She’s had my heart since I held her hand the day she let me take her home from school when I was just seventeen years old. I was a goner then by that one touch. Then, the next night on our first official date, when we were crossing the street to go to the movie theater, her letting me hold her hand was all it took for my heart to race and my mind to go foggy.
“C’mere,” I command, knowing my girl loves it when I’m a little more demanding in the bedroom. She complies quickly by sauntering over to where I stand next to the bed. I pick her up and throw her playfully on the mattress. She laughs loudly, the sound a direct line to my quickly growing hardness, but it dies quickly when I crawl over top of her and press myself closer to her, not entering her just yet. I know as soon as I do it will all be over.
My mouth descends on hers, and I quickly slip my tongue into her mouth. Mine. I pin her hands above her head and grind myself into her, my message clear as to where this is going.
“Please.” She breathes out when my mouth moves from hers down to her neck, her collarbone, her bare breasts. They’ve gotten bigger, fuller over time. They’re amazing, and I prepare to ravish them.
“Not yet, sweetheart. You know I won’t last,” I mumble around her soft skin and grab her wrist when I feel her hand gliding down my stomach to where I want her the most.
Her back arches off the bed, pressing herself into me even farther. “Just… d-do something, Barrett. Please. I need you. So bad…” Her voice is a whimper and she wraps her legs around me, holding me to her.
“I need you, too. But first I’m going to take my time with you.”
“After. We have all night. I just need to feel you first. We’ll go slow next time.”
I can’t hardly argue with that. Still straddling her, I reach into the nightstand for a condom. Yes, I bought them. I wasn’t joking with her when I said I won’t last and, even knowing we have all night and we aren’t going to be a one-and-done couple tonight, I’m not about to let this end after thirty seconds. She raises an eyebrow at me when she sees the little foil package, and we laugh as we both fumble around with it like it’s our first time. We’ve been married for over twenty years now. We haven’t used condoms for over twenty years, but I meant it when I said I want this to last, and it might help to not be skin on skin right away. After retrieving the condom from its gold wrapper, she lifts her body up and takes it out of my hand before sliding it over my…
Ring… ring…
“Who the hell is calling!?” I shout my frustration.
“Ignore it,” she pleads and reaches for me again. But the damn thing will not quit ringing. As soon as it quiets, the caller apparently picks back up again and calls right away.
I look over at my phone and see Cole’s name lit up and immediately my heart sinks. I grab the phone off the dock and quickly hit Go.
“Cole? What’s wrong?” I answer in lieu of hello.
That gets Tess’s attention. She sits up immediately, worry lacing her beautiful face, her body still exposed to me.
“It’s Grady,” he chokes out. Two words. That’s all it takes. Our evening plans long forgotten, my heart now sits in my stomach.
Tess’s eyes are burning into me apparently wondering what it is that has me in such a panic, and, more than likely, she notices that the blood has run from my face.
“What is it?” she asks, her tiny hand resting on my forearm to gain my attention. I put the phone on speaker so whatever I’m about to hear come from my firstborn’s mouth is nothing that I have to repeat.
“Cole. What’s going on?” I ask, staring into Tess’s worried eyes.
“There was… dammit. Dad, he was in a fight. Brandon just called me. I guess some dill hole — that Dawson kid? Well, he tried hitting on Bri. Which would have been fine, I suppose, if he had kept his hands to himself. When he got a little too handsy, and when I say handsy, I actually mean the prick actually hit her when she pushed him away, well that’s when Grady lost it. Brandon said he wasn’t drinking, which isn’t shocking since he never drinks but also is beside the point and at the same time a good thing, considering everything else. Anyway, when he heard what happened and saw the red mark on Bri’s face from where this little punk hit her after she told him no, he lost all sense of reason. It took Brandon, Matt, and Nick to pull him off him. As far as I know, Dawson’s fine — just beat up, which the little punk deserved — but, Dad, the police were called. He’s at the police station. They arrested him for assault.”
Chapter Nine
Tess
Parenting is so damn hard. Whoever said that it is the hardest job a person will ever have, well, they knew what they were talking about. As Barrett and I walk hand in hand into the police station, a place where I never imagined I would be entering, especially to pick up my son from being arrested, I am plagued with the vision that we will forever have burned into our memory. After talking with the front desk, they bring out the arresting officer who explains that Grady was arrested but that the victim wasn’t pressing charges.
Little punk. I know my kids aren’t perfect. Far from it. But I also know that Grady would never assault someone who didn’t provoke him in some way. And messing with Bri was the number one way to get his attention, and a rise out of him. While I’m grateful that he’s not pressing charges against my son, if what Cole told us is true, I will have a hard time not encouraging Bri to do so. I don’t want him thinking all he’s going to get is a beat down for doing that to an innocent girl. But I need to get my facts straight before I let my mind continue to wander.
When we see Grady sitting in a jail cell, head in his hands, elbows on his knees, I can’t hold back the sob that escapes me. When he hears our approach, his head shoots up, and the regret that is plaguing him is evident all over his face. His eyes are red, his left eye looks to be developing a nice reminder of his evening, and his hands are shaking… and bloody. Or what looks like dried blood. He looks broken. In more ways than one. Upon seeing us, he gives up the fight and releases the tears and flood of emotion he, no doubt, has been holding in since the cell door closed behind him.
“Grady.”
“Mom. I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry.” He continues to repeat how sorry he is until I step closer to the cell and wrap my hands around the bars. He does the same, resting his head against them.
“I know, baby. I know. We’re gonna get you out of here, and when we get home, we’ll talk about it. Just relax. We’re just waiting for them to have the paperwork ready for us to sign. They let us back here to see you first.”
Barrett has been quiet, not breathing a word since we received the call from Cole. I know the questions are rolling through his mind. Why didn’t he call us first? Why Cole? Why didn’t the police call us? Or Grady? What could have caused him to actually hurt someone? One of the questions he did voice and get answered from Cole after he told us that Grady had been arrested was that Bri was safe. Since Brandon was at the party, he called Cole first, figuring that Cole will be able to explain things best to us. He also let us know that he and Mia were on their way home, and that Brandon took Bri to her house, Bri insisting that she didn’t need to see a doctor. She did, however, make sure to let Dawson know that if he so much as gave one thought to pressing charges against Grady, that she will happily return the favor.