Drops of Blue Read online

  "Tell me everything."

  Allie was biting her lip with anticipation. She wasn’t even the one dating, but she was sitting on the edge of her seat. Emily smiled and blushed slightly. Allie was a good friend, but was she close enough to share the intimate details of her date with?

  It had, after all, been Emily’s first date in months.

  And she really didn’t want to jinx it, not when the relationship was going so well.

  “He’s…fantastic,” Emily said finally.

  “I know! I can tell. You’re practically glowing, Em.” Allie grabbed for her coffee mug and took a sip, enjoying the pick-me-up the hot beverage provided. “You have to tell me all about it. Did he kiss you? Who am I joking? Of course he kissed you. Was it good? Was it awkward? Did you get all wet and tingly?”

  “Allie!” Emily threw a pillow at her friend.

  “Come on! I babysat! I deserve to hear some dirty stories.”

  “It was good,” Emily smiled softly, staring into her own cup of coffee. It was true, too. Henry had been a perfect gentleman. When he walked her to the door to say goodnight, she found herself wishing that the night would never end.

  For too many days, Emily had spent her time reliving the last time she saw her mother.

  To be fair, the casket had been beautiful: her mother’s dress pristine. But somehow, the only thing she remembered about the moment she whispered goodbye was how lifelike her mother looked.

  She didn’t look dead.

  Emily had wondered, momentarily, if her mom would jump up and yell “Surprise.” That would be quite the joke, and mother had always been a prankster.

  But she hadn’t jumped up.

  It hadn’t been a joke.

  Emily had stood by the side of her mother’s coffin and she had cried until she could cry no more. Her teardrops had fallen against her mother’s soft skin and splashed, smearing the makeup only just a little.

  And even though she had grieved tremendously, Emily had never felt a true sense of closure in the matter.

  But now she had someone to take her mind off of things. Now she had someone to help her with the hard moments. Now she had someone she could turn to, crawl toward, belong with.

  “He makes me feel really special. He makes me feel real. I haven’t felt that way in a long time.”

  “I get what you mean. After my brother died, I felt like there was nothing left keeping me going. When Mark came along, though, everything changed.” Allie glanced toward a picture of her husband on their wedding day. His dark grey suit perfectly contrasted his dazzling green eyes.

  It had been almost ten years, Emily knew, but Allie was still just as happy as she had been on her wedding day. Mark had brought her out of a deep sadness and a place of mourning and shown her what life could really be like.

  Maybe she would have something like that with Henry.

  Maybe it was too soon to be thinking that way.

  “You’re right. It’s nice to have something to take my mind off things. It’s more than that, though.” Emily paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to describe the way that she felt. “It’s like I’m not just a mom anymore. I’m not just a grieving daughter. I’m a woman. I’m feminine. I’m precious. And I can spend all the time in the world just getting lost in his eyes.”

  Chapter 6

  Work couldn’t go any slower.

  Emily stared at the clock, hardly daring to take her eyes off it until it read 1:30.

  Henry, ever the punctual one, waltzed into the diner at his usual time. He walked up to the counter with his usual swagger and made his way to his usual barstool.

  But then he did something quite unusual.

  He leaned across the counter and kissed Emily square on the mouth.

  “I missed you this morning,” he told her.

  “I-I missed you, too,” she stuttered, surprised at his display of affection.

  She loved it. She loved every touch they shared. It was hard to focus knowing that they would share more touches, then more. Emily found herself constantly thinking of Henry and all the things he would say or do. She found herself thinking about his stories, about his laugh, about the way he carried himself across the room.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about the way he sipped his coffee.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about him until he was with her.

  “Go out with me again tonight,” he told her with a smile. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I want to see you again.”

  “I’d love to, but I’ll have Dillon. Allie has other plans tonight, so I don’t have a sitter.”

  “That’s okay. Why don’t I come over?” He must have sensed Emily’s hesitation, because Henry quickly added, “After Dillon is bed. I don’t intend to cause any trouble or awkwardness for you.”

  Emily appreciated his gesture. Though Dillion was eight, he was still just a little boy to her. Emily wasn’t sure how to introduce the idea of her dating to him, so she just didn’t. She knew that one day, at some point, she would have to tell him that she’d met someone.

  But that didn’t have to be tonight, did it?

  Couldn’t tonight be just for her and Henry?

  “Okay,” she said after a moment. “Tonight after 9:30. Don’t be early.”

  “I won’t, Beautiful.”

