Until Trevor

Chapter 10



Liz

I look up as I see the door to the shop open. November walks in carrying July. “Hey, how’s it going?” I ask, putting out our new shipment of handbags.

“Good! I just got back from my dad’s. He had to get his July fix,” November says, walking back behind the cash register to sit on the stool.

“Is he still telling you that you can move home?” I ask, laughing. Mike doesn’t like to give up his time with his granddaughter, so lately, he has been telling November that she should move home so he can have full time access to her.

“No, he stopped saying that after Asher heard him and thought he was serious,” she smiles. “You should have seen the look on his face.”

“No way,” I shake my head. “Asher happy is slightly scary. Asher mad? No thanks.”

“Oh, he’s not that bad,” she says, kissing July all over her cute chubby face.

“So says the girl who’s married to him,” I laugh. The chime above the door goes off again. This time, Jen’s friend Britney walks in, with Cash’s baby-momma Jules. November and I share a look; both of us have been lectured about being nice. I don’t know Jules at all, but if she’s hanging out with Jen or Jen’s friends, I'm not sure that I want to know her. “Hi, can I help you guys?” I ask them, stepping towards the front of the store.

“Do you have baby stuff?” Jules asks, rubbing her stomach.

“We have a few things, but not many. They’re in that section,” I say, pointing towards the back of the store.

“Thanks,” Britney says. Jules walks off, leaving Britney standing in front of me, twirling her hair.

“Do you need something else?”

“You know she’s pregnant with Cash’s baby, so does she get, like, a discount or something?” Britney asks, making me want to punch her in her boob.

“Nope, sorry we don’t have any discounts here,” I tell her, walking to where November is sitting, trying to kill Britney with her eyes.

“Oh, well, okay then,” she shrugs, walking off. I do everything in my power not to roll my eyes at how big of a cliché she is, with her big boobs popping out of her top, and her even bigger bleached-out blonde hair that’s in desperate need of a deep conditioner.

November shakes her head looking over at Jules, who is holding up a pair of tiny blue socks. “So, how’s the wedding planning coming along?” she asks, and it’s my turn to shake my head.

“Between Trevor’s mom and mine, I haven’t done anything. The other day, they told me that my wedding colors were going to be lavender, mint green, and silver; they also informed me that we would be getting married under the weeping willow where Trevor proposed.” November laughs, making baby July smile at her. “You think that’s funny?” I ask, tickling her side. She squirms, holding out her arms for me to take her. “How is it that you get cuter every day?” I ask her, kissing her cheek. Her outfit today is a hot pink top, a frilly multi-colored skirt, tights, and white socks that look like ballet flats. She gurgles, shoving her face into my neck, rubbing back and forth the way babies do when they’re sleepy.

“It’s almost time for a nap,” November says, smiling and watching us. It’s times like this, when I'm holding July, that I can forget for a second that the thought of having a child makes me panic. “So how’s it working out with Kara?”

“It’s been awesome having her around. I really like her.”

“You guys should come to the house and visit.”


“Sure, let me know when,” I say. I look down, noticing that July has gone still; her eyes are closed, and her chubby little cheek is pressed into my shoulder, making her tiny mouth form a small pout. “That didn’t take long.” I smile, carefully handing her back over to November.

“She likes her Aunty Liz,” she says, putting July over her shoulder and covering her with a thin blanket. “So, what are your plans for the night?”

“I'm not sure. I know Trevor is working; I was thinking of going out to dinner with Kara. I feel bad that she’s all alone.”

“Well, Asher should be home kind of early. What do you say we all meet at the Italian place on Main around six?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Alright. Well, see you then,” she says, standing up and grabbing her bag. I walk her to the door, holding it open for her.

“See you at six,” I say, closing the door behind her.

“I can’t wait to see what Cash’s baby looks like,” Jules says, walking to the front of the store. I forgot that she and Britney were still here.

“Well, if he’s a Mayson, I'm sure he will be cute,” I say, not even thinking that my words could be misinterpreted.

“I'm carrying Cash’s baby,” Jules growls, leaning forward.

‘I didn’t mean it like that.” I say softly, feeling bad.

“Whatever. Let’s go, Brit,” Jules says, dropping the few items she had in her hand to the floor, before walking out the door.

“Shit.” I sigh, pick up the stuff she dropped, and walk to the front of the store. My phone beeps a few minutes later. When I look at it, it’s a text from Trevor.

Trevor: Jules called Cash bitching him out about you saying the kid wasn’t his.

Me: It wasn’t even like that.

I text back, shaking my head at the stupidity of the whole situation.

Trevor: Why would you say something like that to her?

Me: I'm not even going to justify that stupid question with a response.

I type so fast that my fingers hurt.

