-- July 18, 1998 --
“Daddy! Daddy!” Yvette yelled rushing into the front door of the cabin flying straight passed her mother standing in the kitchen preparing a dinner salad.
“Yvie, where are your manners?” Katrina asked peering over her shoulder at the little girl bouncing through the house towards the living room.
“I’m sorry Mommy, hello,” she smiled sweetly and turned back to continue her trek through to the other side of the cabin. “Daddy I did it!” she rushed into Scott’s arms and he caught her midflight and squeezed her close to his chest. “I did it Daddy you’d be so proud of me!”
“You did what Tumblelina?” he asked walking her back towards the kitchen tucked within one arm as he carried his recent catch in the other. Dropping the fresh fish into the sink he looked at his baby girl and gave her a real welcome; a kiss on the cheek and an extra tight hug. “Now then what did you have to tell me?”
She slipped to the floor still unable to contain her excitement recounting her tales of the seventh grade. “Remember Johnny Watterson the boy I told you keeps flicking dead bugs on me and pulling my hair at recess? Well you told me that the next time he did it to give him a swift kick to the privates and he’d fall like a sack of potatoes.”
“Scott you didn’t!” Katrina remarked looking at her lover astonished by her daughter’s words.
“Well I mean the kid made her cry what did you want me to do? Beat him up myself? Because I would have! And that little boy would have done way more than cry!”
“Did it ever occur to you that he just liked her? Pulling her hair is just a sign of affection.”
“Yeah it did. Also a reason I gave her my advice. Abuse is a learned behavior and I don’t need some little boy showing his affection by abusing my little Angel. Now he knows next time he hits a girl he’ll get more than he bargained for. Lesson learned; he got what he deserved. Now go on Sweetie, what happened?”
“I did it! I kicked him so hard he fell over grabbing himself and crying! He even wet his pants!”
“Great job Baby! I AM proud of you!”
Katrina sighed. She was pleased Yvette was learning to take care of herself but still had her motherly duties to perform. Though she would not want to undermine anything Scott was teaching her, she knew she would need boundaries or else she could possibly become the schoolyard bully. “I can just imagine what his parents will say. I’m sure we’ll hear about this.”
“Yeah but I bet the other kids know not to mess with her now! She defended herself and that’s all we can ask for.”
“It was great Daddy! When he fell he landed in the bugs he was throwing at me and everyone laughed!”
“Ha! That’ll teach him!” he scooped her into his arms and gave her a warm hug. “Now we’ll have to pick out a name for your crime fighting alter-ego!”
“How about Bug Zapper?” Yvette asked jumping around again.
“Fly Catcher,” Scott suggested.
“Bee Stinger!”
“Roach Motel, they’ll check in but won’t check out!”
“Eww Daddy! Hmm Super Swatter!”
“The Supersonic Atomic Ladybug Stomper! We can dress you in red and paint black polka dots on your face!”
Katrina shook her head listening to the two carry on and turned her attention to the large fish in the sink. “What am I gonna do with you two?”
-- Present --
Yvette smiled to herself as she ran her hand over the kitchen counter. So many days she came running home to find her Mom at that sink cooking and singing to herself as Scott sat nearby reading the paper. It amazed her to think about the typical all-American family she once had. “Mom was so mad at you that day.” She turned towards Scott and reflected the smile on his face.
“She couldn’t have expected me to let someone get away with hurting you. I did the right thing teaching you instead of shining his rear-end with my belt like I wanted. Whatever happened to him anyway?”
“Uh we…dated in high school. He was going to be my prom date, Daddy.”
“What a minute, this kid was the senior you were dating? I thought you and he were the same age in grade school!”
“No he was two years older; one of the ‘big kids’ on the playground that always tormented everyone else.”
“Well then you should have kicked him harder! I had a hard enough time accepting him as your date the night we talked. That boy had facial hair and you were my little girl! Had I known then he was the same boy he’d have never left my house walking upright!”
“Well he withstood your interrogation, my kick to the groin and even comforted me after Mom died. I guess he really did like me,” she beamed.
“As long as he did nothing else I promise not to hunt him down and shoot him like I should have done the day you came home crying,” Scott shot Yvette his stern fatherly glower and she immediately turned away and pretended to look through the cabinets over the sink. “Yvette!”
“Oh come on Daddy you didn’t think I’d be a virgin for life did you?”
“Well I thought you would until you were at least 30 and married! I don’t think I want to know anymore. He’s lucky he went off to college; that’s all I have to say about that.” He turned and started for the living room leaving Brett and Yvette standing silently in the kitchen.
