Page 70 of Clean Hack
I sighed and relaxed into him.
“I think it went like this,” he teased as he lifted me up and plopped me on the counter.
Then it was on, just like our first time and it hadn’t slipped past me that he’d worn one of his button-up shirts. I took advantage of that fact, remembering that day, and ripped the damn thing open. At this rate, we were going to leave a tail of lost buttons along our way. That thought made me smile as I met his lips.
We didn’t make it to the bed this time. We were both too eager and needy to move. So after he sheathed his impressive, beautiful cock, I used my legs to pull him into me. My fingers guided him to my pussy, and he took me like a man starved. He dove in and out of me and I held on for dear life, rocking into his rhythm. He filled me. Stretched me. Completed me, with every deep thrust. I flew over the cliff, screaming out his name in a dizzying haze. And then he kissed me passionately as he buried himself so deep inside of me that he chased away the ache, and came hard.
Then the world crashed down. Like really. His phone beeped. I knew what that sound meant and I couldn’t even be mad. I wasn’t, but I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. He kissed me, long and soft before he pulled away. I watched as he discarded the condom then sought out his phone. A moment later, he looked up at me as he ended the call.
Then he was hitting buttons again, calling a number. And without warning, he shoved the phone against my ear.
“Hello?” the voice on the other end rang out in my ear and I gasped. “Lulu?”
“Allison?” I asked as if I didn’t know it was her.
She sounded strange but not in a bad way. So much time had passed since I’d really talked to her. I didn’t count that night in the warehouse because there were barely any words spoken. I started to silently weep and that was when Derrick was there covering me with his shirt, lifting me into his arms, and carrying me to the bed. He held me as I talked to my best friend that had been lost to me for seven years.
“I’m sorry it took me so long,” she said and I could hear the sadness in her voice.
“I get it,” I rushed to say and brushed it off because I understood immensely.
“I just wanted you to know that I’m good,” she said and I could feel her pulling away. It wasn’t quite a goodbye but it was leaving a distance between us.
“Allison,” I begged as my body began to shake.
“I just…need some more time, Lulu.”
“Okay.”
“I have someone looking out for me,” she told me so I wouldn’t worry. I had a feeling about Axe, and she had just confirmed it. “I’ll find you soon.”
Then she was gone. I turned into a broken mess and Derrick held me close through it all. I didn’t need to tell him what had happened for him to understand.
The call to Allison had wrecked me hard. It left me in a sad daze for days. I walked around almost numb. Derrick didn’t leave my side through it all. He held me when he sensed I needed the connection. He made me laugh when he felt like I was starting to slip into a dark hole. And he made love to me when he knew I felt cold and alone.
“I’m not going to give up,” I said one morning. “I won’t push too hard, but I’m going to be there to help her through this.”
I’d made a decision somewhere in the middle of my dreams. I’d always been there to pull her out of her nerdy hole. This wasn’t any different. Sure, it was darker and sadder and more things than I could even say right now. But it was basically the same. I just had to make her see that. Instead of making her go to a party on Friday night, I was going to make her open up and work through shit. I had a feeling that it might do us both some good.
“So, to Moon Hill then?” Derrick asked as though anything else wasn’t even an option.
I nodded and started packing. I didn’t even ask if that was alright with him because I already knew the answer.
And yes, I could tell you without a single doubt in my mind, that I was in love with this man. That he was my future and the only one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
I just hadn’t told him that. But I wasn’t worried because I knew the right time would come soon enough.
I opened the door with the first load of things that I decided to take. I wasn’t going to take my entire set-up just yet, but I did grab my backup laptop, seeing as the one I’d been using was currently cracked in half and definitely not in working order. Once I got it set up, it would be enough to keep me going for a while. I wasn’t taking much but it was more than we could carry in one trip. He wanted to carry it all down himself but I told him I didn’t want to sit there all helpless like. I stepped out of the door and was instantly met with a pair of tired looking eyes.
“Burke,” I practically squealed. “Oh, God. I’ve been worried about you.” It was true, though I’d been a bit crappy about getting in touch with him. “How did you know I’d be here?” I eyed him curiously.
He flashed me a smile but it wasn’t full on, it didn’t cause a twinkle in his eyes. He walked over and I felt Derrick take a step closer to me. I wanted to wave him off but didn’t. Burke reached just above me and pulled a small camera off the inside of the door frame, just out of the way where the closed door would have stopped. I was more surprised that I’d missed the damn thing than the fact that he’d put one there.
“I had to make sure you were okay,” he said pocketing the camera as a way to let me know that he wasn’t going to be watching anymore and that his words were true.
“I’m good,” I said wanting to reach out and hug him.
He looked…well, not great. The long stretch of time that he’d been under was catching up to him now that he was out. Now that everything was over. But it really wasn’t, because for people like us and Allison, it was almost like it was just the beginning. The part where the adrenaline and danger wore off and we had to deal with everything that had happened. All the things we blindly did, all the lies we kept telling ourselves, all the things we endured the whole time. I swallowed hard, understanding what he was going through all too well.
