What Her Dad Doesn't Know (Dad's Best Friend May December Romance Novella) Page 5

  Sweat beads across my skin as I move over Andrew, rocking my whole body against his. I’m moving faster and faster now, my breath becoming shallow as our bodies smack together. I want to drive him deep inside of me, riding him frantically as his cock hits that sweet spot again and again and I come. My back arches as pleasure rips through me, and I cry out his name. I’m seeing glittering stars in my vision, and I have to take deep breaths as Andrew holds onto me and fucks me, hard thrusts that surges my orgasm to the top again and again.

  Finally he releases me, releasing his seed deep within me. I collapse down on top of that broad heaving chest of his, hearing the thudding drumbeat of his heart. I bury my nose against his neck, smelling the musky scent of our love making. Everything feels so good and right in the world. My pussy is overflowing, and the liquid trickles down to pool between us. I’m going to need Plan B and birth control for sure.

  Andrew curls an arm around my back, holding me close. He whispers something soft in my ear, but I’m so tired that I miss it. My eyes close, and the next time I open them again, the sun has shifted. It’s no longer the golden glow of early morning.

  “What time is it?” I ask sleepily.

  “Almost noon,” Andrew replies. His voice is just as drowsy as mine, and his eyes are closed.

  “Did I fall asleep?”

  “Sure did. You looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to disturb you. Plus, it just feels right having you there on me. Like you were made for me.”

  I feel a warm glow of happiness from his words, and I want to stay, but the practical side of me is rushing ahead, thinking about how I have class and essays and work. I’m already going to be late as it is, and that’s if I hop into the shower and skip going home to change.

  “I have to go,” I say at last.

  “I want to see you again.”

  He’s serious. I blink and look back at him. His eyes are searching mine, and I can see the hope in them. I don’t know what we have, but if he wants to explore this, then so do I.

  “Me too,” I say softly. “But I do have to go home. I still live with my parents remember? They’re going to know something’s up if I don’t go back. And I have school.”

  Andrew shakes his head, his golden hair flopping in front of his eyes. I brush it out of his way, an intimate gesture that I couldn’t imagine doing just a day before.

  “I forget that you’re so young still,” he says. “It doesn’t feel like it when we’re together.”

  “Not that young,” I argue. I know he’s thinking about the age difference between us and if this was the right thing to do. “I’m old enough to vote and drink. That means I’m old enough to make my decisions about my own life.”

  He still looks unconvinced and I wonder if he’s wrestling with the guilt of betraying his best friend. We got so caught up in the moment, but now the idea of leaving his apartment and returning to reality is bringing back the guilt. I don’t want to hurt my dad, and I know that he’d be shocked and angry by what Andrew’s done. But this isn’t a problem we have to solve right now.

  “Anyways,” I say, propping my head on my arm, “I’ll be back soon. After work maybe? I only have the early evening shift. You can pick me up. Make sure that nothing happens to me.”

  I smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit. But Andrew just sits up straighter and frowns.

  “You’re not going back to that place, Noelle” he says.

  “I have to Andrew. I need a job to pay for tuition.”

  As much as it sucked, that job is the only way I could make school work. I’d be more careful this time, and maybe pick up some self defence moves too. I wasn’t going to let myself get caught off guard again. No way.

  “Not anymore. You’ve been hired to be an intern at my company.”

  “I have?” I say, surprised. “I haven’t even been interviewed.”

  He puts a hand on his chest and gives me a playful smile.

  “I interviewed you all night. And I think you’re fucking perfect for it. You can start today.”

  I laugh, but then I realize that he’s serious.

  “Andrew! You can’t do that. That’s like, that’s like paying me for sex. Nuh uh. I’m not doing it.”

  “No. You’re not going back to that sleazy bar. I’m not having all those guys look at you like you’re some prime piece of meat. You’re mine now,” he’s so fierce about this that I shiver a little with pleasure. I like the sound of being his. A lot. “The internship is a real position. Whatever you want to know more about, I’ll make it happen. You’re not going back there though Noelle.”

