Chapter 2

Craig pulled away from her soft lips when her father coughed, “Ahem.”

Craig was in a daze from finally kissing Izzy. He reveled her the taste of her sweet and salty lips. Bacon, with a hint of maple syrup. He almost laughed as her father continued.

“Kids, would you mind going out to lunch. The wife and I need some time to talk privately.”

“Sure, Daddy,” she said as he handed her a fifty-dollar bill.

“Will you be alright? I can stay close by...”

“Craig, you’ve done more than enough already, son, thank you. We’re only gonna talk. There’s nothing left for me to break anyway.”

“Okay, sir. Take care.”

“It’s Rick now, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you coming over last night. Who knows what I would’ve done in that state.”

Craig nodded and Izzy said, “I’m gonna change shirts and we’ll be out of your hair, Daddy.”

She scaled the stairs quickly and saw her mother sitting on her bed, crying quietly. Izzy walked over, knelt in front of her, and took her hands.

“Mom, are you okay?”

She sniffed and said, “I messed up badly, baby. Please don’t cut me out like you did Mia.”

Izzy hugged her and said, “I won’t, Mom. I’m mad at you, but I can’t cut you out of my life. I still need you.”

She squeezed her mother tighter as she sobbed into her shoulder.

“I can’t live without him, Izzy. I need him so badly. I love him so much, and he hates me now.”

“He doesn’t hate you, Mom. He hates what you did.”

“I guess he hated my figurines, too.”

They both laughed.

“Don’t be too hard on him for that. It will be a non-starter in any conversation you have.”

“I know. They’re just stuff and can be replaced. I can’t replace him, though. I have to get him back.”

“I’m still here.”

They both looked up at the door and saw Rick standing there.

He said, “Let Izzy get going. We have to talk.”

She nodded and kissed Izzy on the cheek.

“No matter what happens, I love you very much.”

Craig and Izzy were sitting in Frank’s Chicago Shrimp House, having some fried shrimp and potato pancakes. Izzy was afraid to leave her parents alone together, but her father promised the rage was gone.

“I thought you didn’t want me to take revenge on Bentley,” Craig asked as he thought about Izzy covering for them.

“It’s Bryyyssson,” she said. “I didn’t, but after I found out that he took advantage of my mother, I came around on it.”

“What did happen there?” He asked.

“I guess they were out for a business dinner and he plied her with several Martinis. He kept her out late by lavishing her with compliments and flirting. She ate it up, got drunk and he took her in the backseat of his BMW, right there in the parking lot.”

“Jesus,” Craig said shaking his head.

“Yeah. Well, it turns out he gave her Gonorrhea, and then she passed it to my Dad.”

He looked at her and before he could ask the question, she answered it.

“I don’t know if Mia has it. I haven’t spoken to her since that night.”

“Damn it,” he thought. He didn’t trust what Mia said about the timing of her fling with Bryson. For all he knew, she could’ve given it to Bryson. He knew he needed to get tested.

“Craig, you didn’t hurt him too badly did you?”

“Not too badly. He’ll remember it though. I just wish I could’ve told him why he was getting what he got.”

“I think he’ll know,” she said. “Craig, are we okay?”

He took her hand and smiled.

“Yeah, we’re okay. Better than okay. I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to stop kissing you before.”

“Me either. Um, Craig, I’m not like Mia.”

“What do you mean? I trust that you won’t cheat on me.”

“No, I mean that I’m a virgin. I know you guys did it all of the time, but I’m sort of saving myself.”

“Don’t worry, Izzy. I won’t pressure you for sex. I’m good with you saving yourself.”

Izzy smiled in relief.

“Besides, I have to get myself tested for STDs now anyway.”

“I believed her, Craig. She hadn’t seen him before your leaving to go back to school.”

“You see, that’s the problem with trust and losing it. I don’t believe her. I never could again.”

“Do you miss her?”

“Sometimes, but it looks like I just upgraded and won’t have that hole in my life anymore.”

She beamed and lit up his heart with her smile. Then she turned serious.

“Craig, I’m going to talk to her.”

He didn’t respond, but she saw his frown.

“I’m sorry, but I have to tell her about Bryson’s STD. She needs to know.”

