Cuffed Ch. 05

I was hesitant to comply to this request. I felt it left me open...too open—barren, even. But I did as he asked.

"There you go," he caressed my thighs with his hands and my folds with his breath. "All right, Ken. Do it."

"I...I don't really know how," I said.

"So, you want to play games? Okay." He gripped my hips and pulled my center against his mouth. His tongue dived in and out of me and around my folds. I cried out. The feeling was overwhelming. "Yeah, there it is. There you go," Holden mumbled into my wet center as I began to rock my mound against his mouth. His hands reached up to my breasts and he toyed with my nipples.

"Oh. God." I threw my head back.

Stars.

Colors.

Light.

They all burst behind my eyelids as I rode out my orgasm into Holden's mouth.

Holden growled beneath me, "Fuck yes!" as he slapped my ass. I never thought I'd like slapping during sex—David had tried it a few times and I, eventually, told him I didn't like it; but, with Holden, it was different. I didn't fear the physical with him...I craved it. "Come here," Holden took my arms, tenderly, and held me against his chest. "Well, that takes a couple items off my bucket list, but there's much more we have yet to do, Miss Kennedy; but, not before we get on with our day date. Up and at 'em, baby doll," he slapped my ass again.

My mind wheeled. One minute, he was this sexual being, hell-bent on giving me pleasure; and, the next he was the playful Holden I met in Kohl's. Thankfully, I liked both guys.

We did as he promised; we drove out to Tipton Park and Bentley had his head out of the window the entire time. He galloped around the lake, excited by all the new sights and smells. There weren't many ducks around yet, but the ones present gobbled down the grapes we fed them.

Lunch was cute. We sat around a picnic table where Holden spread out a little picnic basket with a gingham table cloth. He was persistent, thoughtful, intuitive, sexy...what could I have ever done to attract the attention of someone like him?

I called Lara from the bathtub later that day to ask that very question.

Holden and I had some down time before my surprise, so he ran me a bath and told me to relax. It wasn't a hard command to follow. I was already cozy from the great day I was having. I couldn't remember a time in my life where I'd had this much fun. That's what helped me solidify the decision that I needed to make. I had to end things with David, for sure. In my head, we were done as soon as he grabbed me, but he needed to hear it, and I had to say it—no matter how uncomfortable it would be.

"You were just being you," Lara told me, bringing my attention back to our conversation.

"I was 'just being me' when David and I first started dating, too. How could the outcomes be so different?"

"Does it matter? You're done with David. He's history. Gone. Buh bye!"

I laughed. "You are way happier than you should be."

"I am not. I should be happier! You got out of that dead end relationship, I no longer have to see David. You have a new guy that runs you bubble baths and eats you out after breakfast. Hey, does he have a brother?"

"Lara!"

"Well, I'm just wondering."

The bathroom door creaked open and Holden stepped in...naked. My mouth popped open. He probably did need to be my gym buddy—every part of him was rock hard and sculpted. David had muscle definition, but nothing like this.

"Hello? Hello?" Lara's voice stopped my ogling.

"Um, Lara. Let me call you back."

"Uh huh, right," she laughed. "Talk to you Monday."

I hung up and continued to gawk.

"Can I join you?" he asked.

"Um...sure. Yeah."

"Scoot up."

He lowered himself into the tub and I felt his erection on my back. "Are you always that way?"

"What way?"

I squirmed in my shyness. "Hard?"

He drummed his fingers along the tub's edge. "Well, when I'm with you, it's a near-constant thing. Hopefully, it will slow down over time, otherwise, this could prove to be embarrassing."

We both laughed.

"So...how much time do we have left?" I was eager to get to the surprise portion of our date. I had no inkling of an idea where he was taking me, and he wasn't relenting.

"So hasty. We have a couple hours. Plenty of time to chill." He laughed. "I can almost hear your frown from here."

"I have a love-hate relationship with surprises."

"Most people do...but," he reached around me and started to fondle my chest, "do your best to relax and enjoy the day, okay?"

"It's hard to relax when you do stuff like this to me."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No."

"I didn't think so." I heard the smile in his voice.

By the end of the bath, Holden had worked me over twice more with his fingers. I dried myself and went to my room to find some clothes. "I don't know what to wear," I called out the door.

"Wear whatever you like," Holden called back.

"Darn." I was hoping he would give a clue as to where we were headed. With no clothing recommendation from him, the date could lead anywhere. A movie, the mall...a play...the possibilities were endless, and it annoyed me. I threw on a pair of skinny jeans and a light sweater before marching out to the kitchen.

