Chapter 20

20

Piper

I've always kept a small inner circle. Even when I was a kid. Honestly, it was always too embarrassing to even think about bringing friends near my parents. Plus, all I did was swim.

College? About the same.

Then once I got pregnant, forget about it.

You would have sworn I came down with some vicious plague that was easily transmittable.

As of right now, my inner circle (if you can call it that) really comes down to Maryanne and Dorothy. A crazy bird lady and a woman in her eighties who has more vitality than most woman a quarter of her age.

Point being, I don't have many places to hand out feelings if those feelings get too piled up. You know, kind of like sleeping with a baseball player more than once and then running off like a fool when he makes some cute gesture about moving into the town I live in.

That's just me though. I will self-destruct in a second if I suspect any possible scenario where my heart can get broken.

I really have nobody to blame for that but myself. The whole situation with Hunter and I happened a long time ago. The guy was and still is a complete ass. I knew that when I met him. He was just big, handsome and played football. I pictured us graduating together and we would become some athletic power couple. Get married. Have kids. Own some giant house in some Midwest state with more acres than we'd ever use.

Poof - there it goes.

Kind of like me with Cutter.

I can't believe I was sitting there wearing nothing but his t-shirt, sipping coffee he made, knowing I had at least twelve more hours to fuck him…

"Switch it up," Katie says to my left.

I shake my head, snapping back to reality, and look at the pool.

Not a single person swimming.

The water perfectly clean and very still.

I climb down, trading places with Katie.

There's about a minute left of quietness before the ladies show up to swim.

I don't make it to the office before I hear their voices.

It makes me smile.

I need this sense of familiarity right now.

I look over my shoulder and see Miss Dailey leading the charge, like she always does.

Lorraine and Marie are shoulder to shoulder, already gossiping.

Then there's Miss Jane (who has beautiful blonde hair for her age and swears she doesn't dye it even though everyone in town knows she goes two towns over to a salon) walking with Irene and Susan.

The troublemakers.

Miss Jane points to Katie and says something that makes Katie smile and blush.

Definitely something about Katie's hair, eyes, or body.

They all love to remind anyone younger than them that gravity is hot on our tails.

As if I don't already understand that to a certain extent.

Having a baby and breastfeeding… yeah, changed things.

Cutter didn't mind at all, did he? And the way those hands of his just grabbed. Held. Took. Teased. Squeezed.

I'm one step away from the office to sit and possibly throw water on my face to calm down when I hear all the ladies start to cheer.

Not a clap. But a full blown explosion of cheers.

I turn my head once more and can't believe my eyes.

Cutter Buckley is walking toward the water - shirtless.

Even Katie has her head tilted a little.

I'm waiting for drool to leak out of her mouth.

"I can take it from here, Katie," I say to her.

"I just got up here," she says without breaking her eye-humping gaze at Cutter.

The ladies have all scurried toward the ramp and are basically pushing and shoving each other out of the way to get into the water.

Cutter spots me from the corner of his eye, not that I'm trying to be hidden.

"Hey there, Piper," he says in a casual voice as though his dick hasn't brought me the greatest set of orgasms that have ever occurred in my life.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I whisper.

"Came for a swim," Cutter says. "Going to join in on some aerobics."

"You can stand right next to me!" Miss Dailey calls out.

She's the first in the water and she's gently splashing water onto her chest.

You're on the Christmas committee! You're married! Your husband puts the star on the tree in the middle of town! You cannot be this horny!

"We'll talk in a bit," Cutter says to me. "We have plans tonight."

"Excuse me?" I ask.

Cutter walks to the edge of the pool and looks at Katie. "Mind if I jump in?"

Katie is supposed to tell Cutter not to jump.

Instead she literally mutters, "Ah, bah, bah, ah, oh…"

Cutter jumps into the water.

He pops up a second later, soaked, oozing with sex appeal.

"You got me wet!" Marie says.

"He got me wet first!" Miss Jane chimes in.

She's another one! She's also married! She works with the animal shelter and organizes adoption days!

I don't know why I find it so mystical that these women are turned on by Cutter.

His sexiness has no age bracket… from college age like Katie, drooling away, all the way to Irene, who is ninety-five years young.

"I have seniority," Irene says as she stares right at Cutter. "I get whatever I want from him first."

And her tone… it's not a joking tone either.

Which brings me to a new feeling.

I can't believe I'm openly admitting this right now, but I am slightly jealous. These aged women, who half are married, are beyond gawking at Cutter. I'm willing to bet anything, given the chance, they would fool around with Cutter.

Menopause be damned, Cutter is reversing the hands of time with these women as he swims around them and stretches his arms high into the air, which causes muscles to flex.

I hear a tink noise next to me and look to see Katie's whistle on the ground. Her right hand open, frozen in place.

I snap my fingers. "Hey. You're supposed to be the lifeguard here!"

"I know," Katie whispers. "Yeah. I know."

Great. I've lost her.

That leaves me standing at the edge of the pool, watching as Cutter swims and the ladies chase after him. He's leading the class now. He's got them all kicking and paddling, all desperate to catch up and place a hand on his shoulder. Or chest. Or face. Or…

No! Absolutely not! These women are old enough to be my grandmothers and great-grandmothers. The only thickness they're massaging is a fresh ball of dough to bake to go along with their famous spaghetti sauce recipe.

Cutter teeters near the deeper end of the pool. He can reach. None of the horny elderly woman can. They look like zombies in a movie, reaching out and groaning. Except instead of brains, they want dick.