Tossing my phone down on the counter, I walk to the back of the store to take stock.

“Anyone here?” I hear a deep male voice call from the front of the store.

“Be out in a second,” I yell, breaking down the last box, before putting it in the pile with the rest. “Hi, can I help you?” I look up when I walk into the main part of the store; the man in front of me takes me off guard he’s so stunning. I don’t even know if a guy should be called stunning, but he is. His skin is the color of dark caramel; you can tell that his heritage is most likely Hawaiian. His long black hair is pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck, showing off the features of his sculptured face. His high cheekbones, square jaw, dark lashes and amber eyes would take any woman’s breath away.

“Liz Hayes?” His deep voice rumbles; he’s dressed in a dark grey suit, with a silk, wine-colored shirt that’s unbuttoned at the neck.

“Yes,” I say, swallowing hard. His energy is so scary, that I dig my fingernails into my palms to avoid running.

“I'm Kai.” He sticks out his hand. I look down at it, noticing how giant it is, and quickly put my hand out. His engulfs mine.

I clear my throat, taking my hand back. “Nice to meet you, Kai,” I say, his mouth twitches, then he schools his features.

“I'm looking for your brother. Do you know how I can get ahold of him?” I shake my head no.

“You’re either very loyal, or very stupid.” He shakes his head. “Do you understand that when the truth comes out about your brother, there will be no help for him? He’s as good as dead.”

“The police—”

“Won’t be able to do anything for him.” He interrupts sternly. He walks around the store, his hands clasped behind him; his posture is relaxed, but his energy is still beating against me, making me feel immobile. When he makes it back to me, his hand goes to the inside of his suit jacket, making me flinch. “You watch too much television, Ms. Hayes.” He laughs, making me glare. “I want you to give your brother my number. I have a proposition for him.”

I take the card from him, holding it tightly in my hand. “Okay,” I say, as he walks to the door, opening it. Before it closes behind him, he turns his eyes on mine.

“You need to have another employee with you in the store if you’re going to be in the back, Ms. Hayes,” he says, sounding just like Trevor, making me roll my eyes. When I know he’s gone, I run to the door and lock it.

I pick up my phone to call Tim, who answers on the third ring.

“Is Kara okay?”

“Kara is fine, but a guy stopped by my store wanting to get in touch with you.”

“Are you okay?” he asks, sounding nervous.

“I'm fine, Tim, I just…I think that you should call him.”

“Liz-“

He starts to say something but I cut him off I don’t know why but I think that Kai might have a way of protecting Tim. “His name was Kai and he said that when the truth comes out about what you’re doing not even the police will be able to protect you. He said he has a proposition for you.”

I hear his sharp inhale “What’s his number?” I ramble off the numbers to him listening to him scratching them down. “I’ll call him sis, just promise me that you will look out for Kara.”

“I promise, just be careful Tim. I know I don’t really know what’s going on but you have people here that love you and need you to be safe.”

“Don’t worry about me just take care of yourself and Kara,” he says, hanging up, leaving me looking at the phone in my hand, hoping that whoever Kai is that he can help Tim out. As soon as I'm off the phone with Tim, it beeps with a message.

Trevor: Don’t ever do that again.

The message leaves me speechless, and my gut clenches in anger. Part of me wants to text him back a big F-U; instead, I turn my phone off, do a last walk through of the store, and head to Mike’s to pick up Kara so that we can head out to meet November for dinner.



*~*~*



“Where the f*ck is your phone?” I hear growled from behind me. I look around the table at Kara’s pale face, November’s smirk, and Asher’s smile. Kara and I got to the restaurant early and got a table. November and Asher showed up fifteen minutes later with a sleeping July. We all ordered dinner, and I ordered wine. After the day I had, I need something to help calm my nerves. I didn’t want to tell Kara about my visitor; she was already stressed enough without dealing with anything else. When Asher first arrived, he looked at me from across the table like he was disappointed in me. That’s when I lost it and told them about what happened with Jules. I told them what I had said exactly, and that I didn’t like that the people I have come to care for thought that I was a bitch, when my words were taken wrongly, and I had apologized for being misunderstood.

I turn my head and look over my shoulder at Trevor, who is standing behind me with his arms crossed. He has another thing coming if he thinks that I’m going to be intimidated by him. “Oh, hey, honey. How are you?” I ask, turning my body to the side in my chair.

“How am I?”

“Yeah, you know, the normal greeting when you see someone that you haven’t seen for any length of time.”

