Page 36 of Soft Rebound (Mad City Moments #2)
“Okay, that’s enough excitement for today,” Trey says as he moves to the kitchen area. “What’s there to eat?”
****
A ll afternoon, we munch on frozen pizza, frozen burritos, and frozen chicken nuggets, and we drink beer, and margaritas, and more beer.
By the time night falls, we are all pretty wasted.
Bobby and Trey are too drunk to drive, so they just decide to sleep over in Liz’s guest room, where Bobby already keeps a lot of his stuff.
They offer to help clean up but we’re all in pretty bad shape, so we decide we’ll just put the leftovers in the fridge and turn in.
“Shit,” I say. “I should’ve brought a toothbrush when I went back for a change of clothes.”
“No worries, I got you,” she says and produces a brand new toothbrush. She’s a little wobbly on her feet, pink-cheeked and adorable, and I want to eat her up.
“You know, it’s funny, I’ve never had a guy over at my place before,” she says.
“What do you mean?”
“Never lived alone. Lived with parents, then with Jake. Never on my own. Never had a proper sleepover at my own place.”
I smile. “I am honored to be the first.”
She leans toward me and puts her palms on my chest. “You’re very nice to snuggle with,” she says. “Are we gonna fuck now?”
“We’re both pretty wasted...”
“Do you not wanna?”
“I do wanna. Just not sure, you know. Consent and all.”
She wraps her arms around my neck. “I enthusiastically consent,” she says. “But I want it slow and soft. The slowest. The softest. You know?”
I cup her cheek. “I know. We can fuck the slowest and softest that anyone’s ever fucked in the history of fucking.”
She grins and looks so happy, my chest feels like it will burst. “I’m so glad your ex-brother-in-law stood you up that day,” she says. “You’re my favorite guy.”
To that I say nothing, just kiss her all over—face, neck, shoulders, breasts—and take off her clothing, piece by piece, as her breaths deepen.
When we’re in bed, I fuck her as I promised, slow and soft and long, very long, it’s more cuddling than sex as I rock into and out of her shallowly, gently, and we’re tender and quiet, kissing and breathing into each other’s mouths, and it feels like it could go on forever, this gentle rocking, this near fucking, and there’s a term that describes what we’re doing, I know what it is, but it’s a frightening term, one I’ve only ever used with Kim years ago, and the fact that this feels so much like that , that it feels exactly like it, connected, immersed, intimate, makes my chest constrict and the back of my neck get all sweaty, and I try to push it aside, this bloodcurdling fear that I’ll be exposed again, vulnerable again, discarded again, but the thoughts still invade my mind, my drunken, lost, overwhelmed mind, already in way too deep with this woman, this new-to-me woman whom I probably shouldn’t trust yet, not with my heart, not with how she can hurt me, and I want to dispel these thoughts, to shake them off, so I start thrusting a little faster, a little harder, and Liz’s moans deepen, thighs moving up on my hips, nails digging into my flesh.
“This working for you?” I ask quietly, nose buried in her neck, her hair sticking to her face, to my face, sweat slicking our bodies. “Or do you want it back to slow and gentle?”
“This is perfect,” she says, rubbing the back of my neck. “So perfect.”
****
T he morning after is a blur of chaos and high emotion.
Trey leaves early to go change because he needs to meet his sister and mother for their weekly brunch. Usually Bobby would leave with him, at least that’s what Liz tells me.
But now it feels like Bobby and Trey need space from each other.
Bobby looks like he hasn’t slept a wink. I make some jokes about how the bed in the guest room sucks, but we all know it’s the fact that Bobby’s world is falling apart rather than the quality of the guest-room mattress that has him looking like death warmed over.
I ask Liz if she wants me to leave, to give her and Bobby some space. She grips me with so much desperation that I realize she seems to need me almost as much as Bobby needs her.
So I stay.
There is pacing and phone calls and yelling, and Liz crying and Bobby knocking over some books and magazines from the nightstand.
By lunchtime, I’m exhausted, Liz is exhausted, and Bobby’s exhausted.
Bobby doesn’t have a job anymore.
At least Mickey volunteers to collect Bobby’s things and drive them over.
Bobby looks absolutely crushed.
Where the hell is Trey? Why isn’t he here?
Since it’s Sunday, I recommend we all go bowling. Or to shoot some pool.
Bobby perks up because he apparently kills at both. Liz beams at me with gratitude.
