Succeeding Love

She’s Mine

Vin

“Oh, fuck me.”

I looked back right before I turned out of view when I heard her little “wow” slip out again. She was pulling off her dress, revealing her bikini underneath. Now I’m leaning over her kitchen counter, trying to get in the headspace to not embarrass the crap out of myself when I go back out.

How the hell can a woman that has had two kids still look that hot? She is so tiny, but thick in all the right places. I wasn’t expecting the curves she had.

I heard a little yelp, then her dog started barking. I rushed outside with the water guns in hand, thinking maybe she had hurt herself. Military training ingrained in me, I had one of the fucking water guns ready in my grip like I was running into a hostile territory. Instead of a crisis, I found Feighlynn in the pool, splashing Kevin and trying to get him to jump in.

“Come on, Kevin! Come on, boy!”

Seeing her expression brought a smile to my face. She’s so adorable. Hot, especially in that swimsuit, but adorable in everything she does.

“You got in without me?” I held my hand over my bare chest, pretending to be offended.

Her eyes traveled down the front of me. I tensed my body, trying to flex without making it obvious. She made me feel ten feet tall when she looked at me like that, and she does it a lot.

“I was testing it out, making sure it was nice and warm.”

“It looks warm.” I crouched down by the steaming water. Kevin pushed against my side, still riled up. I rubbed between his wet ears.

“It is.” Lynn gave me a coy smile. “Wanna get in?”

She didn’t give me a chance to answer, grabbing my arm and pulling me forward. I landed in the water with a hard crash, going under for a second before emerging again with a gasp.

“Oops,” she giggled, swimming away as I was pushing the water out of my face. “I got one Kevin in the water.”

“Oh, you’re going to get it now.”

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I dove under and swam right for her legs as she squealed, trying in vain to run away. I caught her waist and lifted as I came up, then tossed her lightly a few feet away. She screamed and squealed, still looking beautiful when she came back up.

When I went for her again, she wrapped her legs around my waist to prevent me from tossing her again. We wrestled and splashed one another until she gleefully got free and swam for the side of the pool where I’d dropped the water guns.

“Dibs on the blue one!” She took the water gun and swam quickly to the other side of the floating kiddy pool to open it and fill it up.

“Orange is my favorite color,” I chuckled, picking up the other water gun and doing the same. “I’ve got to warn you,” I took a careful step around the kiddy pool as I filled the water reservoir, “I’m a highly trained killing machine and an excellent-”

“Take that!” She pushed the pool out of the way, hitting me right in the face with her stream of water. Before I could shoot her, she ducked under the water and swam away. I stood stunned for about half a second, then took off after her, catching one of her feet underwater as she swam furiously to get away.

She was so fucking cute. We took shot after shot at each other, like little kids, with no actual goal in mind. We were playing like I have never done before in my adult life. After some time, we were both winded, panting as she clung to my back, trying to force me under the water again. I went along with her one more time, pulling her over my shoulder at the last minute so she fell into the water too, then pulled her close as I brought us both back up.

“You win,” I laughed, smiling as she wrapped her legs around my waist.

My hands were on her hips, and she was clinging to my neck. It only took us a few seconds of sputtering laughter to realize the position I had put us in. Her wet cheeks colored over with her familiar blush. Her eyes kept glancing at my chest as her fingers played with the buzzed hair on the back of my neck.

Taking a chance, I slid my hands to her lower back, barely grazing the top of her soft, full ass. She gasped so softly, but I felt it in my chest. There was this growing tension between us, and my control was on the cusp of snapping. I moved us back to the steps of the pool, sitting on the middle one so she was rattling my waist in the water.

Lynn averted her gaze to the side as the credits rolled on the white screen. The music was filtering through the speakers, adding to the mood of the moment. “We…. we didn’t watch any of the movie,” she told me softly.

“Next time,” I husked, then leaned in, capturing her pouty lips. She still faintly tasted like chicken, but now she tasted like cool water, beer and just her sweet natural flavor. I loved it. She could taste like fucking bleu cheese and sauerkraut and I would still love the way she tastes.

