“Good.” I was bitter about Lora for sure, but I didn’t wish her ill will.
“Now, tell me, who are you seeing? I really want to tell her how you’re gaga over a new love.”
Petal’s smile flashed into my brain. I shook my head to rid it. “No dating now mom. I’ve got the house to fix up and my business.”
She was quiet for a moment. “I want to see you, Cy.” Again, her voice sounded tired. Actually, she sounded defeated.
“What’s going on mom?”
She paused again. Her voice was back up to cheerful. “Oh nothing. I’m just an old mom missing her boy.”
“It won’t be long,” I assured her. I wondered if I’d made the right choice coming to Bismarck instead of returning to Chicago after I got out of the military. At the time, I wanted to avoid my old life. Avoid Lora and her new man. But it meant being away from my mother. Being in the military, I was used to it. So was she. But I wasn’t in the military anymore.
“I’m so proud of you Cyrus.”
My heart swelled. Even as a grown ass ex-Navy SEAL, it was nice to hear my mom was proud of me. To me, she was like superwoman. Having me when she was barely twenty years old and raising me on her own.
“Thanks mom.”
We got off the phone and I went through my nightly routine of closing up the house and getting ready for bed. I brushed my teeth and flossed, set my alarm even though I wouldn’t need it, stripped out of my work c
lothes and climbed into bed. The cool sheets felt good against my skin. It was one of the splurges when I bought my home; expensive high-thread count sheets.
I put one hand under my head and closed my eyes reflecting on my day. Except for Lora, I had achieved all I’d hoped to when I got out of the military. I was self-employed. I owned a home. And I had good friends. Again, Petal’s sunshine smile with the dimple came to my mind. I wondered what she’d wear to the Halloween party. Lora had gone to a few parties that I’d always been able to get out of going to. She usually dressed up in something over-the-top sexy. Like a nurse in a white dress two sizes too small.
“You don’t even wear a uniform like that,” I’d said the first time she dressed like that for a party. “You wear pink scrubs with rainbows on them.”
She gave me a withering look. “It's a party, Cy. It’s supposed to be a costume.”
“Didn’t they have one in your size?”
She rolled her eyes. “Sometimes you’re such an old man. If it bothers you, why don’t you come with me. We can find a closet and make out.”
What were we, fifteen? “I don’t make out. Definitely not in public.”
“You’re such a Boy Scout.”
“SEAL. I’m a SEAL.”
I imagined Petal in a sexy nurse uniform and it didn’t seem right. Not the sexy bit. The nurse part. Instead, an image of her in just her pretty pink apron came to mind. It would barely cover her ample tits and hang just below her sweet pussy that I wondered if it had the same red color as her hair. Her creamy, silky looking skin would be bare everywhere else. And she’d smell like vanilla. My quiet dick at the memory of Lora, now swelled at the image of Petal in only her apron.
I was alone. No one would know. So, I gripped my dick, and settled in to take that image of Petal as far as it would go. To her sucking my dick with those pink cupid bow lips. My ripping the apron off, and fucking her full round tits. That was as far as I got before I blew my load all over my chest. I reached over and grabbed a tissue, cleaning myself off. Then I settled in to go to sleep, wondering if in my dreams, I’d get further with her.
4
Petal
I closed up the shop a few minutes late as a last-minute family had come in for dessert. I cleaned up the frontend of my shop, and headed back to make a few batches of cupcakes starting with the chocolate peanut butter Cyrus loved so much. I usually rotated flavors, but the chocolate peanut butter would be a staple for as long as Cyrus was coming in.
My system for running the bakery was to make many of the cakes the night before, and then decorate them in the morning. So I set to work making several batches. An hour and half later, I pulled the last batch of cupcakes out of the oven and then headed up to my apartment over the shop. I really loved this living arrangement. I didn’t have to hassle with traffic getting to work and my place always smelled like cupcakes.
I entered my apartment. It was small, but so was I. It was cozy, which was another term for small but included clutter. I wasn’t a messy person, but I did like my doodads and décor.
I went to the kitchen to make dinner. Sometimes, at this time of night, I did feel a little lonely. For so long, April and Maya, or sometimes just Maya would be with me so I rarely had to eat alone. I missed having their company. Maybe that’s why it was so nice that Cyrus always stopped by. It was nice to have a friend to talk to every day.
I didn’t feel like my life was pathetic in my aloneness, but I wondered if maybe I needed to do something about it. If I didn’t, I might end up being a lonely cat woman, even though cats weren’t allowed in my apartment.
I liked Cyrus, and if he showed any interest, I’d be right there by his side. But he didn’t show interest and so it was time for me to stop hoping or wishing or whatever I was doing by always eagerly awaiting his visit. I couldn’t get Cyrus out of my system if I didn’t open myself to the possibility that there was someone else out there for me. I needed to meet new people.