She turned towards her fiancé with a smile and he shook his head and returned the gesture. “I’m not even going to ask. And for the record, I was 15 and she was the 23 year old babysitter. When she started looking after Nate, I started keeping her busy after he went to sleep.”
“Thanks Brett. That’s information I wanted to know.” She laughed and rolled her eyes as she started towards the living room after Scott. Brett slipped his hand into hers, threaded their fingers together and pulled her hard against his chest. She stared at him for a minute analyzing the look on his face before he stole a kiss, swatted her ass and led her towards the back of the house.
“Oh hey I remember this!” she smiled and darted towards the zebra-skin rug lying in front of the fire place. “I used to lay on this and try to make it feel better about being dead. We had so many talks about what the other zebras did and I…” she looked up to find both men staring at her as though she’d lost her mind and smiled wryly as she pulled herself off the floor. “Nevermind. Did you find anything Daddy?”
“No I was about to head out to the nook and check her favorite escape. Anything in the kitchen?”
“Nothing. It’s gonna be hard trying to figure out where she may have left anything. Even though this place is small there are tons of hiding places!”
A knock on the door drew their attention but no one moved immediately to answer. Waiting a few moments the visitor knocked again a little louder this time ensuring he or she could be heard. Scott glanced at Yvette and both she and Brett stood ready with their fingers tracing the outline of their weapons as he moved towards the door. He pulled the wooden block slowly open, stretching out the loud creaking sound the unused hinges made as they bent for the first time in a long time. The smiling face of an older man greeted Scott through the screen door and he immediately welcomed the man inside. “Herschel Fuller! Long time no see!”
“I thought it was you I saw climbing out of that truck out front you old dog! Damn you look great!” the two men hugged one another smiling merrily like old friends should.
“Who’s that?” Brett whispered in Yvette’s ear watching them continue shaking hands and giving each other the once over.
“Dad’s old fishing buddy and neighbor; they were inseparable when we’d come up here. He was like one of those fun uncles that always has a joke to tell and leaves his etiquette at the door. He brought the wild man out of Pop but Mom never seemed to mind. He’s also the man that taught me there are a lot of four letter words!”
Turning towards them Herschel’s face lit up seeing Yvette and he rushed forward. “Oh my is that my little Yvie? My God girl look at you!” he squeezed her tight and tousled a hand through her hair. “You grew to be the gorgeous young woman I knew you would wait until Davis gets a load of you! Hey you still perform those daredevil feats that earned you the nickname the ‘Terror of Lake Canard’?”
“No Uncle Hersch; I gave that up a long time ago much to Daddy’s relief!”
“I’m sure, I’m sure. So what brings you two up here after so many years?”
“We just wanted to see the old place again. I figured it would be a nice wedding present for my baby and her fiancé,” Scott smiled at Brett. “It was gonna be a surprise but, I’m sure they’ll appreciate it just the same!”
“Oh wow, my Yvie’s getting married?” he shook Brett’s hand and gave him a hard pat to the back. “You must be one helluva guy to be standing next to her considering Scott’s knack for scaring them off!”
“Thank you. I’d like to think so,” he smiled and winked towards her.
“Well we have a lot of catching up to do. Listen I just caught a WHOPPER of a salmon, I’ll have Laurel cook it up and we can get reacquainted over dinner, come on whaddaya say?”
“How can I refuse?” Scott threw his hands up and agreed.
“Great! I’ll go and let the little lady know. Should we expect you say around six?”
“Perfect.”
“Alrighty then I’ll let you get back to it and I’ll see you then! It was good seeing you again Scotty!” he waved at Yvette and exited the cabin. The trio watched him trek across the back lawn towards his home a few yards away and waited until he entered his front door before resuming their hunt.
The night fell quickly over the silent lake house and they weren’t any closer to figuring out Katrina’s clues than when they’d first arrived. Brett groaned and looked up at the clock with a smile as his stomach reminded him he had a small breakfast that morning, skipped lunch and a dinner invite for salmon. Motioning towards his wrist to indicate time for Yvette she nodded and tapped Scott on the shoulder. “Brett’s starving Pop we should probably start over to Herschel’s for dinner.”
“Yeah. Maybe the break will do us some good. Fish is brain food anyway and I’m about a minute away from eating my shoe too.”