"Do you have a crockpot?" he asked.

"Yeah. What type of woman doesn't have a crockpot?"

He laughed. "My mother. She preferred dinners that came out of a frozen box."

"And that's why you learned how to cook," I said, piecing the information he just offered me with his culinary skills.

He nodded and smiled. "You look nice," he said, looking up from the skillet as he continued to stir what smelled like browning ground beef. "Hope you don't get that dirty," he winked.

"Ugh! Will you just tell me where we're going?"

"Nope."

I pouted through the couple of hours we had left to wait before we left for the surprise. It was petty, I know. Holden tried to talk to me as he drove through town, but I was watching the street signs and buildings, hoping for more clues. We hit main street and a smile spread across my face.

"Merlot and a Masterpiece!" I clapped.

"Well, damn," he said, pulling into the parking garage. "Next time, I'm blindfolding you."

"I bet you'd like that. Creep."

"You just wait...I'll show you what a creep I can be."

"Do you ever get tired?"

He knew what I meant. "Of pleasuring you? Of wanting you? No."

I looked at him. "I don't get why you haven't done it yet."

He rubbed my cheek with his hand. "I've given you reasons, Ken."

"Not good ones."

I internally gawked at myself. Where had this new woman come from? What was I doing? I never begged for sex, ever. In the past, if David said no, that was it.

"Hey, no. None of that," Holden took my chin between his fingers. "I can see what you're thinking, and no. You're not wrong to want what you want. I'm glad you want me. I've dreamt of you wanting me since I bumped into you at Kohl's all those weeks ago. I just..." he sighed, "like you said, I'm intense about you. That makes me want to do...things...I'm not certain you're ready for. I want to wade in before plunging into the deep."

"What things, Holden? I don't understand."

"We'll talk later. Right now, I want you to teach me how to paint."

I grunted my disapproval, but conceded to his wishes.

Holden was a terrible painter, but at least he tried; and, he even looked like he enjoyed himself. He brought a smile to my face as he concentrated on applying the color to the canvas; he made me laugh when he cursed because "his strokes were ugly". We took a picture together with our flower artworks before leaving the studio.

I thanked Holden on the entire ride home and even as we crossed the threshold to the apartment.

"I can't believe you've never been there," he said, tossing his keys onto the counter.

I shrugged. "I just never had any time."

"Well, we'll have to go again," he winked before sliding breadsticks into the oven.

"I don't get why you did all this for me today," I shook my head. "I was kinda rude to you in the beginning," I said, thinking back to when I first met him.

"Not...rude. Just stubborn."

"Isn't there anything I can do to repay you?"

He assessed me. "No, Kennedy. Just because I do something nice for you, doesn't mean I expect anything in return. I had as much fun today as you did, if not more."

"But we did stuff I like to do. What could you have gotten out of it?"

He shook his head. "I had fun. It was great seeing you have fun. You barely even frowned today."

I smiled as I realized the truth in his words.

"If we're going to be in a relationship, you have to understand something. When I want to do nice things for you, I'm not looking for reciprocation. That's not how things work with me. Don't look at me like I'm going to sound off a list of demands; it's just not going to happen. Do you understand me?"

I nodded. "I understand."

We sat down to dinner and, as always, it was amazing. Who knew you could make lasagna in a crockpot? We cleaned the kitchen together and took Bentley for his nightly walk. I could see Saturdays like this becoming "the norm" for us, and the thought warmed me. Of course, I wasn't going to be selfish and only do the things I wanted to; no matter what Holden said, I would try my best to reciprocate all he did for me that day. I made it my goal to find out what he liked to do in his spare time—to find what he was passionate about—and plan a nice date for him. I thought back to all our encounters and attempted to find hints of what he may be interested until Bentley started barking.

"Bent, hush," I said, hoping he hadn't woken anyone. He did not quiet. "Bent...what is wrong with you? He usually only barks at squirrels," I told Holden. "I'm not sure what his problem is."

His barking grew in volume and frequency as we drew closer to the apartment; it was too late to turn around before I realized why.

Bentley stopped dragging me behind him and produced a growl that made even the hair on my neck stand up.

"Holden, will you take Bentley inside, please?"

"Why? Is everything okay?"

"Um...I don't know."

"Kennedy," I heard his voice before I saw his face.

He looked a train had run him over. He hadn't shaved in quite some time, that much was obvious. His clothes needed washed. His hair was a mess. And he wreaked of strong drink.