He nodded and understood. He would also understand if she stayed friends with her. He wasn’t sure that he could handle them being as close as they were before, but he wouldn’t tell Izzy that. He decided to let it play out.

“I thought a lot about it this morning. If I can forgive my mother for hurting my dad, I should be able to do the same for Mia. I’m not saying I’ll ever be as close with her as I was before, but I’d like to think that I can be the type of person that doesn’t hold grudges. Life is too short for negativity.”

“I understand,” he said. “Don’t worry about my feelings. You just be you.”

She smiled and said, “You’re a good person, I love you.”

“I love you too, Izz. Do you want to go out tonight? Not that this isn’t a good enough first date or anything.”

“Absolutely. I’d love it.”

“Good. Let’s get you to your car so you can go and see Mia and I’ll pick you up tonight at 6.”

Izzy walked up the steps to Mia’s townhouse and was impressed. Her parents put the money down as a graduation gift and co-signed on the mortgage. Izzy hadn’t been there yet but she was jealous. She wished that she were out on her own too.

Mia answered the door looking like she hadn’t showered in days. She was wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt with her hair pulled up into a loose ponytail.

“Izzy! Oh my God!” She grabbed her friend into a hug and cried.

Izzy returned the hug and asked, “Can we talk?”

“Oh my God! Yes. Come in.”

The house was surprisingly cleaner than Izzy expected considering Mia’s appearance. She sat down in the living room and listened to Mia ramble off apologies before cutting her off.

“Wait, Mia. Let me talk for a minute.”

Mia stopped and listened hopefully.

“First, I came to tell you that Bryson gave my mother an STD.”

Mia hung her head and said, “He gave me one too. I’m just glad I didn’t give it to Craig. I can barely live with myself now, I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had ... Wait! You said he gave it to your mom?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus. Does your dad know?”

“Yes, and things aren’t good in my house right now. She gave it to my dad.”

“Fucking Bryson. I want to kill him, I really do,” Mia said with a sneer.

“I know how you feel.”

“Izzy, I’m so sorry. I know I can’t make it up to Craig and he’ll never speak to me again, but I can’t lose you too. You’re my sister, you always have been.”

“I know, that’s what makes this all so hard. I forgave my mom for betraying my father, and I feel like I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t forgive you too.”

Mia jumped up and put her hands over her mouth. Tears fell as she said, “Izzy, I love you so much. Thank you.”

Both ladies hugged and cried with each other for several minutes.

“Mia, last night I told Craig that I was in love with him.”

“I always knew you were,” she said sadly.

“Yeah, um, he told me this morning that he loved me too.”

“Oh,” Mia said sadly sitting back down.

“So, you guys are together now?”

“Yes. I’m sorry if that hurts you.”

“It does, but I threw him away, didn’t I? I don’t have the right to be upset.”

“I’m sorry.”

Mia shook her head and said, “No, don’t be. I’m happy for you. You deserve him and to be happy. Just don’t make the same mistakes I did.”

Izzy didn’t answer. She knew that she would never cheat on Craig. She’d never put herself in that position in the first place.

With the heavy stuff out of the way, they spent the remainder of the afternoon catching up.

Craig rang Izzy’s doorbell and listened for any shouting. He didn’t hear any and wondered how things went with the Allens’ conversation.

The door opened and Craig saw a depressed Rick motioning for him to come in.

“Hi, Craig. She’ll be down in a bit. You know women, right? Always fashionably late.”

“How are you and Mrs. Allen doing?”

“As good as can be expected, I guess. She’s pretty upset with herself and that takes a lot of the wind out of my sails. She wasn’t even mad about her figurines. She said she understood. Amazing.”

“Are you going to try and stay together?”

“She wants to for sure, but I’m on the fence. I love her so much, it’s hard to imagine my life without her in it. Throw into that mix Todd getting married and having a kid, our world is really upside down right now. I don’t want to cast a cloud on his wedding by divorcing his mom right before it.”

“I heard Mrs. Allen didn’t take the news too well.”

“Ha! That’s an understatement. I think she was still on her euphoric high of that asshole screwing her when she had that news broken to her. She fancies herself as this 30-year-old in a 45-year-old’s body, having a grandkid on the way shattered that illusion pretty quickly. Throw in her getting an STD and giving it to me, and you’ve got a pretty fragile woman right now.”