Herschel and Laurel Fuller greeted their guests at the door and escorted them into the tiny dining room. After serving everyone a plate, Laurel took a seat at the head of the table across from her husband and said grace. “It’s so nice to see you two again,” she smiled at Scott as he took his first bite. “I always wondered where you’d gotten off to after a while. Herschel and I made it a point to keep the hedges trimmed and the garden watered as we promised Kat we would.”
“Kat?”
“Hmm, mmhmm,” she nodded with a forkful of fish in her mouth. Swallowing the bite, she took a sip of her lemonade and washed down the meat. “Before you left the last summer, what was it 2001? She asked Hersch to take care of the lawn afraid the weeds would grow over her potted irises. She was scared they would get choked out over the winter before yall came back.”
Yvette looked over the faces of her fiancé and dad. Her Mom religiously saw to her flowers in the garden and told her that she’d never pot her irises because she didn’t want to stunt their growth. Potted irises often had frail buds and she loved seeing hers bloom so it was an odd behavior for her. “Excuse me a minute please,” she smiled before pulling up from the table and exited the front door. As the others sat enjoying their meals, she hurried across the lot towards the large flower garden near the front door and immediately began digging around the plot hoping the box was somewhere buried beneath. Piles of moist dirt covered her shoes and caked beneath her fingernails as she clawed beneath the flower looking for something, anything.
After coming up empty on the first three boxes she hissed at herself and stomped her foot into the ground. “Damn it.” Of course it wasn’t that easy. Turning to join her family back inside something caught her eye from the corner of the tool shed and she moved towards it quickly, pulling the door open just a little more.
Peering inside the darkened shack, Yvette noticed another four plants kept out of the harsh weather near the back of on an old rickety shelf. Taking a breath she started digging around in each of the pots until her fingers reached the bottoms of the first three. “Last one,” she sighed and plunged her hands into the cool soil of the last Iris on the shelf. Moments into her search she realized her fingers hadn’t hit the bottom of the plants as the others had and a large smile crossed her lips. Paydirt! Literally. She pulled her hands back and revealed a large silver lockbox rusted from the diligent watering by Mrs. Fuller and dirty from years of living beneath the iris. Katrina must have thought Yvette would find this sooner. Suddenly a pang of guilt hit her thinking she’d let her mother down. She and Scott stopped coming up here after Katrina passed because the memories were too painful for either of them to bear.
But she was on the right track now. She smiled to herself, washed her hands in the nearby sink, tossed the box into the trunk of the SUV and started back towards the Fuller’s cabin to finish dinner. They sat for a few hours discussing their lives and reminiscing over summers and lost moments together before Scott noticed the time. “It’s getting late,” he sighed pulling up from the couch and starting towards the door. “I want to thank you for having us over Herschel, Laurel. It meant a lot to me to catch up after all this time.”
Yvette gave each of them a hug and mimicked Scott’s sentiment. “Please say you’re coming to the wedding as well?”
“Honey I wouldn’t miss it for the world! I’ll be there with bells on!” She gave Yve another hug and pinched Brett. “You’d better take care of this one or you’ll hear from me!”
“I will Mrs. Fuller.” Brett smiled and stepped off the porch.
“Well we were heading back in the morning but I can see the wheels in my daughter’s head turning now. She won’t want to wait on getting back to work. That’s one thing I would change about her if I could. She needs to find the time to enjoy life more. Anyway it was great seeing you two again and tell Davis I said hello when you speak to him again.” Giving his old friends another hug Scott led the group towards his Tahoe. “It’ll be morning before we get back Yve, try and at least sleep from here until home,” Scott requested peering over towards her. They drove silently back towards the city and both Brett and Scott knew Yvette wasn’t getting any sleep tonight.
Victor dropped the case of beer in on the table and his keys on the sideboard. He’d spent all morning and afternoon preparing for the parties tonight and was also blowing up Yvette’s cell phone to make sure she would make it. After hearing about her impromptu trip out of town last night he figured she would be dead tired today but that wasn’t going to throw a wrench in his plans. He’d drag her ass to the club if he had to and prop her up against a wall. “Sierra?” he called and waited for an answer. Not hearing her he started for the back bedroom calling her again. He knocked once on the door and pushed it open hearing movement behind it. “Wha…a-are you leaving?” Victor watched as Sierra sat another large, red briefcase beside the door and continued folding her clothes to fill a third.
“Yes Victor. I’m going back home. I’m done here. The kids are doing well; they are in school, happy, healthy and you’re better and able to care for them again. I’m no longer needed.”