She groaned in the sweetest way, leaning into me and holding my face to hers. This was the deepest kiss we have shared yet. The kind that seeps into your bones and you feel deep in your soul. I couldn’t get enough of her. As her tongue moved with mine, I let out a hungry growl as all my rationale snapped. My hands squeezed her ass, which felt so perfect in my grip. All of her felt amazing, and the warm pool water with her wearing nothing but a bikini didn’t help my control any.

I wanted her. All of her. I knew at that moment that Feighlynn was mine. Someone else may have been fool enough to let her go, but I never could. I could let no one else touch this perfect woman in my hands. I wanted to be the one she had water gun fights and movie nights with for the rest of our lives. I wanted to taste every flavor of all her cooking on her soft lips, and be the reason for every one of her adorable giggles.

Feighlynn was mine. Nothing was going to change that.

~

Nick

“Sign here, sir.” The last of my belongings was being carried into my new condo, Jessie helping by directing the movers to the right room as I signed the delivery papers.

“Here’s something extra for your help.” I handed the lead a couple of folded hundreds. Using the service elevator looked like a pain in the ass, but the movers got everything up without breaking a thing.

“Thanks!” He held it up gratefully with a nod. “Enjoy your new home!”

My new home. I looked around the apartment, messy with boxes and disarrayed furniture. I thought this place would feel more like a home once I got all my belongings from storage moved in, but it still feels like something is missing. It doesn’t really feel like a home just yet.

If I am being honest with myself, I haven’t felt like I was home since the day I left Fay. I tried. I tried to fake it with Arlene as long as I could, but her apartment was too pristine and too cold to feel like an actual home.

A new condo filled with new furniture and packed boxes doesn’t feel like home either. Maybe when I get everything unpacked and put in place, it will, but deep down, I know what’s missing.

Fay.

Feighlynn warmed up any space just by being in it. She could turn any dark, dreary place in my life into something exciting and lovely.

Why didn’t I see that before I left her? Why didn’t I recognize how blessed I really was?

“We got a lot of work to do, daddy,” Jessie said, putting her hands on her hips and looking around at the place.

“Yes, we do,” I smiled fondly at my little girl. “First, wanna order some pizza?”

She squealed excitedly, and my heart panged, seeing so much of her mother in her. Fay would dance for the food she loved, too. She would dance and sing for just about anything that made her happy. I had seen little of that the last year of our marriage, and I know that was mostly my fault. I’m glad I can at least see those sides of the woman I still love in our daughter.

Jessie helped by making beds while I unloaded kitchen boxes to find cutlery and plates while we waited for the pizza. I didn’t find plates, but I found an old box full of the plastic cups and cheap forks and spoons Fay and I used when we first got married. It brought back so many memories of the struggles we first faced in our marriage, being two broke college kids, that I felt a heat behind my eyes as I stared into the messy box.

When we first got married, it was the most stressful time of my schooling career. I was studying for the bar exam, and she was heavily pregnant with Preston. I was getting a stipend for student loans and working part-time too. Fay stubbornly said she was staying in school and also found part-time work at the child-care center until I finished my exams and started working full time. She always refused to be just a stay at home wife and mother, but changed her career path to one she could do from home.

She always improved my life, not letting her work interfere with keeping up with the house or the kids. I remember being in awe of her during our first years married. It became such a common occurrence for her to be the wonderful wife and mother that she was, that I stopped valuing her as much.

I was such a complete moron. That woman stuck with me when I could only offer her thrift store cups and silverware. Most women wouldn’t do that. I can’t think of a single other woman that would go through the struggles we went through together with a smile on their face and the same positive, bright personality that she always had.

Going through all these old boxes will be excruciatingly hard. All the memories that come with them are weighing on me like a ton of bricks. The guilt of my bad choices keeps hitting me in fresh waves.

Most of these boxes from storage were things Feighlynn boxed up to get rid of during the divorce. I took them when I took our old bedroom furniture and all the furniture from my office. She didn’t want to keep anything with any memories of me. That realization is the heaviest weight of them all.

“Pizza’s here!” Jessie skipped out of her bedroom when the doorman buzzed.

With a pizza box in hand, and a bag of drinks and cheesecake on my arm, I looked at the new dining room table in dismay. The new dining room table was cluttered with small moving boxes full of books that I needed to go through and organize.

“Let’s just have a picnic, daddy!” Jessie called, pushing boxes out of the way to clear up a large space in the living room.