“The whole thing sucks and I’m sorry that you have to go through it too,” Craig said.

“Yeah, just stay cool on the Bryson situation. Don’t bring any attention to yourself and remember the cover story. I’d imagine if he goes to the cops they’ll start looking into it tomorrow or Monday.”

“Hi, Craig,”

Izzy’s mom came into the room wearing yoga pants and a tank top. She looked good and Craig tried not to stare at her braless chest.

“Hello, Mrs. Allen. Are you doing okay?”

She looked at her husband and said, “Time will tell, Craig. I’ve made a mess of things and we have to work out my issues.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am. I didn’t mean to pry, I’m just kind of in the middle of it because of Mia and then being here last night.”

“No, Craig. Don’t worry about it. You’re practically family. I understand that you and Izzy are an item now, so it will be hard to avoid our problems. I lost all privacy rights when I screwed up.”

Rick looked at her and said, “Let’s get back to the den. We have a lot to talk through yet. The kids don’t need to be bummed out talking about your mistakes.

Craig shook his hand and hugged her as she said, “Take care of my little girl, Craig. Don’t worry about her ending up like me, she’s different.”

“I know,” he answered.

Izzy came down, saw her mom hugging Craig, and said with a smile, “Hey now, no stealing my man.”

She paled and put a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God! I’m sorry, Mom. I was kidding, I swear.”

“It’s okay, baby. Don’t worry about it.”

When she turned, Rick has already left the room. She frowned and said, “Have a good time,” as she walked after her husband.

At dinner, Craig and Izzy talked some more about her parents and their problems.

“They are putting on a brave face, but there’s a lot of tension there,” Craig said.

“Daddy wants her to leave. She was in the middle of begging him to stay when you came over.”

“Oh no!”

“It was pretty bad when I came home from Mia’s. They were still shouting at each other.”

“From what I gathered from what Your dad told me, he doesn’t really want to divorce. I think he’s too proud to keep her though.”

“I think you’re exactly right, Craig. His ego is hurt and his pride is putting up a fight. He’s not wrong, of course, I just hope they can work it out. This is supposed to be a happy time for us all and it’s all clouded over now.”

“No matter what, I hope they are civil at the wedding.”

“Me too.”

Sipping her glass of wine, Izzy asked, “I was pretty mean to you when we were in high school, how could you have been in love with me then?”

Craig thought for a moment and said, “I knew that you hated me because I was one of Todd’s friends, even though I didn’t really understand why. I was sort of okay with that, I guess. The way I figured it was that hate is an emotion and good or bad, I was worth you expending some feelings toward. Granted, they weren’t good feelings, but it was better than you ignoring me.”

“I am sorry for all of that.”

“I know. We talked that out and I understood where you were coming from.”

She smiled and thought back to the car rides they shared, especially the first one when she completely ignored him for the entire ride. How stupid she was.

“I’m going to miss our long car rides,” she said, remembering the particular ride home where they made peace with each other.

“We have the rest of our lives to take as many long car rides as you want,” he said as she smiled and tilted her glass in a toast. “I’ve been waiting to get you for a decade. I’m not letting you go now that I have you.”

“Craig, this morning you hugged me and told me that you loved me too. What changed that made you say it? Why all of a sudden were you in love with me this morning, when last night you weren’t?”

She was afraid that they were just words said in gratitude for her role as his alibi.

“Nothing changed. I loved you last night, I loved you when you showed me the videos of Mia, and I loved you back when you hated me. I guess I finally just pulled my head out of my ass and stopped punishing you for something you hadn’t done.”

He looked into her eyes and she smiled. She said, “It caused a loud pop.”

He looked around and brilliantly said, “Huh?”

“This morning, when you extracted your cranium from your rectum, there was a loud pop.”

She laughed as he finally got it and he tossed the wadded-up paper from his straw wrapper at her.

They were watching a rom-com at the movies when their hands touched in the popcorn bucket. They smiled at each other and he leaned over to kiss her. Their lips didn’t leave each other’s for the remainder of the movie.

As they were walking back to his car, she said, “Sweetie, I know how you finished your first date with Mia and...”