“No longer needed? Are you being serious right now?” Ignoring the question Sierra continued stuffing clothes into her suitcase moving a little quicker to get through the last set of shirts and shorts. “Sierra? Sierra look at me!” Victor sighed and snatched the shirt from her hands tossing it to the bed in front of her. “Why do you think you’re not needed? After everything you’ve done for me I…you’re needed! The kids love having you here.”
“I have a life to get back to and a catering business that I put on hold to come here for you and my nieces and nephew. We both knew this was temporary Vic. And now I have to go.”
“You keep saying you ‘have to’, do you want to?” She turned away from him as her breath caught in her throat. “Well? Is that the case Sierra? Are you trying to run from me or something?”
“No I am returning to something. Vic, my business was just getting off the ground! I had a few clients, some real connections and I was hoping to see how far I could go. I just…I dropped everything, do you realize that?”
“Yeah Si I do and I appreciate it more than you know. I mean I know I may not have been the easiest person to live with at times and I put you through some pain and…I’m sorry. You lost someone that you’ve had your whole life and I treated you like the lowest scum on the earth because of what happened between us. I never meant to hurt you. I just…looking at you and seeing her face. You have no idea how much you’ve helped me. And if you really think I’m gonna let you leave now you’re crazier than I thought.”
“‘Let me leave’? I wasn’t aware my decision was up for vote!”
Victor rubbed his open hands over his face watching her return to folding clothes. “Si? You can’t leave, the kids…I need you.” She placed the last item in the suitcase and prepared to close it up swallowing past the lump in her throat she sighed heavily. “Fuck this!” Watching her grip the handle in her hand Victor moved forward and in one swift motion tossed it to the floor.
Gripping her waist tight he pressed his lips hard against hers allowing his teeth to rake across her bottom. She released a pained groan but pushed into him instead of moving away. He claimed her mouth with his, sending a searing sensation from her lips centering between her legs. His tongue quickly and roughly darted over hers as his fingers fanned around her hips clutching her possessively against his chest.
Her heaving bosom made him moan; he could feel her nipples harden from her arousal and smiled as her fingers grasped the braided ends of his hair. Breaking the kiss, Sierra groaned in disappointment but Victor slid a finger over her quivering lips stilling them and gesturing for her to give him one minute as he moved towards the bedroom door to shut it. “Now where was I?” Sucking her lips into his again, he nipped at her tongue as she playfully danced it over his mouth.
Lifting her into his body Sierra instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips. He walked her slowly towards the bed and ran his hand along her thigh down towards her feet and unclenched the hold she tucked him in. With just enough force he tossed her into the bed and stood over her watching her eyes move from his face to the stiff outline of his cock hidden behind his earlier loose fitting jeans.
He smirked as she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and pulled his shirt over his shoulders, tossing it to the corner as he stepped closer to where she lay. Hurriedly Sierra mimicked his action and shrugged out of her top. Shimmying her shorts over her thighs and down her legs she dangled them on the tip of her toe and Victor roughly snatched them off and threw them towards his discarded shirt. Her thumbs hooked into her panties and his words instantly stilled her actions. “Leave them on.”
His tongue rolled over the roof of his mouth as he noticed the dampness that soaked into the silky panties clinging to her hips. His mouth began to water as he thought about tasting her; slowly sliding his tongue against that satin pink heaven between her legs until she was screaming his name. He lowered himself between her thighs. The scent of her arousal caused his cock to lengthen and he looked up at her. Victor’s eyes raked over her half naked body and a ragged breath slipped from between her partially parted lips.
Pulling her panties to the side, he buried one finger deep into her clenching pussy. Instantly her back arched in pleasure and she inhaled sharply through her nose producing a hissing sound. Her eyes drifted closed and she leaned back sighing in pleasure already feeling her orgasm tightening within her womb. It had been so long since she felt the warmth of a man against her and her body was letting her know it. “Vic!” she wailed as he plunged another finger within her. Before long he was rewarded as her body jerked against his hand and he thrust his fingers faster into her allowing her to ride out the orgasm for as long as she needed.
Victor stood and rested his hands against his belt as he began undoing the buckle. Dazedly Sierra sat up and helped him undo his button and zipper. His cock bounced as it escaped from his boxers, springing to life as it prepared itself for action. The thought of feeling that clenching, tight pussy around his length made him hard as a rock. She leaned forward and licked him from sac to tip. His hand impulsively reached out and tangled within her soft raven locks as her mouth closed around the head of his dick. “Ohh,” he moaned as she bopped up and down on his shaft hungrily lapping up his precum and sucking him harder down her throat.
