Let Me Stay

“Why not?” I ask

“I am sure you have heard the song, Brendan,” She laughs as it dawns on me.

“You know, margaritas sound good,” I say, winking at her.

“I will whip up a pitcher now. You can find something to watch. What do you want to watch?”

“I know a drinking game that works for any show. We can just start over. I need six shot glasses. And whatever our poison will be.”

“Is that a good idea?” she asks smiling. She opens and slams cabinets until she locates some shot glasses. Each one was from a different state.

“I collect them. I have one from every state I have been to,” I tell her lamely. She also hands over a big bottle of Jack.

“What an interesting hobby. I collect animal figurines, but this is a useful hobby. What are the rules?” I hand her my phone. She glances at the rules. “We will be drunk

before the first episode is over.” She sits down and hands me the phone back.

“I am always up for a challenge,” I say, sitting down on the couch next to her, pushing play. Four episodes, six shots, and two margaritas each later, we are drunk. My hands are all over her. Her shirt is off, and I am unhooking her bra. Tossing it aside, I place my mouth on her. Neither of us is really coherent, but we can feel the pull between us. I groan as she writhes under me. She is running her hands over my chest and tugs my shirt off of me. Brynn uses her feet to push my pants down my legs. There is no finesse here. It is just a powerful coupling. I slide down her body, taking her pants with me.

“No panties. What a naughty girl,” I say huskily. Once my tongue finds her core, she is shooting up off the couch. She moans, more than ready for me. I position myself at

her entrance. I lean down and kiss her. “Is this what you want, Brynn?”

“Y-yes,” she moans. I need no further encouragement. I push into her. She sighs, and then I stop, taking in her wet heat. Then we began to move erratically. Completion for

both of us is not far behind. She screams out my name as her orgasm tears through her, and almost instantly, I come inside of her, just like I am supposed to do.

Chapter 14

Brynn

Six Weeks Later

I stare down at the positive pregnancy test in my hand as I hide in the teacher’s lounge bathroom during my lunch break. I got the job at Ballet Prep, and my students hate me. Really, they hate anything that does not have to do with dance, but they are taking it out on me and making my life a living hell. Five weeks of this, and I am ready to quit. The little divas only do their classwork when I threaten to have them suspended from their various dance teams. I have the power to do it, but they do not know that I won’t do it. Not yet, anyway. So far, the threat has been enough, but one day, one of these bitches will push me to the edge. Now that I am pregnant, that is probably sooner than I even realize. I am really excited about the baby, but I do not want to say anything to Brendan yet. I have not even told him about the family business yet. I still do not know where to begin. My first call is to my doctor to confirm the pregnancy and go from there. I won’t be telling anyone until I tell Brendan. My twenty-second birthday is tomorrow, and luckily the doctor can see me first thing in the morning before I have to be at school.

After lunch, I sit in my classroom. I haven’t decorated it yet, but I will soon. I have given the kids a pop quiz about the Boston Tea Party. I teach sixth through twelfth-grade history. Because dance is the focus, all of the students’ ages and grades are mixed up. I hear some whispering coming from the back of the classroom. The bodyguard Brendan insisted I have stands in the back of the classroom like a gargoyle.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think that Joel was a damn robot. That was a fun argument, our first. I tried to reason with him, to tell him that my parents have my safety well enough in hand, but he wouldn’t hear it. I’ll never forget the look on his face when he told me that my safety was his number one concern. It made me stop questioning him and give in to the idea of a bodyguard. Then we made up. Boy, did we make up right there on the living room floor, but I digress, shivering at the thought of things he did to my body.