“Izz, I told you that I understand your position and I’m not going to put any pressure on you. We will go at your speed. This may be our first true date, but we’ve known each other for years. You’re not going to be a notch on my bedpost and I can wait as long as you can.”

She laughed and said, “As I was saying, I want you to take me to the hill so I can show you how much better I am than she was at blowjobs.”

“Oh really?” He asked with a grin, not believing that his dreams were coming true.

“Craig, I haven’t been in a relationship for a while, but that doesn’t mean I don’t date. I won’t let you make love to me, but I’ll do and let you do just about anything else you can think of.”

“May I propose a different idea?” He asked.

She nodded.

“My parents went to a wedding tonight and are staying at the hotel. How about if we go to my place?”

“I accept your counter-offer,” she said with a sky-brightening smile.

He kissed her and opened her door for her. She looked to see if he was checking her legs out as she sat in the car. She was happy that he didn’t. She was happy to have a gentleman for a boyfriend.

Craig put on some lite music and opened a bottle of wine. He walked over to Izzy handing her a glass, “I’m not going to try to impress you with my vast wine knowledge, because I don’t have any.”

She laughed.

“This is my mom’s favorite wine.” He read the label, “Silver Oak Cabernet from 2016. I’ve had it and it’s good so I hope you like it.”

She drank some and said, “it’s very good, thank you.”

“Yeah, it’s nice that they stopped keeping a count of the beer and wine bottles when I left for college.”

He looked at her longingly. She was casual in her jean skirt and blouse. He said, “You do look beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you, handsome.”

“Would you like to dance?”

“I would,” she said as she stood, setting her glass down.

He pulled her in tightly as they danced to “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” Swaying gently to the classic ballad, he said, “I would never let the first time I touch you be in my car on the hill. You deserve far better, my love.”

She pressed her forehead into his chest and sighed. She had her love, the man she dreamed of for almost three years. She would remember that moment for the rest of her life. If they ever got married, she would have that as their song.

He leaned down as the song ended and kissed her. Softly at first, then building up in intensity. She opened her lips to let his tongue dance with hers. She loved the way he kissed, it was as if it would be their last kiss and he was going to savor every moment.

He loved kissing her as well, a teenage dream come true. He was going to savor every moment, he would treat every kiss as if it would be their last, she deserved it.

She pulled away and untucked his shirt out from his khakis. As she rubbed her hands under the shirt, feeling his warm skin, she pushed his arms up to take it off. She knelt before him and unbuckled his belt. Following with his button, she then unzipped and pulled them down.

He stepped out of the pants as she massaged his hardening shaft through his boxers.

“May I,” she asked with a lust-filled smile.

“Stand up please,” he asked. She rose and he kissed her tenderly. He repeated her actions of lifting her arms and taking off her blouse. He knelt and unzipped her skirt. He paused to admire her curves. She had a handful of breasts, a narrow waist, and slightly wide hips giving her a round firm butt. She wore a matching red lace bra and panty set, that teased the treasures beneath.

He kissed her stomach, moving higher to her lace-covered breasts. Finding her hardened nipples through the fabric, he licked a circle around each one before returning to her mouth.

They sat on the couch exploring each other, loving each other. She found his iron-hard shaft and rubbed its length. “My you’re a big boy, aren’t you,” she purred.

Lifting his butt, she slid the cock-blockers down and freed her new toy. She stroked it and scooped up his pre-cum with her finger, taking it into her mouth. “I like the way you taste,” she said before moving her head to sample from the source.

She bathed his shaft’s head with her tongue, licking up every precious drop before taking half of his length into her mouth.

She enjoyed performing oral sex for her man and he would be no exception. While one hand twisted along his length, the other massaged his heavy testes, which were ready to blow.

She lifted her head momentarily and said, “Please warn me. I usually don’t like to take cum in my mouth but I want to do it for you, for our first time.” She didn’t wait for an answer and attacked his member with one goal in mind - his release.

After several glorious minutes, he said I’m close, baby, and she attacked with more vigor. “Yes, God! So good, feels so ... uh ... I’m gonna cum.”