“I see. Well, let me tell you how I am,” he says, taking a step towards me, holding his fingers out in front of him. “First, I was stuck in Nashville with a flat tire. I tried to call my doting fiancée to let her know what was going on, and not to worry about me.” I feel slightly bad about him being stuck but not that bad after what he messaged me so I shrug motioning my hands for him to continue on his tirade. “Second.” He growls leaning forward. “I get a call from my fiancée’s brother telling me about some new shit that my doting fiancée didn’t even bother to call and tell me about; and again, when I tried to call and make sure she was okay, I got sent to voicemail.” He takes another step towards me, his body inches from mine; he leans down, getting in my space. “Last, but not least, I go home and find that my sweet fiancée isn’t there, and hasn’t left a note, making me worry and wonder if she’s safe. Then, my brother calls to ask me if I'm going to be having dinner with him and my beautiful, frustrating, infuriating fiancée,” he growls, his eyes narrowing.

“Well, if my handsome jerk of a fiancée would have acted like he knew me at all, and would not have accused me of doing something I didn’t do, then had the nerve to tell me to never do it again, maybe I wouldn’t have turned my phone off,” I growl right back at him.

His jaw clenches, his eyes looking around the table before coming back to mine. “I’ve been worried about you.” He says softly, making my anger dwindle.

“I…I want to be so mad right now,” I say, wondering what the hell is wrong with me that I can’t even be pissed at him for any length of time.

“You want to, but you’re not.” He smirks, making me want to kick him.

“Don’t push your luck, Earl.”

He pulls me up out of my seat, wrapping his arms around me, his face going into my neck where he whispers, “You’re getting spanked for that.” I bite my lip to keep from moaning; his head comes up, his eyes looking over my face. “I love you, but don’t make me worry about you when it’s not necessary. Even if you’re pissed and you just answer your phone to tell me to f*ck off, that’s better than not hearing anything from you and wondering if you’re okay.”

“Fine.” I roll my eyes, pushing at his chest, not ready to be over my snit.

“Are you done eating?”

“Yeah, we just finished.”

“You dropping Kara home?”

“Yeah, I drove her here.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you at the house.”

“Fine,” I grumble, he kisses my forehead, then tilts my face back to kiss my lips. Then, he lets me go, walking around the table, patting Asher’s back, kissing November’s cheek, and giving Kara a hug.

“See you at home, baby,” he says, before walking out the door of the restaurant.

“So, he’s a quick learner,” Asher says, smiling. November elbows him in the ribs, rolling her eyes, making me laugh.

“We should get home,” November says, standing. Looking at Kara, she asks, “You want us to give you a ride? You’re on our way.”

“Sure,” she shrugs, looking at me.

“That’s fine. I’ll just see you tomorrow at the store.”

We all pull out of the restaurant at the same time, with me heading in the opposite direction of them. When I pull into the driveway, Trevor is just opening his truck door. I watch him climb down with a case of beer in his hand. He sets it on the tail of his truck and walks to my car, where he opens my door, leans in, and unbuckles me.

“You got here quick,” he says, pulling me up into his arms, slamming my car door.

“Kara rode with Asher and November.”

“Good,” he says against my mouth, before biting my bottom lip. His hand tugs my hair to the side, his mouth opening over the skin of my neck. I love when he takes control of me. I moan, and his teeth scrape against me, traveling up to my ear and biting down. He picks me up, and then stops at his truck, grabbing the beer. I'm trying to get his clothes off as he’s walking. I have his plaid shirt unbuttoned, so I bend forward, licking his chest.

“Jesus,” he says, as I rub myself against him as he’s trying to get the door unlocked. When the door opens, there is a loud thud, and then both his hands are on my ass. His mouth crashes into mine; one of my hands goes to his hair, the other to his belt. His mouth leaves mine, traveling down my chin and neck, then pauses at my chest, where he bites my nipple through my shirt and bra, making me moan. My hands leave him, going to my shirt, pulling it up and over my head, then to the front of my bra to unsnap it. He pins me to the wall, holding me up with his hips, before he grabs both my breasts, licking one nipple then the other. His mouth comes back to mine, his hands going to my ass and thighs, his fingers digging into my denim-covered skin as he walks us towards the bedroom.

“I need you,” I say, biting his earlobe, then licking his neck. He runs us into the wall, his mouth crashing back into mine. We’re both breathing heavily when he starts to undo my jeans.

“You’re only allowed to wear dresses from now on,” he grumbles, making me smile right before he bites my neck, then lowers his head to lick over my nipple again, making my head thud against the wall. I finally get his shirt off and drop it to the floor as I bite down onto his collarbone. He starts moving again, my nails digging into his back as he rubs his fingers along the seam of my jeans. I can feel the wetness pooling between my thighs. “I need to taste you. I’ve been thinking about it all day,” he says, making my body shiver and become even wetter.

“Please,” I whimper; just thinking about him doing that makes me crazy. I bite down on his neck, grinding against him. All of sudden, all movement stops. I think I might have bitten him too hard until I feel him start to tremble.

