Page 85 of Stroked Hard
He was a piece of shit who took off, leaving two perfect pieces of heaven behind. Do not blame yourself for his shortcomings.I have never thought of my father's leaving in terms of what he left behind. My mom is a strong, amazing, and loving woman. And I was just a little girl who worshipped the ground he walked on.
“Why didn’t he want to stay?”I asked Hollis. And his answer? It somehow spoke healing to my heartbroken six-year-old soul.
Some men are too insecure to face what’s wrong with them, so they leave. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with him.
Does that also mean that by staying it has everything to do with them? What had he said?Let me be the man you deserve, Melony. Let me show you how much you should be treasured.The man I deserve. DoIdeservehim?
I know with absolute certainty, if he walked out of my apartment right now and never talked to me again, I would be devastated. In a short amount of time, he’s wiggled himself into my life and become a semi-permanent fixture.
I hate to admit it, but he’s made me want more, something I never thought possible. Let’s just hope he doesn’t mess it up. I only hand out one opportunity to earn and keep my trust. Any kind of screwup and we’re done.
Knowing I have to give him an answer, I run my hand up to his face and cup the scruff on his jaw. “At this point, I don’t think I would be able to say no.” His face lights up. “But I’m going to tell you right now, I’m skittish, scared as hell, and will most likely shut down on you more than once. It will be your choice if you want to stick around.”
“And not if, but when I stick around, will you open up to me? Talk to me? If we hit a bump in the road, I’m going to want you to talk to me, not run away.”
“I’ll do my best,” I answer. He responds with a kiss, a sensual but short one. “But this has to go slow, Hollis, and I would like to keep it between us for now. Involving others at this point will just add pressure.”
He nods. “I can respect that.” Smiling brightly, he says, “You’re in for a whirlwind of romance, Hot Sex.”
“Hot Sex?”
“Yup.” Shifting our bodies, he turns me over so I’m on my back and he’s on top of me again. “It’s your new nickname. Your sex is fucking hot as hell, so you’re Hot Sex.”
“That’s terrible, don’t call me that.”
“Too late, it’s a keeper . . . Hot Sex.”
Christ, what did I get myself into?
Chapter Nineteen
HOLLIS
It’s the first official day of being Melony’s boyfriend.
Well . . . technically being her boyfriend. We didn’t talk about titles, but fuck it, in my head, I’m her boyfriend, therefore I will treat her like my girlfriend. Which is why I’m up early and a sleepy Melony is in bed—yes, I spent the night, again. Chalk it up to the multiple orgasms I delivered. She was too tired to argue otherwise.
Can you smell the rich cinnamon with a slight hint of vanilla? It’s my mom’s French toast recipe and the lucky lady with the hot-pink nails and tasty-as-fuck pussy gets to devour them this morning. It’s rare that I make French toast given my strict eating habits—well, not so much strict, but whatever—but for my girl on our first big day together, she gets it.
The pan sizzles beneath me as I stare at the toast browning. The key to a good French toast: keeping the heat on a lower setting so the center cooks through. You also have to have patience, too many people like to blast the heat and end up with soggy middles. Believe me, I’ve made that mistake.
I take another bite of my apple, loving that she has Granny Smiths in her fridge. Not many people can handle the sourness of a green apple, but I love it. And I love it that my girl does too.
The sun whips through her giant sliding glass door that leads to her balcony. Although smaller than my condo, she still has a very nice apartment. Everything is new and clean. I’m impressed Melony can afford this place actually. I know this complex isn’t cheap to live in and seeing that she lives here all on her own . . . she’s impressive. Just another reason why I like this girl so much, she is self-sufficient. No one likes a clinging mooch of a beast.
Biting my apple, I look around, my spatula in my other hand when I turn to see Melony freshly fucked and out of bed. Her hair is an utter mess, curls from yesterday’s style strewn all over, her eyes are sleepy, and the sweater she’s wearing hangs off her shoulder and comes to mid-thigh. Fuck, she’s so hot.
“Morning,” I say with a smirk. “Apple?” I hold out my half-eaten one to her.
She shakes her head and looks me up and down, her eyes trained on my ass. “Do you always cook in the nude?” That morning voice, fuck, it’s sexy.
“Not always. Don’t want to burn my peter, but given you throw your bedding around in the middle of the night, I couldn’t quite find my clothes.”
She walks closer to me, her curves shifting under her shirt, her nipples poking out at me, her lips so fucking swollen all I want to do is taste them once again. My dick starts to harden just from her approach.
She doesn’t notice . . . at first. “What are you making?” When I turn to her, she glances down and then her eyes widen in a cute-as-shit way. When she looks back up at me, her face blushes.
“Can’t blame the fella. You’re hot as shit, baby.”