  I open my mouth to argue, but I realize that I don’t want to. Being Andrew’s intern was way better than the Double D Ranch Bar and Grill. I’d always wanted to open up my own jewelry business, and this would give me invaluable experience in running one. It didn’t hurt that I’d be able to see Andrew more often too.

  “Okay,” I say at last. “But only if you let me properly thank you.”

  “Of course,” he says leaning down for a kiss. “I expect nothing less.”

  *********

  We soon settle into a perfect groove with one another. The internship is amazing. Not only do I get the inside scoop on how to run a company, but I also get an intimate look into Andrew’s mind. He runs his company well; there’s nothing that happens without him knowing. Even though it now has a staff of over 2000 people, he makes a point to know everyone in each department and drops in to check. His office might have been fancy, but he’s not often in it. Instead, he will pick a department to drop into for the day, sitting in meetings and brainstorming sessions. I don’t know how he does it. It’s like he’s got an endless supply of energy.

  “That’s what happens when you’re doing something you love,” he tells me over dinner one night. “You have to have that source, otherwise you’ll never make it. Starting and running a business is brutal, and if you don’t have your heart in it, it’ll be too hard.”

  After two weeks, I tell my parents that I’m moving out. What I don’t say is that it’s to Andrew’s. They know about my new job at Andrew’s because I figure I should tell them something. It feels less like a lie, more like an omission, and I push the guilt away with a promise that I’ll tell them if it actually gets serious. We’re still so new, and who knows what might happen? I don’t want to overturn everything if it’s just a fling. That’s what I keep telling myself anyways.

  In reality though, I can’t see myself with anyone else. It seems like we’re rushing, and Andrew worries that he’s pushing me into it, but in reality I am just as impatient as he is to be together. I love starting and ending my days in Andrew’s arms. He encourages and supports my education; in fact, he recently came to my university to do a special night lecture. It was thrilling to watch him speak while I sat in the front row. After school, I go to work at the internship. It started out as a favor from him, but it’s developed into a real position. No daily Starbucks runs for me.

  When I get home, we’ll have dinner. Andrew loves to cook, and he gets such joy from showing me all different kinds of cuisine. One night we had Ethiopian, piling spoonfuls of meat, beans, and veggies onto the flat injera bread. Another night he got inspiration from Japan, making ramen noodles by hand. I love coming home and seeing him cook in the kitchen. It’s such a domestic scene. All we need is a baby in a high chair and maybe a little boy begging to help out his dad. I keep these thoughts close to my chest though. Right now we’re still in the thick of things, and we’d hardly even told anyone that we’re seeing each other. Why jump ahead when we haven’t even crossed the first hurdle?

  “This is amazing,” I said as I slurped up the noodles as instructed. “It’s almost as good as going to Japan and having it.”

  “You’re welcome,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to try my hand at noodle making. I just never found the time.”

  I instantly feel guilty. I hadn’t meant to make it harder on Andrew when I asked him to make me some. I’ve always been in
trigued by travel, but I’d never had the money or the time. This was his way of showing me the world for right now.

  “I shouldn’t be pulling you away from work like this,” I say. “Don’t you have that big meeting with the other angel investors tomorrow?”

  He takes my hand in his and pulled it to him.

  “Don’t feel bad,” he says. “All I had in my life before you was work, work, work. And as much as I love it, I was working myself to the bone for nothing. Now, I have a reason to go home at night. I have a reason to be working hard. Providing for you makes me happy. Cooking for you, if that’s what you want, makes me happy.”

  I’m so overcome by his words that I drop my gaze down. He’s so intense and sincere. I’m not used to that. Lana tells me all about the various guys she dates and sees. There’s always a game going on, always this need to play it cool. It makes my head spin. Andrew’s totally different though. I don’t know if it’s his age, or his experience, but he hates bullshit and he goes for what he wants. He’s past needing to play games. He’s secure and unafraid. I’m so happy being with him, and yet...