“What the f*ck?” he yells, holding me tighter against him. I lift my head looking in his eyes, seeing that he’s actually trembling in fury, and look over my shoulder to see Jen tied to our bed.

“Holy shit,” I whisper, looking at Jen, who is tied spread-eagle to the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of small lace panties.

“What the f*ck are you doing here?” Trevor growls, walking us to the dresser, still holding on to me tightly, my chest pressed against his. He pulls out a shirt from his drawer before he turns around, putting me on my feet, pulling the shirt over my head. “Are you okay?” His hands come to my face, pulling my eyes to his. When I see the worried look on his face, I take a step back. My stomach drops when he reaches out for me desperately, but I take another step back, then another, until I reach the bedroom door, motioning for him to step out. He looks at the bed, then me; my blood that was simmering before, starts to boil. I was going to kill this crazy bitch. I look in her direction to see her watching us, not saying anything. I don’t want to look at her again until Trevor is out of the room. He walks towards me, his head low. He tries to touch me, but I shake my head; my whole body is buzzing with anger. When he finally steps out the door, I close and lock it behind him. I turn around to see Jen watching me; her mouth is moving, but she’s not saying anything. I walk towards her. Her eyes following me, getting wider the closer I get.

“So you thought that you would come here, tie yourself up, and when Trevor got home, he would see you in bed and screw your brains out?” I ask, looking at the knots on her ankles, realizing that someone else must have tied her up, because her hands are tied the same way, and just as tight.

“What are you doing here?” she whispers, looking at the door. I think she’s in shock or something; this girl never stops running her mouth and now she can’t even form a few words.

“Don’t act like you don’t know that I live here.”

“You weren’t supposed to be here.” The anger in her voice makes my eyebrows go up.

“I wasn’t supposed to come home to my own house?”

“He doesn’t even want you!” she yells, her body thrashing around on the bed.

“You do know that we’re getting married, right?” I cross my arms over my chest, looking down at her.

“He will come back to me.”

“Wow,” “You are completely insane!”

“How do you think I got tied up?” She stops moving and smirks; I can’t help but to laugh at how stupid she is. Then I think about it; if I would have dropped Kara home and come in later, her plan might have worked. And that thought pisses me off even more.

“For someone who has so many stalker tendencies, you don’t know much,” I say, looking around the room, noticing her bag on the dresser.

“I'm not a st–stalker,” she sputters out, looking around, pulling on her wrist and trying to get free.

“Really, are you sure? Because I'm almost positive that this is the kind of thing a stalker does.” I open her purse, find her phone, and go to her text messages. Finding exactly what I'm looking for, I press call.

“What are you doing with my phone?” she yells. I take the blanket from the end of the bed and toss it over her, with a self-reminder to burn all the bedding when she leaves.

“Hi, Mr. Carlson. Jen is here at Trevor’s and is going to need you to come pick her up. Oh, and if she comes back again, I will be pressing charges for breaking and entering.”

“You f*cking bitch! What the f*ck is wrong with you? Are you crazy?” she screams, thrashing harder than before. I knew she wouldn’t like that; she’s a daddy’s girl all the way. Plus, her daddy pays for her school, and whatever else she needs, so his anger affects her bank account.

“I'm going to say this one last time, Jen. Trevor is mine, and if you insist on doing things like this, I will insist on making your life a living hell.”

“I'm going to tell everyone in town to stop coming to your store so that you’re forced out of business!” she yells.

“You can do that, and I'm sure some of your minions will listen; but that won’t change the fact that Trevor is mine.”

“He will be back. They all come back, eventually,” she says, making my anger skyrocket. I look around, seeing the scissors that I used this morning to cut a tag off a shirt laying on the dresser.

“What do you think about girls with bangs?” I ask, looking her over.

“What?”

“You know, bangs,” I say, making a slashing motion with my finger across my forehead.

“No one wears bangs,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“You have always been a trendsetter, right, Jen?”

“Are you out of your mind? You want to talk about hair and clothes? F*cking untie me!” she screeches. I pick the scissors up off the table, and walk to the bed. Jen’s eyes go wide, looking at me then the scissors in my hand. “Look, I'm sorry, okay? Please don’t kill me.” I can’t help the evil smile that slides into place; her eyes get huge, and I lift the scissors close to her, speaking very quietly.

“You’re going to want to be very still, Jen. You don’t want me to give you crooked bangs or to cut you, right?” I ask, gathering a large chunk of hair from the front of her head.

“Don’t you dare,” she growls, but doesn’t move.

