More Than a Memory Read online

  “You sure she’s only twelve?” Eden leisurely pointed her finger in the direction of Norah who had on another smile.

  “Believe me, you aren’t telling me anything that I don’t already know.” I placed my hands on my hips, “Sometimes it’s like she’s the parent and I’m the child instead of the other way around. Speaking of being the parent,” I turned to Norah and gave her a stern look, “Don’t you have something to say to Eden? Perhaps an apology of sorts?”

  “No, it’s really not necessary,” Eden tried to intervene but Norah spoke up.

  “My dad is right, for once,” cue an eye roll right about… now! She continued to speak, looking Eden directly in the eyes, and Eden’s expression softened towards her. “I’m really sorry for reaching out to you under the impression that I was my dad. But I can’t say that I’m one hundred percent sorry for doing it.” That comment took me by surprise and I straightened my stance and went to move towards Norah or at least shoot her a warning look, but she quickly floored me with her next set of words. “I mean, look at him,” she waved her arm in my direction, “he’s had a goofy smile on his face since the two of you came in.”

  I have? I smiled even brighter at the thought of the happiness Eden had brought me just that afternoon. Even though some rather heavy secrets had been revealed, I couldn’t take the time to be pissed about them, because we didn’t have time to dwell on the past.

  “So I really should say thank you for putting the effortless smile back on his face,” Norah ended with a shy half smile and a subtle shrug of a shoulder. My heart expanded in my chest at hearing her words. I was one proud dad in that moment and nothing could ever change my views on being a father. Kristina seemed to be able to ignore and spend months away from her daughter, but I didn’t think I could go one day without hearing her sweet voice.

  “Norah,” I warned. She had to stop there because if she continued to go on saying such nice things about me I might be inclined to shed a tear.

  “No, Daddy, it’s true. You often smile around me because you are an amazing dad but now your smile is almost brighter somehow.” She took a deep breath, “Like you found that missing light in your life. You were a dull sky on a gloomy day and she’s your beaming sun.” She pivoted on her foot away from me, “Let’s go, Polly. It was really great to finally meet you, Eden.” She started to walk out the door that led to the garage but quickly turned around and jogged back to me. She stood up on her tiptoes, kissed my cheek and whispered into my ear, “Bye, Daddy.” And was quickly out of sight.

  Eden leaned up against the counter, “Baylor, you have done an amazing job raising her. She’s so profound and wise.”

  I shrugged a shoulder, acting a little bashful, “Thanks, I’m not perfect at this whole parenting bit, that’s for sure. But Norah and I go with the flow and learn along the way. She’s a great kid.”

  Eden seemed to start getting a bit nervous, looking all around the kitchen and never at me, then she began fiddling with the leather cuff bracelet that was on her left wrist. She wasn’t going to go all shy on me all of a sudden; I wasn’t going to have it.

  “How about a snack?” I offered. She thought about it for a moment then nodded her head. “Just hop up there on the island and I’ll whip us up something.”

  At first she gave me a sideways glare but then complied and began swinging her dangling legs after kicking her sandals off onto the floor. The action caused me to chuckle a bit because it reminded me so much of something Norah would do.

  She began looking around the kitchen once more, “Your house is beautiful.”

  Digging around in the fridge, I said, “We like it,” without looking back at her.

  “So Kristina really doesn’t see Norah that much?”

  I found a Tupperware container full of strawberries and shut the fridge, taking them over to the counter. “Hardly ever, actually. Norah says it doesn’t bother her but little things she says and does lead me to believe otherwise.” Opening the container I pulled out a strawberry and brought it to my lips, taking a bite out of it to determine the sweetness. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Eden watching my mouth the entire time. Taking my hand and wiping it on my jeans to get rid of any traces of strawberry juice, I then pulled myself up onto the counter right next to Eden. “She’s really close to my mom. It gives them both something to look forward to.”

  I held out the container, allowing Eden to choose a berry, and she took a generous bite, causing the pale red juice began to run down the side of her mouth. I completely checked out once she darted out her tongue to lap up the wayward juice.