I touch my forehead.

I can't believe I just had that thought.

I keep an eye on the clock and right around the twenty minute mark since this fiasco began, Cutter tells the ladies that he needs a break. That they've tired him out. He rubs his shoulder and these ladies are even more ready to pounce.

Now comes the show…

Cutter walking up the ramp, out of the pool. Water dripping from his insanely perfect muscular frame. Water hugging the muscles of his back for an extra second or two before diving back into the pool. Water dripping down against the waistband of his bathing suit. Oh, and that bathing suit. Clinging to his perfect ass. And his legs. And his feet. Those very nice big feet…

I force myself to look away.

"Now that was a workout," Miss Dailey says to me.

"I haven't been that heated up by a man in twenty years," Lorraine says.

I can't hear any more of this.

I turn away.

Cutter is now walking right toward me. Of course he doesn't have a towel.

I'm not sure what his end game is here, but every freaking woman in and near this pool is having heart palpitations because of him. Me included.

"Just a quick swim," Cutter says. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"What does that mean? I don't do surprises. I don't like when someone makes plans for me."

"I know," he says. "That's why I did it."

Cutter has the balls to then wink at me and walk off to the men's locker room.

So I bolt from his house and he just shows up to my work and tells me he has plans for me? Like he's the boss of me? Like I'm going to actually listen to his command?

Did this hunk get hit in the head with a baseball bat or what?

Saxon doesn't have a care in the world when I lie to him and tell him I have a work meeting. It's the sensible thing to do. The kind of lie that parents need in their back pockets. I'm not sure how to tell my son that I'm going to sneak around and fool around with an injured baseball player who will be gone soon enough anyway.

All Saxon needs to survive are some video games, barbecue chips, and iced tea. He's like a little king in his castle in his room. I tell him I love him. He says he loves me. His eyes don't leave the screen for a second.

I leave his room and go out to the front porch where Maryanne waits for me.

Binoculars around her neck.

A smile on her face.

"See any good birds tonight?" I ask, slightly teasing.

"No," she says. "Did see some activity across the street though. Looks like someone was snooping around in the bushes. I'll keep an eye out. In case it's a serial killer."

"What did you just say?" I ask. "Serial killer?"

I look back at my house.

"Oh, Piper, I'm kidding around," Maryanne says. "The only serial killer here is your son…"

"What?" I yell.

"In the morning!" Maryanne says. "When he's eating breakfast!"

"You mean cereal," I say.

Great. Now my heart is racing a little.

"Listen, I appreciate the help," I say. "This is just some work thing. Meeting or whatever. Last second."

"Piper, it's fine," Maryanne says. "You know I will guard your son and this house with my life."

A set of headlights appear up the street.

There's no hiding the giant SUV that Cutter drives.

It catches Maryanne's attention too.

She knows exactly who drives that vehicle.

"Work thing," she whispers.

"Stop it," I say.

"You know he set this all up well in advance," Maryanne confesses. "He was here earlier. Brought me some birdseed and a hummingbird feeder. He told me he needed to steal you for a little while and asked if I could keep an eye on things."

"He did… what…"

"Looks like someone has a crush on you, Piper," Maryanne says.

I turn away from her, race down the porch steps and out to the sidewalk, then out into the road.

I run up to the SUV, open the passenger door and step up, but I don't get inside.

Oh hell no…

"You talked to my neighbor behind my back?" I yell at Cutter. "You made plans without talking to me first? You think that's smart to do?"

"You look fucking beautiful right now, Piper."

"What?" I yell. "I look beautiful? What is wrong with you?"

"I made arrangements to take you out for a little bit. Everything is fine. Everyone is safe and happy. Now it's your turn for the same, sweetie. So are you going to stop being so damn stubborn and get into the seat or are you going to stand there and yell at me all night?"

I plop my ass into the passenger seat and fold my arms.

Cutter doesn't drive.

He just sits there.

"What now?" I growl.

"Need you to put your seatbelt on, sweetie," he says. "Got to be safe, right?"

I look at him.

I reach for the seatbelt and pull it across my body.

I'm pouting. I'm mean. I'm stubborn as anything.

Cutter has the cockiest look possible on his face.

He's such a dick.

But he has such a great dick…

Am I really doing all this for some mind-blowing-earth-shattering-volcanic-triggering-spewing-lava-hurriance-in-my-panties-tornado-in-my-soul sex?

Yes.

"This is your big surprise?" I ask. "Taking me to where I work?"

Cutter uses his special key to open the door to the pool.

He holds it open for me. "I never said the word surprise, did I?"

I walk through the open door.

The comfortable smell of chlorine hits me.

"Did you bring me here to talk about what you did to those ladies?"

"I gave them a memory," Cutter says.

"You could have killed them. Flirting that way."

"I'm sure they enjoyed every second of being with me."

Oh, he's extra cocky tonight. Great.

"Okay, Cutter," I say. "Wow. Look. It's a pool. The pool where I work. Now what?"

The now what part starts instantly as he walks up to me, from behind. His hands touch my hips. I freeze. His hands make a daring move, sliding into my front pockets.

I gasp and try to jump but his hands grab…

Cutter strips my pockets of my phone and my license, credit card and some cash.

I spin around and watch him gently place everything on the tiled floor.

He then does the same to himself.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

I can't believe my brain doesn't register what's about to happen.

Cutter smiles at me and moves closer…

He scoops me up off my feet.

That's when I realize…

Before I say anything, Cutter jumps into the pool with me in his arms.