“Be still,” I repeat in a sugary sweet voice, before I open the scissors over the large wad of hair, and begin to cut; the noise that the scissors make is music to my ears. When I'm done, she has bangs that are so short, that ninety percent of her forehead shows. “Wow, I never noticed how big your forehead is. Too bad you don’t like bangs; they could help to cover that shit up,” I tell her, shaking my head. “I'm sure your dad will be here soon; I better go,” I say, dropping her hair in the trashcan by the bed, taking the scissors with me.

“I'm going to f*cking kill you.”

I shrug and walk out of the room closing the door behind me. Trevor is standing against the wall his head back, looking at the ceiling. Jen starts yelling from the other side of the door to untie her, so I yell back that her dad can do it when he gets here, causing her to start screaming at the top of her lungs. I have one last wicked idea.

I walk over to my purse where I had dropped it by the door when Trevor had carried me inside. I grab my phone, walk back into the bedroom, snap a few pictures of Jen, and grin when she thrashes around on the bed so hard, I think her wrists might snap. “There,” I say. “You’re always taking selfies when I see you and your posse in my store and at the bar. These will be a nice addition to your collection you no doubt have on Facebook. Don’t worry; I’ll tag ya.”

“Oh my God! Don’t you dare, Liz!” she hisses.

“Then if I were you, I would think twice about what you do after your dad comes to get you,” I taunt. That shuts her up.

When I walk back out of the bedroom, Trevor’s eyes come to mine. “I'm sorry, baby,” he whispers, pulling me into him. My arms go around his waist; we stay like that for a little while, just holding each other, then I look around, realizing that Lolly is missing.

“Where’s Lolly?’ I ask, running down the hall, yelling for her. She’s not anywhere in the house. I run back to our room, throwing the door open, causing it to slam into the wall. “Where is my dog?” I yell, moving towards the bed, ready to kill this bitch. She must see how serious I am because she answers right away.

“Th…the shed out back.” It takes everything in me not to smack her in the face, or suffocate her with a pillow.

“I got her, baby,” Trevor yells from the living room. I run and skid to a halt, seeing Lolly stumbling around.

“What’s wrong with her?” I get down on my knees; when she sees me, she stumbles in my direction, and then flops down in front of me. Laying my ear against her chest, I listen to her heart and make sure that she is breathing okay.

“Bitch, I'm calling the f*cking cops!” I hear Trevor yell, and then Jen apologizing over and over again.

I can’t believe she did this! She broke in, drugged our dog, and then put her in the shed so that her friend could tie her to our bed. Trevor comes back into the living room with the phone to his ear, his eyes on me. He looks like he could kill someone. “Dad, I need you to come to my house, and bring someone with you. Jen broke in, drugged Lolly, and is tied to my bed.” His hand goes to his hair. With his chest heaving every time he looks at me, he seems to get angrier. “F*ck no! She did this shit herself, thinking that I would want her f*cking ass,” he roars into his phone, making Lolly jump. He pulls the phone away from his ear, shoving it in his back pocket. I stand and walk towards him, wrapping myself around him. I hate that he’s feeling like this.

“Are you okay?”

“F*ck no,” he says, holding me tighter.

“Well, this has got to be the most interesting day that I have ever had,” I say, right before the doorbell starts going off. “That’s probably her dad.” I unwind myself from Trevor, but he stops me from going to the door with a hand in the back of my shirt.

“I’ll get it. You stay with Lolly.”

“Sure.”

He bends, kissing my forehead, then heads to the front door, while I go back to Lolly, who is still laying down next to one of the chairs in the living room. “You’ll be okay, girl.” When Trevor walks back into the living room, Jen’s dad is close behind him; his face is bright red, and he looks ready for murder.

“Ms. Hayes, I am very sorry that this happened. Please accept my deepest apologies, and know that something like this will never happen again.”

“All due respect, John, I'm pressing charges against Jen for what she did. Not only did she break into my house, but she drugged my dog, then had someone tie her to my and my fiancée’s bed,” Trevor says, his fists clenched at his sides.

“I understand,” Jen’s dad says, before turning at the sound of someone walking into the house.

“John.”

“James.” The two men greet each other.

“Where is she? I would like to speak with her,” Jen’s dad says. It’s plain to see that he’s holding absolute fury in check.

“She’s down the hall, the last door on the right. She only has a blanket covering her, sir,” I tell him. He looks taken aback, and then shakes his head, walking down the hall to his daughter.

“You all right, son?” James asks, looking at Trevor, whose jaw is so tight that I'm surprised it doesn’t break.

“Yeah, but I still want to press charges.”

“Alright, why don’t you and I go outside and talk for a few minutes, and you can tell me what exactly happened.”

“Sure. Just give me a minute with Liz and I’ll meet you out there.”

James nods before he comes to me, squatting down. “Hey, darlin’. You alright?” He asks softly, and I nod, thinking that I'm a big fat liar. “Sure you are.” He smiles, pulling me forward to kiss my forehead, then stands, walking out the door.