  “Baylor?”

  “Huh?” I finally said while coming to. Just the act of her eating a strawberry then licking up the stray juice of said strawberry was enough to do me in.

  “I asked how your mom was doing.”

  “She’s doing well.” I bobbed my head up and down trying to emphasize how good she was doing. “She does the billing and payroll for the business to keep her busy.” My mom adored Eden when we were growing up. I started to offer to take Eden by for a visit while she was there, but had to pull myself up short and remind myself that she was just visiting. It would do me good to remember that, she was only here for the week. For the reunion.

  The more she darted her tongue out on her lips and the small smiles she gave, the more sensible logic went out the window. Screw doing the right thing, which was leaving her be. I was going to enjoy my time with her while she was there and handle the repercussions regarding my heart after she left.

  I hopped down off the counter to go retrieve something to make things a little more interesting…Something that used to be her absolute favorite. I disappeared into the pantry and came out holding a delectable chocolate hazelnut treat. Her eyes lit up like Christmas Day when she saw what I was wielding in my hand. She reached out for the container while repeating, “Gimme!”

  I slowed my pace and unscrewed the jar myself. “Nutella, I knew it used to be your favorite.”

  Her beautiful face lit up even more. “You remembered?” As if anyone could forget anything about a woman like her. It was amazing to me how she had remained single for so many years; people must not have known her like I did.

  “Edie, I remember everything about you. Every. Single. Thing. Like how you used to wear those ponytails and sneakers because you didn’t have a care in the world. You weren’t like any other girl that I knew, you didn’t need to take hours to work on your appearance. And even with those pesky ponytails and sneakers you were always the most beautiful girl in school. And also when you used to steal little glances my way, thinking that I wasn’t any the wiser. I mean, we were best friends for like ten years.”

  She stayed silent for a while and I was worried that I had gone too far and she would retreat within herself. But finally in a small voice, she said, “I like that…”

  I raised a brow, “Like what?”

  “When you call me Edie. You’re the only person who I let call me that.”

  Hearing that only I was allowed to call her by the nickname I gave her so many years ago did something to me. I liked knowing that I had a piece of her that no one else did.

  She leaned forward and jerked the jar away from me and finished unscrewing the lid so she could plunge her finger inside. It came out completely covered in Nutella and she proceeded to seductively insert it into her mouth and slowly pull it out while sucking the creamy spread clean from her finger.

  My chest was heaving and I parted her legs and stepped in between them as a growl erupted from my chest. Her sucking on her finger was my complete undoing. Enough of this, she was going to be mine.

  She looked at me through her lashes while lifting the jar, offering some to me. After my hesitance, she coated her finger once again and offered that to me instead to lick clean. “Want some?” she asked, goading me, almost challenging me to take the bait. I didn’t know how she was remaining so cool and collected when earlier she was nervous as could be. My heart was beating
erratically and if it could actually be heard it’d be as loud as a freight train traveling at its highest speed.

  She still had her finger suspended in midair and I moved to take it between my parted lips but she pulled it back at the very last second. I grabbed her sides and began tickling her flesh right above her ribs.

  “Oh, you’re gonna get it!!! You know I hate being tickled,” she warned, trying to feign a look of anger, but she couldn’t hold back her laughter. I abruptly stopped the assault on her sides and grabbed her hand, separating her clean fingers, bending them down and drawing her Nutella-covered finger towards my awaiting mouth.

  Bringing the chocolate hazelnut spread into my parted lips, I took my time sucking the remnants clean off of her skin. The creamy chocolate and nutty hazelnut mixed with the sweetness of Eden’s skin was the absolute last straw. I had gotten a sample but I was ready for the main course.

  I lowered her hand back down to her side and fiddled with the hem of her tank top, inching my hands underneath and teasing her exposed skin. I felt the telltale sign of goose bumps forming on her stomach against my fingers.