  “Do you want a sandwich today?” Emily asked, noticing that Henry was standing up.

  “No, I have to run a few errands before I head back to work. I just needed to see you today.”

  He leaned over and kissed her again, this time taking a few minutes to explore her mouth passionately. Emily knew that if her boss was here, she’d be in for it.

  Fortunately, the only other person in the diner was an old man named Hank who sat at the end of the bar and drank coffee all day.

  And he certainly didn’t seem to mind the show.

  Chapter 7

  Emily heard the sounds of snoring and good dreams emitting from Dillon’s room and she knew it was almost time for Henry to arrive.

  She looked in the mirror again and pushed back a strand of hair.

  The black tank top she had chosen highlighted her breasts well, but that was kind of the point. She wanted to look her best when he arrived. She wanted him to see her, to love the way she looked, to eat her up with his eyes.

  And then with his tongue.

  But maybe that was getting ahead of herself.

  The knock at the door sounded and Emily hurried to open it. Henry stood waiting for her with a bottle of wine and a ready smile.

  “You look gorgeous,” and then he was kissing her.

  She managed to get the door closed before he put the bottle of wine on the table and his hands on her body.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” she murmured, taking in his kisses.

  “Not as glad as I am,” he told her between kisses, trying to catch his breath. Something about her was too exciting. He couldn’t seem to remember how to breathe, how to think, how to do anything. She was all he ever thought about, and now he was here. Now he was here, alone with her, and it was everything he had hoped it would be.

  Her breasts heaved as she kissed him deeper and deeper. He kept his hands on her waist until she made it clear that she was ready for more.

  When she grabbed his hand and placed it on her breast, he stopped hesitating.

  They were both ready for what was about to happen.

  The wine remained unopened as they made their way to the couch like a couple of teenagers in heat. The hormone rush was something Emily hadn’t felt in years. Henry didn’t know if he’d ever felt like this. He focused on breathing, focused on enjoying every second he was with her.

  Because life was short.

  Because he didn’t know how long this would last.

  All he knew was that he didn’t want this moment to ever stop.

  So he kissed her neck until she moaned, then slid her tank top off. Her pink bra perfectly accentuated her breasts.

  “You’r
e gorgeous,” he whispered between kisses, making his way down to nuzzle her tits.

  Emily said nothing. She simply ran her fingers through his hair as he continued to kiss her cleavage until Henry finally unclasped her bra and let her breasts free.

  For someone she had met only a few short weeks ago, Emily found herself loving every second she was with Henry. Somehow he made her forget all about her problems. Somehow he made her feel more alive than she had ever felt before.

  And when he slid off her jeans, followed by her panties, he licked her soft pussy until she felt like she was doing to die with pleasure.

  “Please,” she told him. “I’m ready.”

  “Ready for what?” he said with a smile.

  “For you. I want you. I want to feel you in me.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want your dick in me.”

  He stood, unzipping his pants and sliding them off. Before he had a chance to remove his boxers, Emily yanked them off and slid his hard cock into her mouth, sucking it all the way down.

  She had always loved giving head. It was almost as good, she thought, as receiving it. There was something so fantastic about feeling so in control. She was the pleasure-bringer, and she was giving him everything she had. Emily glanced up at Henry, anxious to see his face. His eyes were closed and he was biting his lip.

  Blowing him made her feel just as sexy and strong as she had felt in the backseat of her boyfriend’s car at 15.

  Only now, she was with someone who could give back to her, too.

  Henry was a lot of things, but a selfish lover he was not.

  “Okay,” he whispered, gently pushing her away. “If you don’t stop then I won’t be able to.”

  “Come on, big boy.”

  She leaned back on the couch and spread her legs. Her pussy was dripping wet as she slid a finger inside herself, showing off for her date.

  “Don’t you want to feel me? Don’t you want to slide your dick in me, Henry?”

  Without hesitation, he did as she begged. Emily was tighter than he had expected, but just as wet as she looked, if not more so. He glided easily into her, fucking her on the couch until he finally exploded with ecstasy.

  When it was over, he collapsed on the couch next to her: a hot, sweaty mess.

  Emily leaned over and nuzzled her head against him. It was just what she had hoped for and exactly what she had needed.

  “How about that wine?” he asked.

  Chapter 8

  “How do you feel?” Henry sipped his glass of wine with a smile. He was still naked, enjoying lounging around Emily’s kitchen without being dressed. She looked beautiful in her tank top and panties, almost as beautiful as she’d looked with his cock in her.

