me who called things off. He’s a nice man, but it was becoming…too much.”
My brows pinch. “What do you mean? If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand. Heaven knows you’ve listened to all my woes. But I’m here if you want to talk.”
Bex picks a piece of lint or something off my dress. “Truthfully, I think I was unfairly comparing him to my late husband. I found myself thinking about whether I liked certain things or not about Todd simply because he was so different than Billy.”
Expression easing, I squeeze her hand tighter. “That’s natural, though, Bex. If you decided that there were too many cons with Todd, it was all for the best. The right guy will come around when he’s meant to, and then I’m sure you won’t be comparing him to anyone because nobody will match him.”
She blinks, her lips stretching into a slow, wide smile. “My, my, sweetie. You’ve grown quite a bit since I’ve met you.”
It’s my turn to blush at her compliment as we step apart and look at my reflection in the mirror again. My hands go to my dress, my eyes roaming from head to toe in appraisal. “It’s in part because of you, you know.” My eyes go to her in the mirror. “You were always honest with me, telling me what I needed to hear instead of holding back. In a way, my mom does that too, but she’s a bit…harsher with her points.”
Her smile is sad. “She must love you very much then. I know I show Mary tough love more than I probably should. She’s a stubborn girl. Reminds me of someone else I know.” She pokes my side and winks at me. “But I hardly did anything. This journey, where you are now, it’s because of you. You’ve let yourself love again.”
Love. The L-word I never thought I’d use again in the context of another man. Family, sure, Friends, yes. My job, even. But when it came to admitting that there was a man out there that fit into my life like a missing puzzle piece, I never would have believed it.
Until the friends I made here.
Until seeing Fletcher again.
Until Hunter showed back up.
It’s ironic how our hearts can be hurt by the things we saw coming. And I had.
I’d put together all the moments leading up to the papers being served to me and knew what the outcome would be. Hunter had shown me he’d fallen out of love long before he’d gotten the nerve to say it.
I just didn’t want to believe it.
To see it.
But now that I do… “I have,” I agree with Bex, my smile warm and genuine. “Let myself love again, that is. Fletcher makes me love myself in a way I think I might have forgotten how to do in the past. He never makes me feel unworthy or self-conscious by being who I am or showing what I want.”
My face heats thinking about him coming over to my house during his walk with Admiral. He’d only meant to stop to give me a kiss and see how my day was before going back home to check on Dominic, who he’d left alone to finish up his homework before they had dinner. But before he left, the kiss had deepened, and the desire grew as our tongues twisted and hands roamed. Before I knew it, I was on my knees in front of the door, unbuckling his belt, unzipping his pants, and taking him in my mouth until he was panting my name and thrusting between my lips. Admiral had gone off to play with the toys I kept at the house whenever they visited. After I’d made his owner come in my mouth, I almost had to remind Fletcher about his waiting son when he gave me that heated look that went straight to my core.
There have been other times. Him planting me on the edge of my kitchen counter and lifting up my skirt to reacquaint his mouth with the center of my body.
Me grinding on him on the couch until I made us both come while Dominic slept upstairs after Fletcher had put him to bed.
Even the make-out sessions we had like two teenagers who couldn’t get enough had brought me to the brink of insanity.
Each little moment we’d stolen with one another had built and built and built until the dam nearly flooded.
All leading up to tonight.
Nicki is with Traci and Jacob. He’d brought Admiral with him after his father’s suggestion, which means Fletcher and I will have an entire house to ourselves.
No kid.
No dog.
No interruptions.
Bex snickers, breaking me away from the dirty memories I was having of a very hard piece of Fletcher. And not just his muscles. “I don’t need to read minds to know what’s on yours, my dear.”
My cheeks only blaze hotter, making her laugh louder. “Sorry.”
She pats my butt as I turn to head back to the dressing room and change into my regular clothes again. “Don’t be. We’ve both been married women. I know a thing or two about what you’re thinking.”
I can’t help but laugh along with her, not letting the embarrassment get to me. We’re both adults—both know what it’s like to not want to keep our hands off the men we love.
Through the curtain, Bex adds, “Can’t say I’m not a little jealous of you. What I would pay to see what that man looks like naked.”
My laugh turns into a snort. “I’ll try snapping a picture.”
It takes me over an hour to get my hair just right, loosely curled and sprayed to stay in its shape, and apply just enough makeup to highlight the green in my eyes, emphasize my cheekbones, and the outline of my fuller lips. When it’s all done, I can’t help but smile at my reflection before slipping on my dress, sliding on my heels, and giving myself one more look in the mirror when the knock sounds from downstairs.
Because of our late-night meetings, Fletcher has a key to the front door to get in easier when he’s free. So, I’m not surprised when I hear the lock click and the door open as I walk from my room, down the narrow hallway, and stop at the top of the stairwell.
Taking a deep breath, I count to three, flatten my dress, and finally walk down when I hear him call out my name.
I’m on the last step when he stops and stares at me with unblinking eyes, the color darkening, lips parting slightly, and a sound I’ve never quite heard made before rising from his throat.
The moment I step onto the wooden floor in front of him, his head begins shaking back and forth in disbelief. Those eyes take me in slowly, raking over my entire body from the careful way I did my hair, to the makeup applied to my face, to the fabric wrapped around my body, hugging all of the right curves, and down to my shoes that make my legs look longer.
“Fletcher?” I ask, trying and failing to hide a smile.
His head finally stops shaking as he steps up to me, one of his hands wrapping around the small of my waist before trailing to my lower back and pulling me into him.
“Forgive me,” he whispers, kissing me lightly before those lips move from my jaw to my throat and nipping over my pulse.
“For what?”
“For having to miss our date.”
I blink, instant disappointment filling my stomach as I place a hand on his chest to push him away gently. “Is everything okay? Is it Dominic? Is everything—”
“Baby.” He all but growls the word as his eyes flash with lust. “There’s no way we’ll be leaving this house after I’ve seen you like this.”
My eyes widen.
He kisses me again, his lips crashing into mine, nipping, sucking, his tongue bending and twisting with mine in a raw hunger before he pulls back and says, “But don’t worry. I’m about to make it up to you. We’ll just make a reservation another night. Because the second I take this dress off you, you won’t be putting anything else on until tomorrow.”
And before I know it, his hands are gripping the back of my thighs, hauling me up until my legs are wrapped around his hips. With my dress hiked up exposing my lace thong, he moves us upstairs to my bedroom.
All I can manage to say between the hungry way he devours my mouth is, “I forgive you.”