  She crossed her arms, gripping the end of her shirt and whipping the entire thing off over her head in one swift motion. I guess my teasing was her undoing. “Impatient much? I was rather enjoying myself,” I teased.

  Brushing her fingers down the length of my face, she cupped my cheeks and jerked my face towards hers so that we were only millimeters apart, her warm breath caressing my skin, as her innocent doe eyes peered into mine, “Just shut up and kiss me, please,” she begged and pleaded right before she crashed her lips to mine.

  My hand found my way in through the bottom opening of her shorts again as I repeated the action from earlier in the evening and graced the lips of her pussy with my fingertips. She squirmed her ass against the countertop as I sank two fingers into her up to my knuckles. Just being in her bra, with her lip pulled in between her teeth and resting back against her hands, she wasn’t shy in the least, taking from me what she wanted. She rocked against my hand, mirroring my speed, drawing nearer to the crescendo of her release. She let out a hearty moan as she tipped over the edge into another orgasm.

  I scooped my arms up under her ass, pulling her against me, so she had no other choice but to lock her legs around my back. As I lifted her up off the counter a moan escaped her mouth as she ran her tongue along my jawline up to my ear.

  A sudden thought went through my mind, if this had occurred fifteen years prior, who knew if Eden would’ve reacted so boldly, especially the way she dug her heels into my ass as I walked blindly to my bedroom.

  I sat her on the edge of my bed and kneeled on the floor in front of her so I could unclasp and discard her bra. I tried not to focus all of my attention on her naked torso but seeing her in that position just for me for the first time had my mouth going dry and all of my blood rushing south of my waistband. I couldn’t quite pinpoint an exact word to describe how she looked to me at that moment; having two orgasms within the span of an hour had made her face thoroughly flushed. She was intoxicating, spellbinding, and easily the most exquisite woman I’d ever had the pleasure of laying eyes upon.

  The pause I took to openly take in her form must’ve come across as hesitation to her. Her smile faded, her expression worried, “What’s wrong?” She asked.

  I gave her a delicate shove, pushing her back so she was lying on the bed with her feet still firmly planted on the floor. Bending over her prone form and taking a hand, I started on her cheek, caressing my fingertips down her neck, across her breasts, and ending at her navel before I looked back into her eyes. “Absolutely nothing, Eden. You are the epitome of perfection. May I see the rest of you?” A mild blush crept across her face as she nodded her head, approving my request to discard the rest of her clothing.

  The snap to her shorts quickly gave way and with very little effort on my part, she shimmied out of her shorts and panties as I tugged them down and off of her legs. She instinctively parted her thighs open for me; the glistening of her arousal was extremely apparent, informing me that she was into this just as much as I was.

  I pulled my polo shirt over my head, then made quick work of removing my jeans and boxer briefs, making my erection jut out at attention. Eden’s eyes quickly widened once I was free of all my clothing and it made my cock twitch as I took in her vulnerability.

  “Scoot back further up the bed,” I said as I hovered over her on my hands and knees, following along in her movements as we shifted up towards the headboard. I didn’t quite make it up to her mouth because when I passed over her pert breasts with her erect nipples they were beckoning my attention. I took her nipple into my mouth, causing a gasp to break free from Eden’s mouth. I caught her completely off guard and just by the noises she was emanating, I anticipated doing more often. My advances were so well received by Eden and she was so utterly responsive to my touch. My erection was throbbing with need and all I wanted to do was sink deep into her pussy and take her as my own for the first time.

  With restraint, I held back on my own needs to see to hers first. Eden was a woman who you cherished and savored your time with her slowly, which outweighed any need of my own. I trailed open mouthed kisses up her sternum to the juncture between her neck and shoulder and pulled away. Settling my weight on my forearms, I rested just above her and pressed a single kiss on the end of her nose.

  She brought her hands up behind my back, dragging her fingers along my spine; her breathing was as heavily labored with anticipation as my own. Lifting up and grinding her pelvis into my cock wasn’t doing much for my restraint. My eyes began rolling back into my head and a deep guttural groan escaped from my chest just from the sheer friction of her movements. “I want you inside me, Baylor,” she panted.

