“Me, too.” I agreed as I closed my eyes. I wanted a soft mattress under us and a room that we could call our own for a few days. “Why were you driving away from your house that fast the other night?”
Sterling was silent for a moment.
“You saw that?” He asked as I whispered that I did. “Dad was being… Dad. I needed a break on the first fucking night.”
“Sounds about right,” I replied as I stroked his shoulder.
“How is it at your place?” Sterling asked as I considered my answer.
“Not great. They want me to move home and work for the business. As usual. Dad brought Rich home for dinner the first night.” I felt him stiffen.
“As in your ex?” He queried, and I told him yes. “What the fuck for?”
“I guess he was playing matchmaker. It’s the perfect arrangement for the family, you know.” I told him bitterly as I felt his lips against my neck.
“Fuck that,” he muttered as I leaned my head over to allow him more room. He moved closer to me, kissing me again as my body melted for him. We made love again as he moved to his back and I rode him. I knew how he liked it now and I rocked over him hard and fast. Sterling gripped my hips and thrust up inside of me as we both moaned, ready to come for each other again.
I didn’t want to leave this spot. I didn’t want to go home to my family away from Sterling. We remained by what I found out was a pond for another hour before dressing to leave. I looked in the mirror to see a hot mess as I groaned. My other clothes were over at Lila’s, so I sent her a message to ask where they were. She responded by saying they were headed back to her apartment and I asked Sterling to take me over there.
He stopped at the curb, turning the car off as we sat in silence. I knew that this was probably it for this trip as I gazed at him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: Sterling
I kissed Rosie goodbye before I watched her walk into the lobby of the apartment. I told her to tell me that she was safely inside and waited for that text. I hated driving away from Rosie, but we couldn’t spend the night together. We had to take what we could get.
I headed home, seeing that it was late, and I should get in without anybody bothering me. I parked in the driveway and walked into the kitchen quietly, jumping when I saw someone at the fridge.
“Sterling,” Dad said as I took a deep breath. He looked at me as he grabbed a bottle of water, dressed in a robe. “Did you have a good time?” There was a curiosity to his voice, and I realized that I looked like a freshly fucked man.
“Yeah. Catching up with a friend,” I chuckled, playing it off as a one-night stand. I knew that he wanted me to play the field even as he suggested meeting a woman at his office. It made me hate him again. “Why are you up?”
“I’m working on some numbers,” he replied as I looked at the clock above the stove. It was after one in the morning.
“It’s late. Don’t you work tomorrow?” I asked as he stared at me.
“You have to sacrifice to make it in this world,” he reminded me as I stood quietly against the counter. He made his way to the office as I watched, muttering that people need sleep as well. I grabbed my keys and headed upstairs, hating myself for having to lie about Rosie.
I slept in late the following afternoon, turning, and opening my eyes to stare at the ceiling. It was bright in here and I knew that it was late. I needed the sleep. After my night with Rosie, I had trouble sleeping. I hoped that she got home okay, and it killed me that she was just a few houses away from me.
Fuck. I hated this situation.
I stayed in bed for a few minutes, finally rising to dress and get some water. I found Mom down in the kitchen looking over a recipe as she glanced over at me.
“I was wondering if you were ever going to get up,” she said warmly as I laughed weakly.
“Late night,” I replied as she nodded.
“Did you have fun?”
“Yeah. I just hung out with the guys. It was nice to catch up.” I reminded myself to tell them to go with that story, just in case. I doubted they’d see my family at all this week.
“I’m glad,” Mom said as she went to open the pantry to look inside.
“Dad was up when I got home. Does he do that a lot?” I asked as she stilled.