She moaned with him nearly into her throat and the vibration pushed him over the edge. His release seemed to fill her mouth around his pulsing thickness. “Yes, baby. Oh, yeah.”

After swallowing his salty load she rose and licked her lips.

“That was incredible, Izzy.”

“Better than...”

“Izzy, don’t. Don’t think that you have to compare yourself to Mia, in any respect.”

Snuggling into him, she said, “Sorry, I won’t do it again.”

“Good,” he answered. Then he kissed her on the top of her head and said, “Way better,” making her smile.

They toasted their glasses and he said, “Izzy, I’ve waited to have you in my arms for so long that I can’t believe this is really happening.”

“You make me feel so special when you say things like that. I’m no one special, I’m just a girl, who has a brother, who has a friend that loves me.”

“You are very special and you always will be to me.”

They kissed like long-time lovers as his hand caressed her body. He massaged her firm breasts, her soft stomach, and finally, he rubbed her clit through her soaked panties.

When he pushed aside the thin material, to access her body, he noticed that she was clean-shaven. “I love how you feel, so silky and soft.”

Moving his fingers through her wet folds, he circled her entrance and slowly penetrated her with his fingers. She moaned in appreciation as his thumb slid up to rub her clitoris.

“That feels so good, baby,” she whispered as he massaged her gently.

She whimpered and he felt her body tense and shake as he played with her body. “Hmm, she’s quiet when she comes,” he thought as he pushed through the cramping in his hand to finish her off.

“Oh, Craig! That felt so wonderful.”

“I wasn’t actually done yet. I didn’t get to taste you,” he said and tickled her as he slid down her body.

She bucked and laughed and as her butt raised, he slid her panties down and freed her sex from its confines. He smiled an evil grin at her before he dove in and began to devour her body.

He licked her engorged lips and explored every millimeter as he enjoyed his dream coming true. He couldn’t help but think back to his fantasies of him being between her legs, when he used to stroke himself thinking of her, and they’d all come true. Except for one, and he would wait as long as he needed for his ultimate dream to come true.

He nibbled, licked, and sucked her clit, experimenting to find what pushed her buttons the best. He felt her tense up again and she grabbed his head pulling him into her. She screamed, “Oh Fuck!” When he put his fingers into her tight hole again. “Yes, baby, yes!” she shrieked as her orgasm overtook her. He winced as she pulled his hair, but he continued to suck on her button and piston his fingers in her channel.

She pulled his head away, gently that time, and whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Izzy. I always have.”

They snuggled together on the couch as they finished their drinks. “Do I have to get you home at a certain time?” He asked.

“No, but I do have to sleep at home.”

“Can you stay longer? Maybe just listen to some music and chill. I don’t want this night to end.”

“Yes, it’s not that late. How about we take this to your room though?”

“Great idea,” he said leading her upstairs.

Later, as Izzy lay in her bed, the night’s events playing through her mind like an Oscar-winning movie, she was content. She picked up her phone and called Craig.

“Hey, baby, is everything alright?” He answered.

“Yeah, I just wanted to say goodnight again, and thank you for being so - you.”

She was glad that he didn’t pressure her for sex. She was ashamed that she thought he would, but that’s not Craig’s style.

“I love you, Izzy. Good night.”

“Good night, love.”

A few days later, Gwen was sitting on Todd’s lap. He was rubbing her belly, daydreaming of the first time the baby would call him daddy.

“I never feel it kicking,” he said.

“It’s too little, yet, silly. It’s probably only an inch or so big. You should read that book I got. It says we won’t feel movement until 18 weeks or later.”

Gwen was happy. She was deeply in love with Todd, who grew up immeasurably throughout their relationship. He was no longer the immature kid with whom she went to high school.

“I can’t wait to be a daddy, honey.”

“I know, baby. I’m excited too. I just wish your parents were.”

“They’ve got their own problems. My mom cheated on my dad and they are still fighting. Who the hell would’ve thought that frosty bitch would ever do that?”

“Todd, that’s your mother!”

“Yeah, she’s my mom, but she’s still a cheating slut.”

Gwen frowned at him.

“Don’t give me that look,” he said. “Gwen, I’m serious as a heart attack, it’s one and done for me. Any sexual contact with another person and we’re done. No forgiveness. No excuses. I’m 100% your man and I expect the same from you.”