  “Andrew,” I start to say, then stop. I’ve already got so much from him. How can I ask for anything else?

  “What is it?”

  I bite the inside of my lip. I shouldn’t.

  “Noelle?” His blue eyes are concerned.

  “I’m really happy with you,” I say. “Really, truly. Everything you’ve done, everything you’ve given me, it’s all amazing. I feel like I shouldn’t be asking for anything else.”

  “But there is something,” he prompts.

  “After what happened at the zoo...”

  It had been early on in our relationship, when school had just started and I hadn’t had a mountain of schoolwork. It just so happened that a baby panda had just been born, and I was dying to go see them. Everything was going well. We’d gone straight to the panda exhibit first, followed by the giraffe feeding. Just as we finished though, I saw someone I recognized in the next group. It was one of my dad’s coworkers. Andrew recognized him too. He tensed up, and pulled on my arm. I quickly turned around and we left. Once we were safely out of sight, he told me that the guy sometimes came golfing with them. After that close call, we agreed not to have dates in public anymore.

  “It’s just. I’d love to go away somewhere for a weekend,” I say at last. “I want to be able to go out and hold hands with you. To kiss you. I want to feel like a normal couple you know, instead of having to keep things a secret.”

  Andrew doesn’t say anything, and I worry that I asked too much of him. Finally he speaks.

  “Where do you want to go?”

  I let go of the breath that I’ve been holding and smile.

  “Anywhere. You can pick.”

  “Consider your wish granted Noelle,” Andrew says, and I know that he will.

  Chapter 6

  Andrew decides on New Orleans, which both surprises and delights me. I always wanted to go to the Crescent City, and I know that the French Quarter would be both fun and romantic. It’s going to be a short trip, because I have midterms coming up, and I can’t afford to miss any class time. Since it is such a short trip, I don’t pack more than an overnight bag. A few sets of underwear, a jacket, a dress for a fancy dinner, and a spare t-shirt or two is more than enough. Even Andrew takes it easy, switching out his starched shirts for cozy plaid ones, and his trousers for well-worn jeans.

  “I can’t believe we’re going just like that,” I exclaim. It’s only been a few days since I made the suggestion, and I figured it would take much longer to put this all together.

  “That’s the fun of it, isn’t it?” he says as he starts up the car. “Packing up and going on a whim.”

  “To be honest, I haven’t done a lot of traveling. I’ve never had the time. And my dad was always so busy helping run the store. I’ve always wanted to though. I think if I’m going to be a good designer, I have to always find new sources of inspiration.”

  “Well, I can promise you that we can travel as much as you want, whenever you want once you’re out of school. Do you have a list of places you’d like to go?”

  “Oh for sure. There’s Europe of course, and Japan, and China. India would be really, really cool too, and maybe Egypt...”

  We start discussing different countries and what we’d like to see. It turns out that Andrew likes to travel too, though he’s only gone for business. Lots of meetings and very little sightseeing means that he isn’t that much more experienced than me, which is a nice change for once. And he hasn’t been to New Orleans yet either. While it’s great that he knows so much more and has done so much more than me for most things, it’s still refreshing to have some things where we’re evenly matched. I start googling different things we might want to do in New Orleans when my phone beeps.

  Oops, I think as I shut off the alarm. Forgot to take my birth control pill this morning. It’s in my overnight bag, but that’s in the trunk. I’ll have to remember to take it when we get to the airport. I turn back to my search and find these things called beignets that we have to try. Andrew nods knowingly. Of course a foodie like him would know all about that already, but the mouthwatering tower of fried dough and powdered sugar has my mouth watering.

  Soon we are driving into the airport. But instead of heading towards the parking garage, Andrew veers off to a separate hanger.