Victor’s eyes opened wide and he quickly pulled her away throwing her back into the sheets before he allowed her to get him off orally. Dropping to the bed beside her, he wrapped an arm around her hips and pulled her into his chest tasting her lips again as he slid deeper into the sheets. With one rough hand gripping tightly over her thigh, he raised her hips until he pulled them over his head. Darting his tongue out quickly he tasted her through her cum soaked panties and felt his cock jerk in response. “Now you may take them off,” he growled as she lifted herself above his face and slowly slid her panties down her waist.
Kicking them off to the side she returned to her position with her pussy dancing tantalizingly over his head. He grinned at her, wrapped his arms over her thighs and yanked her wet snatch down to his anxiously awaiting lips. Immediately his tongue rolled up her wet pussy lips and over the hard nub of her clit. “Oh fuck!” she groaned and started moving her hips over his face as he buried his tongue as deep inside her as it could go.
She rode his tongue and mouth, grinding her folds over his faces, rubbing her juices against his lips as she felt his tongue slip over her in sometimes slow sometimes quick laps. She gasped and her hands tucked firmly into his hair pulling him deeper between her dampened thighs. Another soft moan of pleasure followed and she felt the familiar tingles spark from the core of her loins down towards her toes. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” He licked quicker wanting not to waste a drop as she pressed down against his face, her thighs gripped his head tight and held him in place.
She fell back and he caught her in his arms as the tremors of her orgasm slowly began to fade. He pulled away from the headboard and with a knee on either side of her thighs, spread her legs wider as he positioned himself between them. Kissing up her stomach towards her chest, his mouth closed over her nipple nibbling gently as his fingers danced over the soft skin of her other breast. Finally his mouth made it to hers again and she could taste herself on his tongue.
Looking down at her he waited until her eyes met his before gripping her thigh, tossing it over his back and in one hard, rough thrust entered her wet pussy. She wailed as he drove into her, reaching her hilt with each battering. His hand tightened their hold on the soft flesh of her thigh leaving imprints of his fingers in her skin. Pulling up and above her, Victor’s eyes narrowed and combed over her naked form, taking in every curve and every inch hungrily. Impatiently he pounded his dick between her legs, hammering her relentlessly as he watched her tits bounce against her chest. “FUCK!” Her free leg wrapped around him and she whimpered as he thundered harder inside her soft center, punishing her body for all the built up sexual tension that lingered between the two.
He fell against her but his speed never faltered and his hungry, horny body continued probing hers for release. She pushed against his chest hoping to ease the power within his strokes but he swatted away her efforts moving more vigorously inside her silken heat. The taste and smell of her had driven him over the edge and he wasn’t stopping until her eyes watered from tears and her voice was hoarse from the screaming that echoed within the small room.
“What’s my name?” he hissed in her ear as her nails raked across his back.
“Daddy!”
“WHAT’S MY NAME!?” he asked again, his thrust expressing his desire to hear her say it.
“VICTOR!” Her moan of pleasure mixed with the rumbling of his lust. Pulling out until just the tip of his shaft was inside of her he waited and watched wanting to see her squirm. She whimpered as a sudden emptiness consumed her. A knowing smile grew on his lips and he shoved himself back inside her with a new found intensity that instantly made her body rigid as a new wave of carnal heat rushed through her. “VICTOR!”
Before long he was on the brink of his own climax and it only made him pump his hips harder. Barreling through her like a steam engine on full tilt, Victor’s cock swelled deep inside of her; his thrusts getting rougher and he felt her tense beneath him. With three more powerful strokes the dam burst and his torrential release flooded into her depths filling her with the hot oils of his loins. His jerking cock triggered another of her own orgasms and her rippling muscles clenched around his shaft milking it for every drop hidden within.
Victor didn’t stop pumping until he felt his ass muscles release. Rolling over to the side of the bed he blew out a breath and hungrily sucked in mouthfuls of air. “That was great Baby!” Sierra sighed dreamily as she nuzzled her face into his shoulder. She peppered kisses along his chest and his hand lazily rubbed through the sweat dampened curls of her hair.
“So then we agree you’re not leaving?” he chortled and kissed her forehead.
She bit his hard right pec and giggled. “If that’s your way of convincing me to stay then I’m sold.”
“Good!” He blew out another breath and watched her eyes close. “I need a bath,” he finally spoke after his heart began beating at a normal pace. “Join me?”
