Page 14 of Joint Custody

“Hedges, now!” I gritted out as I tried to hold a smile for Mrs. Levine and Mr. Levine who had looked up as she beckoned to me. As Tiffany dove into the hedges to hide, I handed her the keys to my car. “It’s parked on the street, Black BMW, license plate number 3-7-2-1.” I stepped out from the hedges to lead her parents away from her hiding place so she could get the time to run. “Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Levine. What are you guys still doing here?” I asked in a voice that was far too loud.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for Tiffany. We were worried sick. I saw the car but no Tiffany. We thought something must have gone terribly wrong, so we asked around and a few guests said they saw you leave with her and her friends earlier tonight in a cab? But I’ve been calling her phone all night with no success, and why would she leave her car? It didn’t make sense to me. I thought they must have been mistaken. Did you leave with her tonight?” she asked as Mr. Levine stared at me with a suspicious glare, which made me feel guilty about the thoughts I had about his daughter, even if they were just thoughts.

There was no point in denying that I left with them. Something told me she didn’t think the guests were mistaken and she was just looking for an explanation, so I had to give her something. Even if it was just half-truths. I let out a breath. “Okay, here’s the thing Mr. and Mrs. Levine. You know tonight was a big night for Tiffany,” I began, avoiding eye contact with Mr. Levine, trying to get the words out quickly before he jumped to any conclusions about me speaking on his daughter’s behalf.

“Yes?” Mrs. Levine asked, dragging out the question as she waited for a response.

“Well, because it was such a big night, she decided to have a drink for the first time and well one turned out to be more than she could handle.” I smiled. “And her friends also had a bit too much to drink. Since I’d just put Chris in a taxi because he couldn’t drive, when I saw them, I figured I’d do the same for them. I suggested that she come to you, but she was too embarrassed and said she needed to sleep it off. So I accompanied them in the taxi to make sure they got to their destinations safely and then I just hit up a club on the way back,” I said, even though I hadn’t been to a club in years before tonight, but they didn’t know too much about my clubbing activities.

“Okay, so where is she?” Mrs. Levine asked.

“Oh, right. She’s at her friend’s place, the one with the bleached hair?” I said.

Mr. Levine seemed to buy it, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Oh. But why wouldn’t she answer her phone?” Mrs. Levine asked, wrinkling her brow in disapproval.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. Her phone probably just died,” I said.

“Oh. Well, I hope she doesn’t make drinking a habit,” Mrs. Levine started.

“Come on, Val, it was just one drink, and sheisof drinking age,” Mr. Levine said.

Great. Once I got them talking to each other, they seemed to forget I was even there, and I was too happy they bought the story to stick around and risk tripping up on a lie. I was out of there and back to my car, jumping in to find Tiffany sitting in the passenger seat, pushed all the way back, hiding from the windows with leaves sticking out of her hair. I was thrown off by the sight of her and didn’t have time to reel in my laughter. I sputtered and choked as waves of joy erupted from me.

“What? What is it?” she asked. The worry that was on her face before made way for the uncontrollable grin cracking through as she stared at me trying to gather myself.

“I just . . . this night has been so fucking ridiculous.” I threw my head back against my seat as the remaining laughter shook my body before allowing myself some time to breathe and settle down.

She laughed. “So, what did they say?” she asked.

“They were worried. Some people saw us leaving the party, so I had to tell her that you had a drink, just one, don’t worry,” I said as I saw the concern returning to wrinkle her forehead again. “And I told them you decided to sleep it off at your friend’s which is why the car is still there. So, I guess they’ll take care of that.”

She sighed. “Oh, okay. Well, I guess that wasn’t so bad.” She exhaled. “Tonight was nothing like I expected,” she said.

“You’re telling me.” I turned to look at her and peace settled over me as we smiled at each other.

It dawned on me then that sexiness aside, I thought she was pretty solid. I also took note of the fact that we were alone together for the first time since I’d met her tonight. Just her and me in the silence of my car, with no one’s eyes on us. I reached forward and plucked the leaves from her hair, my knuckles brushing up against her clavicle. And she shivered, causing the heat to return at full force, and my knuckles lingered there a little longer than they were supposed to as I wrestled with the temptation to trail the back of my hand lower until they were resting just atop her breasts. I fought back a shiver as a voice in my head said,Who would know?

I could feel the warmth of her breath against my fingers as she stared at me, and I wanted to put them into her mouth, stroke her lips with my thumb. Blood rushed to my dick, and I pulled my hand away because I would know.

“Oh no! That’s so embarrassing!” she exclaimed, causing me to jump, and I followed her eyes to the leaves in my hand.

I grinned. “It’s cute,” I said, clearing my throat and driving off before I made myself say and do a lot more.

I was grateful as we pulled up to the apartment complex, this meant that my moments of torture would soon be eased, even if just a tiny bit through distance. Since she didn’t know where to go, I accompanied her to her apartment and only stuck around to see her reaction to the place as she opened the door.

“Wow! This is nice,” she gushed, staring at the hues of turquoise and white accents in the cushions and sofas in the living room, the blinding white of the walls and floors, massive walking space between the living room and kitchen where the LED lights bounced off the shimmering fixtures. As she headed toward her bedroom door to check it out, my knees shook, and I knew that this was the moment I needed to get the hell out of there.

“Uh, well I’m glad you like it. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said before stepping away as fast as my feet and my willpower could take me.

“Wait, no. Mario!” I turned to look at her peeking out into the hallway. Was everything okay? Did she find a fault in the apartment already? Her voice shook and her blush returned. I didn’t expect the next few words that left her mouth. “Will you stay with me tonight?” she asked.

That sounded like sweet music to my ears. I couldn’t believe it. I felt like jumping in celebration, sweeping across the floor in a few giant steps to give us both what we wanted, but my legs were frozen in place by my commitment to Chris. I should have said no and let her down easy despite how full my cock got at the prospect of fucking her in the next few seconds, but all that came out of my mouth was a stupid tremor in my voice as I looked at her in shock. “What?”

Chapter 8

Tiffany

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