Page 74 of Laugh

I let her cry and kiss her each time she murmurs “thank you,” against my damp skin.We lay like this for a long time until she brushes her lips across my pecs. When she licks her tongue out against my nipple, it causes a shudder to wrack through my body.

Climbing on top of me, she slides her dripping pussy, my release and hers combined, across my shaft. “I need you again. Please, Beau. I need you again.”

Turning her body so I can spoon her, I lift her leg up and back over my hip so I can slide inside of her once more. Once I’m seated inside as far as I’ll go, I wrap my arm across her chest, my hand gripping her shoulder to keep her pinned to me.

Burying my face in her neck, I fuck into her again. I take her back to that place where she can’t think of anything except the two of us and the orgasms that I can give her for the rest of the night.

Chapter 28

Just Need Mom

Beau

“Hi honey,” my mom says, cupping my face the moment I shut the door behind her.

Leaning down, I wrap her in a tight hug and breathe out a sigh of relief that she’s here. “Hey momma. Thanks for coming over.” Pulling back from her, I hold on to her shoulders and grin at the Tupperware container she’s holding at her side. “Please tell me there are some of those for me, too.” My mom makes the world’s best seven-layer bars because she always adds in an eighth ingredient that she keeps secret.

Laughing softly, she shakes her head. “Nope. They’re all for that sweet girl you’ve got hidden away.” With the mention of Haddie, the smile I have at seeing my mom slips away and I frown, looking back at my bedroom.

“Oh sweetheart. This is the hard part, but you’re doing so well, being here for her. That’s all you can do while she works through her grief.” Mom’s voice is gentle, and I feel a rush of appreciation for her.

Haddie’s dad has been nowhere to be seen. Completely disconnected. Except for a brief text message stating that he heard of Marcus’s passing and asked her to pass on his condolences to the family for now.Fucking bastard should be here. She needs a goddamn hug from a parent.

Turning back to my mom, I ask her for help. “She’s devastated, mom. I’m not saying that she’s not talking with me, because she is. I don’t expect her to just snap out of how she’s feeling, and I know it’s going to take a while for her to have a good day. But I’m so fucking worried and her dad isstillnowhere to be fucking found,” I grit out. She knows what I’m talking about because I filled her in the other day.

“She needs a mom,” my mom says with understanding.

I nod, fighting back my sorrow for all that Haddie has lost in her life. “Yeah, I really think she does. Would, ummm… would you like to meet her?” I ask, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. I feel foolish asking, because this is why she’s here.

Nodding, then waving the container at me until I take it, she scrubs her hands down her slacks and asks, “Is she in your room?”

“She’s lying down. I’ll introduce you.” I move to lead her into the room, but mom stops me with a hand on my arm.

“I got it, honey. Why don’t you make some lunch for us and have a beer or something? Take a break. You look exhausted too, and you can’t help her if you’re not taking care of yourself.”

After cracking my neck, I lean over and press a kiss to her cheek, wordlessly thanking her. I watch as she strolls back toward my bedroom before I head into the kitchen. Setting the container on the counter, I brace my hands and hang my head.

My happy girl has been inconsolable for the last seventy-two hours. I spent the first half fucking her until she passed out in exhaustion to the point I actually worried about dehydration. I’m not sure if it was the best idea, but her pleas for me to take away her pain were more than I could bear. It was a nice way for me to distract myself as well. Butnowshe’s hidden herself away so deeply into a hellish hole of depression that I’m lost on how to draw her back out.

She’s absolutely lost without her friend and there’s nothing I can do to bring him back, as much as I’d give anything to try for her. I haven’t heard her laugh in over three days, and Inevercould have anticipated how much that would crush me. I’m going to work until I get it back, then it’ll bemylaugh.

Instead of gathering things for lunch, my eyes move toward the bedroom and find that I can’t stay away. I promised her I’d be here for her, and she shouldn’t meet my mom for the first time without me. With that thought, I shove away from the counter and hurry to my bedroom. I stop in the doorway just as my mom leans down to look into Haddie’s face where she’s lying on her side, staring blankly at the wall.

Mom reaches out a hand and brushes my girl’s hair away from her face and cups her cheek the same way she always does me. She moves in closer while still touching her, and whispers something that has Haddie nodding her head quickly as she releases silent sobs into her pillow.

“Oh, baby girl… Can I hold you?” Mom’s voice is filled with tears, always sensitive to those who are hurting around her. Haddie turns her head to peer over at me with a question in her eyes.

“Happy, this is my mom, Rosemary,” I say, reassuring her silently with more than just my words that she can use her.

Looking back to my mom, she nods once and can barely sit up before my mom slides onto the bed next to her and wraps her into one of those hugs that only moms know how to give. So much relief washes through me when I watch Haddie collapse into my mom and cry against her. Her arms are shaking as they wrap around my mom’s frame and mom simply rests her cheek on the top of her head.

Her eyes find mine without moving away from my girl just before she speaks. She doesn’t look away from me as she shares her words with both of us.

“Sweet, sweet Haddie. I’m so incredibly sorry to hear about the passing of your best friend. There’s nothing I can say that will take the ache for him away from you, but I can tell you that this will all get easier with time. Keep him alive by talking about him. Share your stories and memories. Remember all of the fun you two had together and know that if he could have stayed with you, he would have.”

She pauses to wipe away a tear from the corner of her eye before continuing.

“Death is such a sad thing, but it’s only sad for us… and only for a while. You’ll see, one day soon, that when something big happens and you find yourself wanting to tell him about it, you can still speak with him. He’ll always be right here with you,” she says, tapping Haddie’s chest right over her heart. “He’ll never be truly gone, and you’ll get to remember him with smiles and love.”

---