  “What’s going on?” I ask.

  “We’re going to our ride,” he says. “I’ve got a private jet for us.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Well it’s the company’s actually, but I’ve requested it for the weekend. The flight times just weren’t going to work out otherwise.”

  I can’t believe it until I see it. The jet is small, but it’s definitely way more luxurious than anything I’d ever been in. I sort of hoped we’d be in first class, or even business, but to not have to have screaming babies or sick people coughing the whole flight? What a luxury! I get out of the car, and a flight attendant helps stow our luggage. Andrew leads the way onto the jet.

  It’s beautiful inside, and way more spacious than I expected. The fawn colored seats are wide and plushy, and they’ve even set out a table for our breakfast. There’s a flat screen television too, and in the back, a cozy couch in case we want to take a nap. Andrew thanks the flight attendant and dismisses her. I’m glad because it would have been so awkward to have a stranger riding with us the whole time. The pilot is somewhere in the front, but the door is closed.

  “This. Is. Amazing!” I say running my hand along the table. I fall into one of the chairs. “Thank you Andrew.”

  “You’re welcome. Now we have to sit back, because we’re going to take off pretty soon.”

  The flight is two hours long, and I spend the first half just exploring the jet. I’m not used to any of this. I almost feel like Cinderella. How did I get so lucky? Andrew has work to finish since he’s gone this weekend so I try to get some studying done. In reality though, I’m busy sneaking looks at him beneath my lashes. I don’t think I could ever get bored of it.

  A limo is waiting for us when we land. I turn to Andrew quizzically, but all he says is that he wants this weekend to be over the top perfect since it’s our first one away. I tell him that he’s setting the bar pretty high, but he just laughs. I’m just so excited to see everything. The drive isn’t too long, and soon I can see the colorful walls and iron lace balconies that are so iconic to the area’s architecture. It’s amazing, and everywhere I look, there is more to see. I can already feel my fingers itching to sketch and record what I see.

  It must be so wonderful to live among all this history and romance. Maybe one day we could buy a little apartment here, and I could get cafe au lait every morning and stroll the streets for inspiration every day. I glance over at Andrew. He’s pleased that I’m so happy. I squeeze his hand appreciatively. Already I know this weekend will be perfect.

  Then I see the hotel we’re stopped in front of. The word
Monteleone is printed in black on it’s regal white awning. The whole building is gorgeous, with beautifully carved windows and a stately stone facade. A doorman comes to open the door for us.

  “Welcome to the Hotel Monteleone,” he says. A bellhop rushes forward to take our two bags.

  “You know they say this place is haunted,” Andrew whispers to me as we enter the timelessly elegant lobby.

  “Really?” I ask, intrigued. It certainly looked old enough to have a ghost or two wandering about.

  “Yes. There’s many ghosts, but I think the 14th floor is most famous for a mischievous little boy-ghost who wants to find someone to play with him.”

  Andrew says this so solemnly that I can’t help but laugh. A friendly little ghost? That’s not so bad at all.

  “You’re not scared?” he asks, surprised. I notice that he’s got a little frown.

  “Wait. Are you?” I ask.

  He shakes his head a bit too quickly, and I have to hold back a smile. Well, well. Who would have thought that a big, strong man like Andrew would be scared of ghosts? When he assures me that we won’t be on the 14th floor, I let him. He might be the scared one, but I’m willing to let him think he needs to comfort me.

  Once he’s arranged for our things to be brought up to our room, we’re free to explore the French Quarter at last. The first thing I do when we exit the hotel is grab onto Andrew’s hand. It seems like such a small gesture, but until now we’ve had to keep everything so under wraps that we don’t grocery shop together. To hold his hand outside feels like I’m shouting about our relationship to the world. And then he one-ups me by tilting my chin up and planting a kiss on my lips. For a second I freeze, still afraid of being seen, but then I relax. It feels good to be open about it!