“Thank you for being here today,” Liz whispers as we leave the bowling alley. Even despondent, Bobby easily crushed us. “It means the world.”
We’ve spent the whole day together and I find myself not wanting to go home after dinner. But I have to, because tomorrow is a workday and I have to get ready, and so does she.
“Is he gonna be okay?” I ask about Bobby, who’s gotten sullen again.
“I think so,” she says. “Mickey will drive his stuff over tomorrow night. It’ll be okay.”
“When can I see you again?” I ask. “Other than at work.”
“Whenever you want,” she says. “But Bobby needs me now.”
I stroke her hair and kiss her softly before I leave. “I understand. And I’m happy to hang out with both you and your brother.”
****
“W hat the hell is going on with you? Why did you disappear?” I ask Trey on Monday at work.
Trey motions me into his office.
“Did you just dump Bobby, now that he’s finally out?” I continue. We both sit in the armchairs in his office. Trey’s office is very nice looking. Way nicer than mine.
He sighs. “Look, I know where he is right now,” he says. “It’s something he has to do on his own, and I’m not sure I should be there with him.”
“Are you serious? Why? He’s been hanging out with you every weekend for months.”
“Look, he’s out now. That’s a big deal. He needs to figure out what that means for him. I’ve been through that, and I know what I want. I ... I don’t want to be an obstacle on someone’s journey.”
“I don’t understand you,” I say. “I really don’t.”
“That’s okay,” Trey says. “You don’t have to. And Bobby will thank me, too. Eventually.”
“I don’t know, Trey,” I shrug. “I don’t think everyone wants to play the field. Some people just want to find someone to settle with. I’m pretty sure Bobby’s like that.”
“Maybe,” Trey says. “But in many ways he’s basically a teen now. He’s only now starting to fully live. I am happy to be there to support him, but I can’t be a romantic anchor.”
“His parents have already broken his heart. I wish you wouldn’t.”
Trey leans toward me and pats me on the shoulder. “I don’t think he’s in love with me. We had a great time together, but it’s better this way.”
“All right. I hope you know what you’re doing,” I say.
“I hope so, too,” says Trey, and for the first time, his voice wobbles, and I wonder if he’s trying really hard not to show how scared he is.
“You know, you two looked really happy,” I say. “Genuinely in love. I don’t think this was nothing.”
Trey looks at me, then to the side. He presses his fist to his mouth.
“You can still change your mind, you know,” I say. “You can still go and hug him and tell him everything will be okay.”
Trey remains still. Like I’m not there at all, let alone talking.
Perhaps if I continue, he will eventually hear me. “He’s not going to just dump you because he’s finally wild and free. He’s not like that.”
“You don’t know how he is,” Trey raises his voice as he finally turns to look at me. “I know him! I’ve spent months with him. I know what I can and cannot expect of him!”
“So you admit it,” I say. “You’re scared.”
Trey doesn’t say anything, just blinks and holds my gaze.
“Dude.” I go to him and slap him on the shoulder. “Don’t be a coward. He needs you. I know he does.”
Trey looks down at his wringing hands, and I leave him to his thoughts.
****
I n the afternoon, I get a text from Liz.
Liz: Did you talk to Trey today?
Joe: Yeah, why?
Liz: Bobby says Trey called to talk
They’re going out
So maybe we could, too
Joe: I’d love that
By the way, do you have 5 min now
I wanna see you
Just for a bit
Liz: Yes
Not sure what you have in mind but remember I don’t have an actual office
Joe: Come to mine
I need to put my hands on you
Liz: God that sounds amazing
But I can’t get back to work all debauched
Joe: You’re right
Damn professionalism
But what I want is to bury my nose in your neck and squeeze your ass until it bruises
Liz: blushing face with wide eyes emoji
You and I are not going anywhere tonight
Except to my place right after work
****
I end up railing Liz over the armrest on her sofa and leaving those bruises I wanted. She ends up having to throw away her stockings.
We sit half-dressed, eating popcorn and watching an episode of a random comedy show Liz likes. Bobby returns around 9:00 and sits with us, ribbing us gently for our state of undress. Then he asks what’s for dinner, which reminds us that none of us have actually eaten.
I offer to make everyone some sandwiches. Liz melts a little and burrows into the sofa.
I’ve not had a better evening in a long time.
And it’s not lost on me that Bobby seems calmer, much more like himself.
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