Big City Little Rebel

“Oh no, Beau. I’m so sorry. At least I was an adult when I lost my mom.”

“I understand your pain, Bobbie. It’s been decades since my dad died, but there isn’t a day I don’t miss him.” He moved the cheese tray and laid his head in her lap. He loved the way she ran her fingers through his hair.

“You said you took care of your mom. Didn’t you guys get a huge settlement?”

“Yes, but my mom initially filled her emptiness with material things like a house she couldn’t afford and an expensive sports car she had no business driving. It was impounded after her second DUI.” He connected the freckles on her leg with imaginary lines. He could have stayed there forever and soaked in the comfort she offered. “Basically, she was out of hope and money within a year. We lost the apartment and had to downsize.” Moving his mom into that tiny apartment tore him up. She’d gone from diamonds to destitution. He wanted her to have a better life and could finally make that happen, but he needed the job.

“Wow, how did you survive?” She rubbed his shoulders like she was trying to wipe off his painful past, but it was embedded in him—a part of him.

“After my mom had blown through the life insurance, we lived on Social Security, but it just covered the bills, and the bulk of it stopped when I became an adult and aged out. My mom wasn’t in her right mind. She still isn’t, but she’s better. At least she can take care of herself now. For a while, I had to hire a companion for her so I could go to school and not worry about her killing herself while I was gone.” He’d told no one any of this because after his dad died, he became the man of the family, and men didn’t air their dirty laundry.

“That was a tremendous responsibility for a young boy. Wasn’t there anyone who could help?” Her voice cracked with emotion.

“Not really. Everyone around us was dealing with their own stuff. My dad wasn’t the only one who perished.” His hands shook as the memory of that day flew forward in 3D. “The minute the North Tower was hit, my mom told me to hop in the car because we were going to get my dad, but we couldn’t get close enough with the car.” He closed his eyes and saw his mom’s ashen face. “She left the car blocks away and gripped my hand while we ran toward the mess. He was in the South Tower, so we assumed he was safe.” He swallowed the lump of regret stuck in his throat. “When I saw the fire, I ran screaming toward the North Tower. I can still feel the hands of Chief Craig dragging me back just as the second plane smashed into the building. I’ll never forget him, and he’s never forgotten me. He stepped in when no one else could. I was fortunate in that regard. My mom shrunk into herself. She reached out to no one because being around people reminded her of her loss,” he exhaled loudly, and it was as if a hundred-pound weight left with his breath. Somehow, he was better for having spilled his soul to Bobbie.

“How terrifying.”

He pulled himself up to sit beside her. “It’s those moments when we face an unimaginable tragedy that we find out what we’re made of. You and I are survivors. We’re titanium in a world full of aluminum. We have a strength that would surprise people.”

He lifted and pulled her into his lap to kiss her in earnest. Talking of the past only brought up sad things, and he wanted to experience happiness. Kissing Bobbie was a good start.

“Hey, I have more questions.” She squirmed in his lap. “Oh,” she said as soon as his hardness pressed against her naked bottom.

“You better ask them fast, sweetheart, because we’re about to get busy again.” He reached for the nightstand where he’d left the box of condoms and pulled one out.

“Give me that.” She pulled the package from his hand. “What’s your middle name?”

“Brian, after my dad.” He reached for the foil packet, but she held it behind her back.

“Have you ever been married? Engaged? In love?”

She straddled him, tore open the packet, and rolled the latex down his length.

He inhaled through his teeth. Having her stroke him made it nearly impossible to think. “No marriage, no engagement,” he hissed the answers. “Ask me tomorrow about love because right now, all I’d love to do is you.”

She rose and guided him to her entrance, and then, in one swift movement, she impaled herself onto his solid length. They groaned in unison.

This time, he fisted the sheets and let her take control. She determined the pace, the depth, and the power. She rode him hard and fast and then slowed to a soft, even rhythm that drove him crazy. Her hips rotated and shifted, and when he reached between her legs, she pressed against him until he was fully rooted. Seconds later, her head fell back, and she shouted his name.

Hearing her call his name in the throes of passion was by far the sexiest sound he’d ever heard. But when it came with her pulsing around him, he couldn’t contain himself. With her hips firmly in his palms, he thrust up several times and found his release.

She collapsed against his body and sighed. With gentle fingers, he stroked her back. “Amazing.”

“Yes, it was.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

She slipped off his body to the bed, and he covered her with the comforter. “Stay here, sweetheart.” He disposed of the condom and brushed his teeth. When he returned, she was curled into a ball, fast asleep. He leaned over her and kissed her forehead. “You asked if I’ve ever been in love. Tonight, is a first for me.”

He had no idea what love was, but this woman had knocked him on his ass from the beginning. If love was like a train wreck where your heart and junk collided, he was there, sitting in the middle of the tracks, just waiting for the next impact.