Relaxing deeper into his arms Sierra allowed the warm water to caress over her skin as more bubbles fizzled and dissolved around her. The soft swaying of the trickling drops over her back made her moan as Victor squeezed the sponge over her shoulders again. “You know if you’re really interested in getting your business back up and running, I can hire you for a job.”
She looked up at him with a dazed and confused smile before grabbing his arm and wrapping it tighter around her waist. “What do you mean? You throwing a backyard barbecue? Because I sure as hell hope you ain’t talking about those same dinner meals you and Kiara keep requesting. A girl can only cook mashed potatoes and fried chicken so many times before she starts smelling like fowl.”
He chuckled and kissed lightly along her temple as she leaned her head into his chest. “No I mean Vette’s wedding. She hasn’t hired a caterer yet and they’re gonna need one. You’ll get paid.”
“I don’t know if she’d even want me to cater for her. She and I haven’t ever really been friends.”
“That’s only because she knew your intentions and…”
“Well what would she say right now?” Sierra asked turning and sucking his lips into her mouth again.
“Actually we’ve talked about you and she asked how you were doing and how ‘we’ were doing.”
“‘We’ as in ‘us’?”
“Yeah just like that. She told me that as long as I’m happy, she’s happy for me.”
Sierra turned around completely and the water rippled under her movements splashing puddles on the floor as she looked up into his eyes wrapping herself once more in his arms. “And are you? Happy that is; do I make you happy?”
“I’m very happy Si and I have you to thank for that.” He pulled her lips into his and kissed her long and deep groaning against her mouth when he heard the phone ring.
“Mmm I’d better get that it might be the babysitter.” He pulled up from the tub and dried off a little before wrapping a towel around his waist.
“Babysitter?”
“I asked her to call once she picked the kids up from their friends’ house and was starting this way so we could be ready to leave. Don’t you remember? Tonight we’re having both Brett and Yve’s parties. I left your invite on your night stand. I thought it would be interesting that way instead of outwardly telling you. You should go get ready, it starts in an hour.”
After careful planning, Victor stood in the center of the entertainment room of Stallions the male strip club he’d scouted right under her nose on one of their last cases. “Alright I don’t think I have to tell you to be on your best behavior but as the Man of Honor I feel it is my duty to ensure you consume a minimum of four drinks so you’re not puking all over yourselves tomorrow. I’ve already arranged for a cab to carry yall drunk asses home so hand over the keys right now.”
“Well don’t worry about me I won’t be drinking tonight. I want to be able to remember my name in the morning,” Yvette smiled and thought about her baby. She and Brett hadn’t announced it to anyone yet but the tests confirmed they were indeed expecting. They agreed to wait on the right moment to let everyone in on the secret. Until then she was taking it easier.
“And I’m not taking any chances.”
“Vic!”
“Don’t Vic me, Vette, keys!”
Grudgingly she threw the spiky metal towards his head and growled as he caught them in the palm of his right hand. “Just for that, three drinks for everyone and Vette not a drop for you.”
“Aww Vic you’re not staying? You know it’s your job as Man of Honor to ensure the bride enjoys herself,” Mica smiled and hugged closer to Yvette. “We can even buy you a lap dance or two! That sexy blonde over there has had his eye on us since we entered I bet…”
“Hell no! I don’t want some guys junk in my face! Now you get two drinks minimum for that shit! I’m charging Sierra with watching over you so you better not over do it!”
Yvette looked towards the twin and smiled. She wrapped an arm over her shoulder and drew her closer. “Puhlease! This is a girl’s night which means if Si is in charge she makes the rules. And if you don’t leave now your handsome black tux will become a pretty pink dress…with taffeta!”
Without another word Victor retreated towards the parking lot and Sierra pulled Yvette towards the booth they’d reserved. “Hey Sexy,” Sierra smiled at the half dressed waiter as he made his approach to their table. “Drinks all around and keep ‘em coming baby!” The ladies all laughed and started in on their first rounds as the first dancer made his way to the stage.
“Ready for your lap dance?” Ryan asked motioning towards a redhead near the stage.
“NO! No lap dance for me!” Brett emphatically waved his hands in a large “X” motion.
“What? Are you kidding? This is your last hoorah as a free man you best believe your ass is getting a lap dance!”
