Page 63 of Out of Place

Her hair is in one long braid today, and it’s calling my name. I tug on it, wrapping it around my fist as I pump in and out of her.

“Harder,” she cries. “Fuck me like you mean it, Landon.”

I let out a strangled laugh. She loves to keep me on my toes.

My free hand grips her hip as I thrust into her, hard and deep. She cries out a loud “Yes!”

I do it again and again, pounding into her as hard as I fucking can. Her pussy squeezes me just right, and I know I’m close again. I let go of her hair and grip both hips as I thrust in and out.

Finally, she comes again, and I empty inside of her. I curl over her back and kiss her neck.

We stay like that for a minute, enjoying our connection.

I pull out and help her stand. Her knees and the palms of her hands are covered in dirt. She looks at them and smiles. “Guess you weren’t kidding about the dirty part.”

* * *

Over the next few days, Olivia and I fall back into our routine. We work, I stay for dinner most nights, and then we work on a puzzle with Dottie. Dottie even lets me spend the night sometimes, but I’m definitely not trying to overstay my welcome. Waking up next to Olivia might be one of my new favorite things, even if we wake up at an ungodly hour. It just makes it a little easier when we get to do it together.

We spend every second we can together on our days off. Between dinners with my parents, I show her around the town I grew up in. We even take a day trip to visit my sister at her college. Olivia has a blast while we’re there. Understandably, the college town is more fun than Thundersville.

Olivia is getting better at driving, too. She’s only hit a few curbs and has learned to look out for both stop signs and stop lights. We’ve reviewed the requirements for someone over eighteen to get a driver’s license in Georgia, and I think she’s about ready to take her test even though she feels like she’s not. She’s stalling big time, but I’m not giving up.

Everything is going well. Too well. So I’m not surprised when we walk up to the house one afternoon after a long day of work and see a woman standing on the back porch with Dottie.

Olivia stops in her tracks and pulls back on my hand.

“What’s the matter?” I ask, looking between Olivia and the woman. “Who is that?”

She takes a deep breath and says the words that make my heart sink. “It’s my mother.”

CHAPTER 25

Olivia

My mother is the last person I expect to see standing on the back porch. Certainly not in regular jeans and boots I’ve never seen her wear in my entire life.

Her hair isn’t styled like usual, and she’s wearing minimal makeup.

She definitely doesn’t look like the woman who dropped me off at the airport months ago without a second thought.

“Mom?” I ask when we reach the house. I’m squeezing the life out of Landon’s hand, but he doesn’t pull away. It’s not that I’m scared to see my mom; I’m just a little nervous about what this could mean. On the one hand, she could be here to take me back to New York. She could also be here to tell me I’ll be staying longer. I’m not sure which one makes me more nervous. “What are you doing here?”

She smiles. “I’m here to check on you.”

She could’ve called. Or texted. Or freaking emailed. I don’t know, something a little less extreme than hopping on a plane to come here.

“Are you going to introduce me?” she asks, looking between Landon and me.

“Oh, yeah. This is Landon. My boyfriend.” It still feels strange to say boyfriend. “Landon. This is my mother, Helena Sterling.”

Landon wipes his hand on his jeans, which doesn’t do much considering his jeans are just as dirty as his hands, and extends his hand to my mom. “It’s nice to finally meet you, ma’am.”

“You as well. Dottie has told me a lot about you.”

That doesn’t sit well with me. I should be the one to tell my family about my own boyfriend, but we’ve got bigger fish to fry. Like what she’s really doing here.

Wait. Did I just say bigger fish to fry? What is happening to me?