“You okay, baby?” Trevor asks, squatting the same way his dad had.

“Yeah, I'm just ready for this day to be over with,” I say, laying my head against Lolly’s side. Trevor’s hand runs over my cheek and back through my hair.

“Everyone will be gone soon.”

“Alright,” I whisper, trying not to think about what would have happened if I had walked in while Trevor was here alone with Jen. I would like to say that I am so secure in our relationship that I wouldn’t have assumed the worst; but the truth is, I, like a lot of women, would have jumped to conclusions, never thinking that this was some kind of sick setup.

“I'm going to be right outside talking to Dad.” He bends, kissing my cheek.

Ten minutes later, Trevor and his dad come back inside. Lolly is finally up and about, but still stumbling into things when she tries to walk.

“Are they still in the room?” James asks, looking down the hall.

“Yeah.” Just then, Jen comes down the hall, tears streaming down her face, her new bangs showing off her large forehead that she tries to cover with her hand. I bite my lip to keep from laughing at how bad she looks. Trevor, who is standing next to his dad, looks up when he hears her; his eyes go wide, then come to me. The look on his face makes me pull Lolly close and shove my face into her fur to muffle the sound of my laughter.

“Sheriff,” Jen’s dad says. I raise my head slightly so that I can see their interaction.

“Mr. Carlson, why don’t we talk outside?” James says, holding his hand out in front of him for Jen and her father to precede him. Jen hasn’t looked up; her dad places his hand against her lower back, leading her out of the house. When I hear the sound of the door closing, I can feel Trevor staring at me. I don’t look up; I just sit there and continue to pet Lolly.

“I didn’t know you wanted to be a hair dresser.”

“I didn’t.” I finally look up to see Trevor watching me closely. “Um…I may have gotten a wee bit angry.”

“Well, remind me when I piss you off to never leave any sharp objects laying around.”

“Don’t piss me off.” I shrug. He takes a step towards me, where I’m sitting on the floor, bending low so his mouth is next to my ear.

“You love my dick, baby. Maybe even more than I do. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about the stunt you pulled today.”

“I already told you; I never said anything to Jules,” I growl, pissed off.

“I know you didn’t, and I was wrong to jump to conclusions. But you still turned off your phone, making it so I couldn’t get in touch with you; then you didn’t tell me about the visitor you had at the store.”

“Oh.”

“Oh.” He smirks. “What do you think your punishment should be?”

“You’re not punishing me.” My eyes narrow; his eyes drop to my mouth. He leans in, giving me a quick kiss.

“We’ll see,” he shrugs, standing back up.

“I’m serious, Trevor; you’re not punishing me,” I say, beginning to panic.

“When you get it, you won’t be thinking of it as a punishment.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“You guys okay?” James asks, walking in. My face turns bright red, wondering how much he might have heard.

“We’re good, Dad. Just making plans,” Trevor says, looking down and winking at me. My mouth drops open. I have never seen him wink, and he has a good one, unlike mine. Once, when I tried to wink at someone, they thought I had something in my eye and offered me Visine. If that’s not an ego-crusher, I don’t know what is.

“Mr. Carlson and Jen just left,” James says, walking into the kitchen, pulling out a note pad. Trevor holds out his hand, helping me up off the floor. He pulls me flush against him.

“I love you, baby.”

“Always?” I ask, standing on my tiptoes.

“Always.” Kissing my lips, then my forehead, he turns me around, scooting me towards the kitchen.

“So, you’re going to need to sign a few things and decide if you want to apply for a restraining order.”

“Do you think that will be necessary?” I ask, worrying my bottom lip.

“I never thought you would need to press charges against Jen Carlson; so the question you need to ask yourself is: can you trust Jen to leave you alone?”

“I don’t know,” I say quietly. This is just one more thing that I did not want to deal with right now. Trevor rubs circles along my back, his touch helping to calm me. “What do you think?” I ask, looking over my shoulder at Trevor.

“I want you safe. I know that a piece of paper is not going to stop her if she tries to do something stupid; but if we do this, she may back off.”

“She didn’t attack me. She was here trying to get you back; she just went about it in a really stupid way. How did she even get inside?” I ask.

“She claims to have a key.” James says looking at Trevor.

“You gave her a key?” I ask looking at Trevor as well.

“F*ck no.” He growls his jaw ticking. “And I don’t know how she got in. All I know is she broke into our home and drugged our dog. I would say that both those things point to her being unstable wouldn’t you?”

“Yes.” I sigh, ready for this day to be over.

“So it’s settled; we’re getting a restraining order, and if we don’t need it, good.”