“Ryan, Yvette made me promise we would wait to have sex the week of our wedding for our wedding night. Now for a guy that’s been getting it pretty regularly with her to having a complete and total drought I gotta tell ya my balls are getting really blue. Now I am seriously wound so fucking tight I’m about ready to explode. The LAST thing I need right now is someone grinding against me when I know I won’t be able to have that beautiful woman that forced this curse upon me to relieve the pressure.”
“To make matters worse all week she has been making googly eyes at me and enjoying a delicacy of phallic shaped foods. Not to mention when we’re in bed she inches as close as she can to me before she falls asleep so I get to have her rub that goddamn gorgeous ass against me all night and because of it I’ve been unable to sleep.”
“You know you could always relieve yourself,” Dustin suggested finding humor in Brett’s plight.
“No, we promised nothing.”
“What?” This time it was Victor shaking his head apologetically towards Brett though unable to hide his laughter as he sucked down his scotch.
“Yeah I know, idiot me. But I thought ‘pfft six days? No problem’. Man, by the next afternoon I was humping my pillow and clawing at the headboard. Little did I know she would still freely prance around with my shirts on KNOWING how that drives me wild! Scott, I’m gonna tell you sorry right now because I plan on deforming your little girl the night of our wedding. She’s gonna end up with a permanent limp. Just know it was never my intention.”
Patting his belt notch with the obvious gun wear on the right side Scott nodded towards Brett. “You know we haven’t really had these moments to talk about you dating Yvette. Did you know she was a pretty popular girl in high school? That was up until those anxious and horny boys realized she had a protective father licensed to carry a gun. To state it simply whatever you do to my little girl I WILL do to you.” Scott chuckled and pulled up from the booth offering to grab the next round from the bar and relieve himself of the awkward conversation.
The next morning Yvette was out of the house and at Victor’s before Brett woke up. Victor was supposed to be taking her dress shopping but had roped Sierra into doing it for him instead. They’d been at the mall for close to three hours and she still hadn’t found anything she was very comfortable in. “So what did Vic do or say to make you bring me out today?”
“Just that he didn’t want to stand around holding your purse all day as you dragged him from store to store trying on dresses. He said ‘that ain’t man’s work’ regardless if he was the Maid, excuse me, Man of Honor or not.”
Yvette laughed as they entered the fifth store in the mall and started towards the bridal section. “Oh this is a nice one,” she smiled and circled around a display of off the shoulder gowns in various colors.”
“Hmm no, he also said ‘make sure it doesn’t have a train because I’m not lifting it’.”
“He is aware this is MY big day right not his?”
“He’s a man Yve he doesn’t know anything he isn’t told.” The two giggled loudly and moved towards a section of the store that had less traditional style dresses and ones slinkier and less ornate. “Yes try that one on, it looks great!”
“Yeah? You don’t think the open chest is a little much?”
“I think it’s your big day; the last moments of single living and you get to show the other guys what they aren’t getting. Plus it’ll drive Brett wild!”
“Ha yeah I’ve kinda been teasing him all week long. I think he’s about ready to pop!”
“Aww poor guy. He’s going to ravish you come wedding night. I hope you’re ready.”
“And willing! I have to admit the teasing is killing me too but it’ll be well worth it.” She turned towards Sierra with a smile and tucked the gown over her arm to try it in the dressing room. “So you and Victor…” Sierra swallowed hard. She’d been waiting for this subject to pop up between them and was nervous already after Victor pushed her into the dress shopping. Nodding her head slightly she waited for Yvette to continue before saying anything. “I don’t have to threaten you right?”
“I’m sure it would make you feel better. It’s not like you haven’t done that before.” She tried smiling to hide the annoyance in her tone but it didn’t work.
Taking on a more serious voice Yvette lowered her tone and glared at Sierra. “I love Victor. I love Aisha, Chase and Kiara as well. You and I can’t really call ourselves best friends and up until recently we weren’t even on real speaking terms or cordial. But Victor cares about you; he always has and that has always been a really difficult thing for him to accept. Your sister and I were real friends, very close and I miss her.”
“I hated the way you threw yourself at him under her nose and it caused the tension between us. After she died you stepped up and you took real good care of everyone and I appreciate that. And oddly enough I know you stopped going after him too. Guess it was guilt, I don’t know. But whatever it is, just make sure that no matter what happens between the two of you, you treat him right. Or else there won’t be a need for threats Si.”
“I love Victor, Yve. I’ve ALWAYS loved Victor. I have no intentions of hurting him or the children. Their happiness is my only concern.”
