Her words. “Emmett, what are you … oh my god … yes, yes, yes!”
Low moan …
Her orgasm declaration. “Th-that’s good … really good …”
The biggest grin captured my lips before I even removed said lips from between her legs.
From that moment on, we were inseparable.
And reckless.
We’d meet over my lunch breaks and have sex in my truck.
Sometimes I’d run to get fuel and take the long way via whatever house was on the market, vacant, and that Tatum had access to the lockbox. We christened many kitchen islands for new, unsuspecting homeowners. Tatum occasionally had rug burns on her back from large unfurnished rooms—basically we used the first surface we could get to before our clothes were completely off and my dick was inside of her.
Our living situations—me at home and her with roommates—made our middle of the day sex dates not only exhilarating but necessary.
I loved new love. New lust. New everything with Tatum.
I even loved the day it came to an end and sent us on a new path. Tatum … she wasn’t as fond of the way our routine ended that day.
“Skirt …” I sucked at her neck while my hands fought with the belt to her pants. “It’s so much easier to fuck you in a skirt. What’s up with the stupid pants?”
She giggled pushing my tee over my head as we paused our frantic motions just long enough to allow her to get it over my head. That day we were taking a bigger risk. Technically, the house was no longer on the market, but Tatum had access to let the movers in … which she had done that morning. So we had a partially furnished house in which to fuck about, and the owners weren’t scheduled to arrive until the following week.
By the time she kicked off her shoes and wiggled her way out of her pants, her underwear was partially ripped from my impatience. And we had a bed. No bedding, but we had a mattress and box springs that we were about to break in quite thoroughly.
Was it wrong to have sex on the clock? In a house that wasn’t ours? In a bed that wasn’t ours?
Probably.
Was there something to be said for the perks of being young and dumb?
Absolutely.
We wouldn’t remember all the times we stopped at a red light, paid our bills on time, or followed the rules of society to a T. However, we would forever remember the time we got caught.
I wondered how long he watched us … her boss.
Chapter Six
NOW
Seeing Tatum again shook me. The memories. Her moving announcement. It’s taken me a few days to find that breath again and resume the monotony that is now my life.
“We really must stop meeting like this,” New Neighbor Nina the Nurse says to me as we reach our mailboxes at the same time.
I chuckle. “I’m not sure why I even check it. Maybe just to empty the junk from it. I pay all of my bills online now. I can’t remember the last time I received an invitation to a wedding. And even Christmas cards seem to show up in my inbox instead of my mailbox.” I hold up my pile of advertisements and credit card offers as if to say, “See what I mean?”
“Not me.” Nina pulls an envelope out of her mailbox and opens it. “I’ve been expecting my swatches.” She shows me the pieces of material. “I’m getting new furniture, but I’m ordering it online. What do you think?”
They’re all too flowery for my taste, but instead of saying that, I smile and shrug. “I think you shouldn’t care what I think because I’m a guy with no sense of style.”
“Fine. I guess I’ll make the decision on my own. It’s my retirement gift to myself.”
I failed to tell Lucy that my new neighbor is sixty-eight and has had a knee and hip replacement. It’s not that I’m against older women (even if she’s only a few years younger than my mom) or joint replacements. After all, Tatum is older than me. It’s just that I’m not interested in anyone who isn’t my wife.
Yes, I realize I don’t technically have a wife anymore.
“I’m envious of you. I hope I can retire before I’m seventy. Anyway … I’ll see ya around.”
“I’m going out for pasta,” she says before I have a chance to take more than two steps.
I glance back at her.
“If you like pasta, I wouldn’t mind the company. Not a date, of course. I’m clearly out of your league. I just think life’s too short to eat alone all the time.”
“I’m a big fan of pasta. Give me twenty minutes to shower?”
“I’ll drive. I don’t think I could get into that truck of yours.”
“Fair enough. See you in a bit.”
Nina proves to have excellent taste in restaurants. And expensive taste. I’ve only been here once before, on my tenth wedding anniversary with Tatum. We made it to twelve.