“I think that would be the smart thing to do,” James says, looking between Trevor and me. “So, Susan says the wedding is planned for two weeks from now.”

“What?” I’m shocked. I have no idea what he’s talking about.

“Mom called today, baby. Well, actually, it was a conference call between both of our moms. They tried to get ahold of you, with no luck, so they called me. The pastor that married your mom and dad is only available that weekend; after that, he flies back to Nicaragua, where he’s helping to build a community center and won’t be available for a few more months. So I told them to go ahead and book him.”

“You told them to go ahead? You do know that I haven’t even gotten my dress, right? Our moms have completely trampled me.”

“You can find a dress. I don’t care if you show up in jeans; I am not waiting any longer for you to be my wife.”

“Why do we need to rush this? We already live together.”

“We’re living in sin.”

“We’re living in sin?” I repeat, shaking my head. Then I look over at James, and when I see his giant smile, I want to scream.

“You better find your dress, baby, because even if I have to carry you down the aisle over my shoulder in two weeks, you are going to be Elizabeth Star Mayson.”

“This is crazy, you’re crazy, and our moms are crazy,” I ramble. “I have no idea what I'm going to do.”

“Calm down; it’s going to be okay.” I look up at Trevor, who now looks worried. Good. He should be worried. “They said everything was taken care of; all you have to do was show up.”

“Do you know that little girls start planning their weddings from the time they’re young and get their first Barbie doll? They dream of what it’s going to look like, the colors they will choose, the style of their dress…” I trail off, shaking my head.

“You did that?” He asks incredulously, looking down at me with wonder.

“No.” I shake my head at him. “But if I had, it wouldn’t matter, because they have taken over everything. I thought, At least I get to pick out my dress, but it sounds like they have taken over that as well.” I watch as Trevor and his dad start laughing. “What the hell is so funny?” I yell, as the guys laugh. Lolly comes into the kitchen; she’s no longer stumbling around. I breathe a sigh of relief that she’s going to be okay.

“Nothing, baby. If you want to pick your dress, you pick your dress.”

“They already did,” I pout, making Trevor shake his head and look at his dad.

“I will tell them that you’re getting your own dress.”

“Fine,” I harrumph, and cross my arms over my chest like a bratty five-year-old.

“But you need to have it in two weeks. I don’t know how much time it takes to pick a dress, but you better get started.”

“Fine,” I say, and Trevor smiles at his dad.

“Do you need anything else, Dad?” he asks, then looks back down at me and suddenly, I don’t want James to leave.

“No, son. I go—”

“No! Don’t you need me to, like, tell you what happened?” I cut him off.

“Trevor already told me, honey.”

“But he told you what he saw. What about what I saw?”

“Like Jen’s bangs?” James asks, smirking.

“Ugh…I…um…well, you know. Oh, look at the time! It’s getting late. You should go,” I say, standing quickly. I can hear Trevor chuckle, so I elbow him in the ribs while smiling at James.

“Yeah, I need to drop these papers off at the station before I head home.” He pulls me in for a hug. “Love ya’, honey,” he says, bringing tears to my eyes.

“Love you, too,” I say, wiping my eyes, taking a step back into Trevor, who wraps his arms around me. He rests his chin on the top of my head.

“You’re gonna need to come down to the station tomorrow to fill out the papers for the restraining order.”

“We’ll be there,” Trevor says, walking us forward, following his dad to the front door. “Later, Dad,” he says, shutting the door behind him.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You tired?”

“No, not really.”

“Good. Then it’s time for your punishment.”

“No!” I squeal, trying to get free.

“Oh yeah,” he says, spinning me around, pressing me into the wall. His mouth crashes into mine, his hand going to my breast, and his fingers pinching my nipple through the material of his tee shirt that I'm wearing. He takes my hands in his, pulling them up over my head. “Keep them there.”

“But I—”

“No. Move them, and I stop.” He bites my lip, pulling it through his teeth; his hands at the bottom of the tee lift it slowly up my waist, and then over my breasts, and finally over my head and arms. Once I'm shirtless, his fingers begin working on the button of my jeans. Once free, he tugs them over my hips, but doesn’t pull them all the way off, keeping my thighs bound together by my jeans. “Remember, don’t move your hands,” he says against my ear, his breath causing goose bumps to break out over my skin.

His body leaves me, his hands going to the buttons of his shirt. Once he’s done, he pulls it off, tossing it onto the floor. His thumb travels over my bottom lip, down my chin, his hand opening over my neck, his other hand following the same path until my breasts are in his hands. “You’re beautiful, baby; but your tits are f*cking amazing.” He leans forward, licking over one nipple, then the other. My stomach is in knots. I can feel myself clench, my * throbbing, begging for attention. I love when he’s like this; it’s hotter than any book I’ve ever read.