"Damn," I whispered. Of all the nights for David to show up at my apartment, it had to be after an awesome date.

I shortened Bentley's leash around my wrist, hoping to keep the dog somewhat contained. "Bent, hush. No more." The dog was quiet, but the thundering of my heart took place of the barking.

"Where've you been, Kennedy? I've been calling, texting...I've come by and you changed the locks on me. You missed our m-meeting with the caterer and the baker for the cake."

"I've been teaching, and I've been at school."

"And out fucking around, it seems," he ran his fingers through his hair. "Who's this guy? Where's your ring?"

I sighed. "Will you take Bentley inside?" I asked Holden.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Ken. This guy is obviously drunk and looking for trouble." Holden's muscles flexed as he glared at David.

"Yeah, it's really not a good... idea. Why not all three of us have a chit chat, hmm? Maybe this guy has the reason why you don't have your ring on and why you missed some of the most important appointments for our wedding."

Holden laughed without humor, shaking his head.

"David. I don't have the ring on because it's over."

An image of confusion swept over David's face before he finally registered what I had said. "WHAT?!" he roared.

"Hey, lower your voice, man," Holden said.

David ignored him. "You can't break up with me! We're getting married soon and everyone is going to be there. You're just having cold feet."

"No, I'm breaking up with you because you crossed the line last time. I forgave you after the first time, and you said you weren't going to do it again, but you did."

I heard Holden's sharp intake of breath, but I kept going. It was too late to stop talking now. I had plunged into the depths and there was no way I was coming out without the desired outcome. I needed to be free of David once and for all.

"I set the rules in the beginning and you broke them. That's it, we're done. We're not right for each other, and I'm not sure that we ever were. I can put your ring in the mail, okay?"

"You're leaving me because you're fucking him! I know the truth! What? Does he do things that I don't? Are you two nasty together or something? Ugh, God. You make me sick."

"Okay, that's quite enough. Ken?" Holden placed his hand at the small of my back and ushered me to the apartment door.

"Hold the hell on! She's not going anywhere with you!"

Holden wheeled around to face David. The differences between the two men were staggering. "All right. This is how it's gonna go, David. One, you're going to shut up. It's late and people are sleeping. Two, you are going to call for a ride because you are too sloppy drunk to drive anywhere. Three, we're going to go upstairs and you will be gone. We are going our separate ways and you will not come to this apartment again, are we clear?"

"Who died and made y-you boss? You aren't about to tell me what to do with my wife!"

David made a grab for me but Holden was too fast. He deflected David's attempt to catch me and ended up holding him in some form of a headlock. Bentley went wild, barking and snapping at David, all the while yanking my arm in odd directions.

"Kennedy, why don't you take Bentley inside, hmm? I think David and I need to have a chat." Holden's voice was steady as if he didn't just physically exert himself to trap the raging, drunk David. Maybe he hadn't. "I'll be up in a minute."

"This isn't over Kennedy! You hear me?! We will be together!"

"Bentley, house," I said, pulling my dog in the direction of the apartment. He stopped barking but growled the entire walk inside. I slammed my keys on the counter. "Go get some water, B," I told the dog as I let my face fall into my hands. I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "This day went so well," I groaned.

I was comfortable with Holden. I enjoyed his company—I had chosen to be with him; but, David had to mess it all up with his stupidity. Holden didn't need to be involved in this mess, and he probably didn't even want to anymore. My relationship with him was ruined before I even had the chance to officially accept him into my life. "At least I got a little taste of what life could've been," I said, dragging my feet on the way to my bedroom. I threw on a pair of comfy pajamas and was rolling my hair into a bun when I heard the apartment door open.

My heart skipped a beat. "Holden?"

"Kennedy?" Holden came through the bedroom door. His eyes were burning with anger, but the rest of his face was concerned as he looked at me. "Hey," he smiled. "You ready for bed?"

"Yeah," I said.

"I see that. PJs and all," he smirked. He took off his shoes, followed by his pants and shirt.

"You're staying?"

"If that's okay."

"Of course," I threw the covers back and crawled into bed, making sure to leave room for him.

He crawled in behind me and pulled me close to him.

"I'm sorry," I said.

His voice was soft, a mere whisper in my ear. "We don't have to talk about it, Ken. Get some rest."

"O-okay."

As expected, I did not sleep well. Memories of my father and David blended together to form a pretty impressive nightmare. I jerked awake, sweat and tears moistening my face. Holden awoke not too long after me and drowned my fears in more rounds of sexual pleasure.