  “Good. Happy. Content. What about you?” It was true. She felt happier than she had expected to after making love, more comfortable than she’d been in a long time. She had been with plenty of men before, but none that made her forget her imperfections. Not like Henry.

  “I feel pretty damn good. You’re amazing.”

  “I feel the exact same way. It’s funny, us meeting the way we did. I’d never expect to find someone that way. You know, just working. What made you come into the diner, anyway?”

  He grinned. “Just pure luck. I used to eat lunch at Subway, but they were remodeling. I just needed a place to grab a quick bite and the diner was there.”

  “So our meeting was all luck?”

  “All luck.”

  “Well, it’s nice to have something good happen, for a change.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  Emily curled her foot under herself as she sat down at the table. Sipping her own glass of wine, she couldn’t help but smile at Henry. Falling in love was so much fun. Everything was new and fresh and perfect. They didn’t know too much about each other yet. They didn’t know the tough stuff. They didn’t have the history of fighting or the pain of loss. They just had each other.

  And it was fantastic.

  “You really were amazing tonight,” Henry told her. He meant it, too. She could tell.

  “I was a little nervous ahead of time.”

  “Why? You’re gorgeous.”

  She smiled shyly. “Well, you know. I’ve still got the stretch marks, the c-section scar, the flabby thighs. I want to be perfect for you, but I know I’m not.”

  “No one is perfect, but you come pretty damn close, Em.”

  Henry finished his glass of wine and they moved to the couch to snuggle.

  “I wish I could stay the night,” he told her after a few minutes, “but I have to be at work early.”

  “It’s okay,” she said honestly. “I understand. And I’m glad you came over anyway.”

  Henry kissed her goodnight and headed back to his car. As she watched him walk down the narrow sidewalk, Emily couldn’t help but replay every moment they had spent together. Their dinner date, their walk at the park, their afternoons together at the diner, and now this: their lovemaking. Everything about their relationship was so smooth. It was almost too easy.

  It would have been simple for her to think he was too good to be true. After all, who falls in love with a guy at a diner? More importantly, who falls in love with a single mother who works as a waitress? But none of that seemed to matter to Henry. He really seemed to “get” her. He really seemed to care about her as a person.

  And Emily felt like she could walk on the moon.

  It was still too early to go to bed, but she had to tell someone.

  Allie answered the phone groggily.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” Emily gushed, only momentarily wondering why her friend was in bed before midnight, “but it happened. It happened!”

  “What? Emily? What happened? Oh—you and Henry! What!? Tell me everything!”

  So Emily did. She didn’t leave out a single detail. She felt herself getting wet again as she replayed her orgasm, his tongue licking her pussy, and the way he slid his dick in and out of her so slowly and then so quickly that she thought she might pass out from the pleasure.

  “What’s his number?” Allie joked, “And can I borrow him the next time Mark goes out of town?”

  Chapter 9

  When Emily saw Henry the next day, she was thrilled.

  He kissed her good afternoon, told her she looked beautiful, and sat in his favorite spot.

  “I’m really glad you came in,” she told him. “I almost wondered if you wouldn’t.”

  He looked confused for a moment. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  Then it hit him.

  “Oh. You thought I was going to blow you off.”

  “It’s nothing personal,” she said quickly. “It’s just, you know, it’s happened before.”

  “Emily,” Henry said softly. “I am not other guys. And you aren’t just some random girl I picked up off the street. You’re incredible. You’re special. And I want to get to know you even more.”

  “You do?”

  “Why else would I come in to this place every single day? It’s not for the coffee,” he winked, taking a sip.

  “I guess I just…I was just worried that I might be getting my hopes up, you know. I think you’re incredible, too. I want to get to know you better, too.”

  “Then go out with me again.”

  “Ha!” She laughed and turned to take a plate of food to one of her tables. When she returned, she leaned across the counter and kissed him. “Any time, any place. Just tell me when, and I’ll be there.”

  “Every time,” he told her. “And every place. I don’t want to spend any more moments without you in them.”

  And at that moment, Emily realized that she felt the exact same way about Henry as he felt about her. It wasn’t that they had some incredibly passionate or unusual relationship, but that they were going to be there for each other. They understood each other. They knew what it meant to hurt and how finding the right person could help you heal. They got it.

  They could do it.

&nb
sp; And even when the moments got tough, even when she felt like she was swimming in darkness, he would be there.

  Henry would get her through it.

  He would be her special moment.

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