His mouth comes back to mine, his body pressing me hard against the wall, his hands on my face controlling my every move. One hand travels down along the side of my neck, along the side of my breast, my ribs, and my hip, playing along the edge of my panties, fingers tracing the lacy edge below my belly button.

“Please touch me,” I beg, wanting to feel his fingers on me, and in me.

“I will,” he says, but doesn’t move his hand from the edge of my panties. His other hand knots in the back of my hair, pulling my head back and deepening the kiss. I feel his fingers slowly lower, until one lightly runs over my *, making my hips jump forward towards his hand. His finger continues to graze over my *, while his mouth works over mine, licking and biting. When he presses two fingers inside me, I moan into his mouth, my hips bucking, trying to urge him on. He pulls away, sliding slowly over my * again.

“Stop teasing me.” I was so close.

“You want to come?”

“Yes,” I hiss when his fingers move quicker. I can feel the hard length of him press into my side; my hands above my head itch to touch him. Finally, I go off; the moan that escapes my mouth into his sounds wild. I can feel myself trying to pull his fingers deeper. When he pulls his hand away, I sag against the wall, my body feeling limp. The aftershocks of my orgasm still thumping through my blood, I don’t even notice when he pulls my pants completely off until my leg is being tossed over his shoulder and his mouth is latching onto me. I look down at him; his face buried between my legs, the sight alone causing a second orgasm. “Oh God!” My head falls back against the wall; my hands lower to his head, my hands running over his hair. Two fingers enter me quickly, and I scream his name, thrashing my head back and forth, trying to push him away. “It’s too much! Please, it’s too much.” I try to move, but he holds me tighter, his fingers moving faster inside of me.

When he sucks on my *, I swear that I'm going to pass out. He drops my leg, and he presses his body tightly to mine, holding me up. I can hear his zipper, then I'm lifted; my legs circle his hips, and he pulls me down, impaling me on him. “F*ck,” he growls, lifting and lowering me onto him. I pull his mouth to mine, biting first his top, then his bottom lip, before my tongue seeks his.

His hips start thrusting faster. “You’re so perfect.” My face goes into his neck, my body wrapping completely around him. There is not one part of us that isn’t touching. I suck on his neck, and when I feel my orgasm begin to build again, he presses me deeper into the wall; his hand comes between our sweat-soaked bodies, his thumb pressing into my *. “You need to come with me.”

“I know,” I breathe, lifting my head and watching his face. His eyes are dark, his skin glistening with sweat. We stare at each other, his thumb moving in faster circles. I can feel myself begin to tighten around him. He slows down, letting me feel every inch of him slide in and out of me; the head of his cock dragging against my g-spot, causing my orgasm to slam into me without warning. His hand goes back to my ass as he starts rocking hard and fast, lifting and dropping me onto him. I can feel him expand inside me, his hands squeezing me so hard I know I will have his fingerprints on my skin when this is over. His movements start to become erratic right before he plants himself inside me, roaring my name. His face goes into my neck; our breathing is labored and our bodies are covered in sweat. The coolness of the wall behind me feels amazing against my overheated skin. He turns us around, then slides down the wall, sitting on the floor.

“I don’t know how I got so lucky,” he says into my neck, causing goose bumps to break out over my skin.

“I’m the lucky one.” I tell him honestly. I never knew that I would find someone who loved me so completely, who made me feel beautiful, safe, and important.

“No.” He lifts his head, and pulling mine from his neck, his hands hold my face gently. “I’m the lucky one. I didn’t think that I would ever want someone to have the kind of power over me that you hold. I know that my future is going to be amazing because you’re going to be by my side; and with you, everything is better,” he says, leaning in, touching his mouth to mine. When he pulls away, I feel tears falling down my cheeks.

“Ditto,” I say on a sob, shoving my face back into his neck.

“Jesus. I love you so f*cking much; you would think I was growing a vagina.”

“I love you more.”

“Impossible,” he whispers, kissing my head. “Let’s get up and shower.”

“You’ll have to carry me.”

“My pants are around my ankles. If I try carrying you right now, we’re both going to end up on the floor.”

“Okay. Let me see if my legs work.” I untangle myself from around his hips.

“I hate that.”

“What?” I ask, my eyebrows drawing together. I pick up his flannel shirt and put it on, wrapping it around me like a robe.

“Your heat, I hate losing it.” He stands, pulling up his jeans; and I wrap my arms around him, shoving my face into his chest, breathing him in. “Shower,” he says, swinging me up into his arms, carrying me into the bathroom. That night after we stripped the bed, Trevor in his normal position, his body on top of mine—I thank my dad for sending me a man like Trevor. I don’t know why, but I know that he has something to do with Trevor being placed in my life.