“I’ll never cheat on you, Todd. You never have to worry about that.”

“I know, but we’ve never talked about it and I want to make sure you know how I feel about it. God! It’s like it’s in the water around here or something. First Mia cheats on Craig, and now mom cheats on dad. I don’t understand it.”

“Me either, sweetie. I’m your girl forever and that makes me very happy.”

He kissed her forehead and started rubbing her belly again. “I’m so lucky to have you. I love you, Gwen.”

“I love you, too. Now how about if we go to bed and rub some other things?”

Izzy and Craig were sitting in the park waiting for the July 4th fireworks to begin.

“Craig, do you ever get bored with me?” Izzy asked.

“No, why?”

“When we started dating, we already knew each other. I knew your favorite food is steak, your favorite song is Sound of Silence, not the old one, your favorite color is blue, well it was until you saw me in my red lingerie.”

“Izzy, I know all of that about you, and no I’m not bored. I still discover new things about you every day.”

“Like what?”

“You don’t snore, but you kinda whimper when you sleep. You have a mole on your inner thigh, right next to your sweet lips. You like to have your pussy eaten, but only want me to play with your butt when you’re drinking. You want to name your first child Chance, whether it’s a boy or a girl. Shall I go on?”

“No, I just get scared sometimes. It seems like we’ve been together for years, but it’s barely been a month.”

“That’s nothing to be afraid of. That’s a good thing, in my opinion. We have a comfort level that took years to develop. There’s nothing wrong with that, we put the work in before we were a couple. It’s the same knowledge we would’ve achieved later, we got it as friends, not as lovers. I think that makes it more real, doesn’t it? There’s no new relationship pretense.”

“No, you’re right. I didn’t think of it that way. You can’t fib to get me to like you. I already know all about you. That’s a nice comfort to have. Do you ever think about the future?”

“Sure, why?”

“Are you staying in town after you graduate?”

“Yeah, I haven’t told you?”

“No, what?”

“Your dad has a job lined up for me with him.”

“Oh my God! I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, I’ll have to start on the phones as his apprentice, but he said it would be a year or a bit more when I would be allowed to have my own accounts. I will have to get a couple of licenses and certifications.”

“Wow, my man is following in my daddy’s footsteps. You’ll be a great Financial Planner. I know my dad loves helping people and small businesses.”

“Yeah, I’m excited too. I guess with all of the upheavals in your house, he hasn’t mentioned it.”

“No, but he tells me all of the time to treat you right. He really likes you. I think he thinks that you’re like him and he knows that Todd isn’t. It really bothered him that Todd didn’t go to college.”

“Yeah, Todd will be fine though. He works his butt off and enjoys what he’s doing. He never could’ve been a sit-behind a desk guy.”

Izzy agreed. Todd had never been happier, the last time she saw him.

“How is their marriage counseling going?” Craig asked.

“I guess okay since she didn’t move out. I heard her complain to him that he won’t touch her. She expected that once their STDs cleared up, they’d be back at it in bed. He isn’t on board with that though. He barely touches her intimately like he used to. He used to pat her on the butt all of the time when she walked by or was standing in the kitchen. He hasn’t done that since the incident.”

“I hope they get it figured out.”

Izzy began working for her uncle. It was the same uncle for whom Todd and Craig were working. They didn’t see each other there thought, with her working in the office and him working out in the field.

Izzy took to her new job well and helped secure a large contract for the company when she ran into one of her old high school teachers at a coffee shop. It turned out that her husband was looking to build a large strip mall, so she put him in touch with Izzy’s uncle.

A month later, when her uncle received the signed contract for the job, he gave Izzy a check. “What’s this for?” She asked him.

“We got the job for the strip mall. I would’ve never talked to him if not for you. Call that a finder’s fee and keep up the good work.”

She opened the envelope after he walked away from her cubicle and was shocked. The check was for twenty thousand dollars. She was about to scream in delight but had to restrain herself in the office.

That night she and Craig had dinner together and she showed him the check. “Wow! Izzy. That’s great! I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you. I’m going to use it as the down payment to buy a condo I think. I’ll save up for a few more months and after the first of the year, I’ll start looking.”