“Good. And maybe you and I can try and work on a friendship because I don’t want to be the overprotective best friend that ruins her friend’s last chance at happiness.” She smiled when Sierra looked up at her with a nod. Her arms wrapped around Sierra’s neck drawing her into a tight hug as they finally came to an understanding of one another. “Now I’d better go and try on this dress before the saleswoman kicks us out! She has one of those ‘hurry up and buy’ glares going.
Stepping out of the dressing room, Sierra clapped ecstatically as Yvette did her little catwalk. She tried on several dresses; accenting them with the costume jewelry the saleswoman handed her and trotted around to see if she could get a feel for any of them. Shaking her head at Sierra’s first through fifth choices at this store Yvette spotted a gorgeous gown near the non-traditional rack and hurried towards it. Frowning she noticed it was all white but even with that she decided to go ahead and try it on, much with Sierra’s goading as well.
“I like this but it doesn’t have the accents I’m looking for.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need something to match Brett. He’s wearing a baby blue vest and I want something that has the same color in it so we offset the champagne the groomsmen will wear and the lilac of my bridesmaids.”
“But it looks great! Maybe they can have a tailor alter it to suit your needs.”
“Maybe. It’s really very nice.”
“Yes and you definitely need to buy this one!”
“You’re not just saying that because you’re tired of shopping are you?” Yvette asked as she stepped behind the curtain to remove the dress.
“Of course not! And we’re far from done! We have to check out the bridesmaids stuff and then get some nice shoes to match your gown. PLUS you need the perfect veil and bouquet; something frilly that Victor would look adorable holding!” Yvette raised her eyebrow and looked at Sierra suspiciously. “Well if he’d come like he was supposed to he’d have a say in the bouquet. Now he’s going to see why it’s the Honor’s job to shop with the bride!” They again laughed mischievously and Yvette placed the other gowns back on their hooks as Sierra took her last fitting from her hands.
After paying for it they chose a great set of bridesmaids’ gowns and left the sizes for the tailor to ensure they got the fits just right. “I’m starving!” Sierra groaned as they passed the food court on their tenth trek through to the other side of the mall. “How’s about a little pick me up? My treat.”
“Hello? Earth to Yve?” She glanced at Yvette and noticed she’d stopped listening to her and wasn’t paying much attention to where they were walking. “Yve? It’s over here.” She pointed trying to gain her attention.
“Keep moving Sierra and keep talking as though we’re having the world’s most interesting conversation.”
“Uh…?”
“Come on.” Without glancing back the duo paced the area of the food court, bypassing many of the more occupied stores of the mall and headed towards the attached movie theatre near the back. Yvette glanced into the large display windows as they walked up the escalator and towards the end of the darkened hall.
“Yve what’s going on?” Wordlessly she gripped Sierra’s arm and yanked her around the corner. Placing a finger over her lip and covering Sierra’s mouth with her hand she motioned for her to be completely still and remain silent. She reached into the waistband of her skirt and pulled out her gun. “Where did you get that?” Sierra whispered watching Yve silently slip the safety off.
“Actually it was a gift from Vic. Nice and convenient to hide.” She smiled thinking about Ryan’s belief she’d conceal it in her panties before pulling the slide back, cocking the firing hammer at the rear of the gun and loading a round in the chamber. “When I move I want you to head towards the exit as quickly as possible. Keep your head low and don’t look back, you got it?”
She nodded and Yvette peeked around the corner. Swift movement towards the Bath & Body Works caused her eyes to dart in that direction. Her body followed quickly thereafter and like a bat out of hell Sierra took off for the exit making a quick dash towards the parking lot. She grabbed the phone from her pocket and dialed Vic’s number as she rounded the corner towards her Kia Sportage. Immediately she began explaining what was happening before he even finished the word “hello.”
“Is she ok?”
“I don’t know she told me to take off and I did!”
“Where are you now?”
“I’m in the parking lot but Yvette…” shots rang out and cut her sentence short and she relayed that bit of information as well.
“Si, get in the car and keep away from the building, I’m on the way over now. No wait, fuck!” Thinking about the kids he realized he wouldn’t be able to get to her with them in tow or call someone to watch them in time. “I’m getting Brett over to you ASAP.”
The back door to the mall opened and a man came rushing from the double doors, hopped into an awaiting black SUV and pulled out burning rubber. Yvette wasn’t far behind him but was unable to get off another round before they made it out of the parking lot. “Damn it!” she screamed and turned towards the mall. Seeing Sierra standing near her car she headed over tucking her weapon back into her dress. “I lost him. Who are you talking to?”
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