  I rested my forehead against hers, enjoying what was taking place down below. “I’m not done with you yet, though.”

  Moving a hand off my back, she reached in between the two of us until she had my cock in her grasp. Apparently she was going to take what she wanted and I for one wasn’t going to complain. Just seeing her taking matters into her own hands, quite literally, had me wanting her even more. Eden had a dominating side, which I found highly erotic, and I wondered just how far she would go to get what she wanted. She directed my cock in between her parted lips, then gripped my ass, shoving myself down into her as she lifted her pelvis once more. The action impaled my dick into her a little more hastily than I would’ve initially done, but finally being in the depths of her pussy felt like absolute heaven. Her walls were tight and I was afraid of making the smallest of movements, because I didn’t want to hurt her and I certainly didn’t want this to end too soon.

  She hooked her legs around my back and looked deep into my eyes, “Baylor, are you going to move or am I going to have to ride you?”

  My cock twitched in response to her warning, saying ‘yes please’ on its own. I moved leisurely at my own pace, bringing my erection out and exposing it almost to the tip before shoving back into her, her moans getting louder with each thrust. She pushed a hand square in the middle of my chest, trying to get me to lift off of her.

  “Lay down on your back,” she instructed, bringing a leg over my body so she could straddle me. She bent down and pressed her lips against mine, allowing her tongue to enter my mouth for just a second. All too quickly, she pulled away and grabbed ahold of my erection once again. “I’ve often found myself dreaming of doing just this to you while I was lying in my bed.” She lifted herself and guided my dick into her entrance once again, slowly seating herself until I was fully engulfed by her pussy. She began rocking on me while she palmed her breasts in her own hands. “I touched myself while envisioning I was with you.” She picked up her pace, rocking a bit faster, bouncing herself up and down on my shaft. Hearing her talk so boldly and openly made my release creep up faster than what I wanted.

  She grabbed my hands, placing them on her breasts as she continued her quick movements.

 
; “So fucking beautiful,” I bit out with a groan, trying my hardest to refrain from erupting too soon. Her hands came down onto my pecs as she began riding me even faster than before. I could feel her walls tightening and then beginning to pulse as she was so close to finding her own release. Her momentum was building and she threw her head back, screaming, “Baylor, oh, Baylor!” during her orgasm. I allowed my eyes to roll back into my head as the tightening of her walls pushed me over into my own release.

  “Eden! So good,” I yelled just as I finished spilling my seed deep into her core. Moments later she collapsed on my heaving chest, a sheen of sweat covering her naked flesh. Feeling her heart beating rapidly against my own changed me inside. Life wasn’t going to be the same after the week was over and putting on a brave front for Norah was going to be harder than it had ever been before. I was in too deep to pull back, but I could already feel my heart slowly breaking with her impending departure looming over my head.

  Once our breathing returned to normal, she lifted up off of me but quickly curled into my side, pulling my thin sheet over the both of us in the process. Being with Eden was greater than my wildest dreams; I just couldn’t voice that observation at the moment as a lump was stuck in my throat. I wrapped my arm more tightly around her and began lightly running my fingertips up and down her arm.

  As we reveled in each other’s embrace I further reiterated to myself that no, life definitely wouldn’t be the same after she left.

  Chapter 10

  Eden

  Waking up in a warm, comfortable bed that was much bigger than my twin-sized at my parents’ house was amazing. What put the icing on top was that it was Baylor’s bed. I was in Baylor’s bed; I could have squealed with joy if it wouldn’t have made me seem like an over-enthused weirdo. I still couldn’t wrap my head around it, I…me…was in Baylor’s bed. I missed being surrounded by his warmth so I reached my arm to the side to try and reach for him and came up empty handed, all alone. Where was he? Just then a commotion came from down the hall; it sounded like the clattering of pans banging together. Men just didn’t know how to be completely quiet, but I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of him making me breakfast.