That’s what we did. Jessie brightened up my mood with her little laughter and smiles as we sat on the floor and ate pizza right out of the box. She was telling me about her upcoming dance recital and about the upcoming trip to Disneyland with her team. Her mother was going to be the one to take her to that, but I’m wondering if she would mind if I tagged along. Originally, I was going to stay back to work, but I know I can get the time off if I ask. Preston might not like it, but I don’t want to miss my daughter’s parade appearance, or the chance to feel like a family again.

“Oh, and did mom ask you about tomorrow yet?”

I looked at my daughter in confusion until she continued on.

“About Preston’s tournament in San Antonio! Mom said she was going to ask you to drive her.”

“Me?!” I gaped. “Your mom wants me to drive her to San Antonio tomorrow?” This is the first I am hearing about any of this. Fay hasn’t talked to me at all this week. Not about anything but the kids.

“Yeah. Did Preston say no? I know you two are fighting a lot, but even he said he didn’t want Mom driving herself. You know how mom is. She’ll see a squirrel and turn the car off the road while saying how cute it is.”

I cringed, knowing full well what Jessie meant. It is not safe to keep Feighlynn, who has too much energy, cooped up in a car for so long. “Preston didn’t tell me about any tournament,” I said solemnly. “What’s it for?”

“It’s for seniors on the varsity team, but there was an injury, so they moved Pres up. He is going with the team today and mom was supposed to leave in the morning to watch.”

“I have heard nothing about it,” I mumbled. I didn’t want to spoil her mood, but I was feeling left out and deeply saddened that my son didn’t tell me about something so important himself. He just texted me he had something come up and was spending the weekend with his friends. Nothing else.

Jessie lifted one shoulder in a half shrug, getting another slice of pizza. “Maybe mom was planning on telling you tonight. She looked excited about it.”

“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?” I really have no recollection about anything this could pertain to. I didn’t have plans to meet Fay tonight.

Unless…. No. She wouldn’t have changed her mind about the condo, even though she knows I was moving into it today. I invited her, but she turned me down.

“No!” Jessie said with her mouth full. She swallowed and continued. “I even told mom I was happy for her. She didn’t deny it. When I suggested you drive her tomorrow, she even smiled and said, maybe.”

Hope bloomed in my chest. If Jessie asked her mother directly, then maybe there was still a chance for me. Fay isn’t one to put on airs, and she sure as hell wouldn’t lie to our daughter or mess with her feelings. She can get shy in matters such as these, and she hates asking for favors. Maybe…. Just maybe…..

“Preston was okay with me driving her?”

“I don’t know if he was okay with it being you, but he agreed she should ask someone else to drive. He even told her to get a hotel room and stay for the night.”

“Really?” I dropped the pizza back in the box, my mind reeling with this revelation. “Should…. Should I call her and ask her , since she mentioned nothing to me?”

“I would,” Jessie giggled. “No, no!” She waved her hands around frantically. “You should go ask her in person! Didn’t you want to see her tonight too?”

“I am always eager to see your mother,” I said honestly.

“Then go!”

“Well, what about you? It’s our first night in the new place.”

She waved her hand at me. It was another gesture like her mother’s that brought a smile to my face. “I can stay home by myself, dad. I got a pizza, cheesecake, and a room to set up. I’ll be fine.”

The building had security and a doorman. She’s older than Preston was when we started letting him stay home alone. “You won’t leave the apartment?”

“Nope! I’ll be waiting right here for the good news when you get back.”

I chuckled, reaching over to ruffle her hair before standing up. I needed to get cleaned up if I was going to see Fay. I’m wearing athletic shorts and an old college shirt for pete’s sake.

My phone rang when I was getting on nicer slacks and a sweater. I pulled the knit fabric over my head quickly and checked the caller ID. It was Arlene, who I haven’t heard from outside of the office since we broke up. I sent her to voicemail, then finished getting ready. I would not let that woman or anything else ruin this chance for me.

If there was any possibility that Feighlynn could be mine again, I was going to take it. Nothing could deter me.

“I’ll be right back, sweetie. Please, stay in the apartment and call me if you get scared. I’ll come right back.”

“I’ll be fine,” Jessie said from the couch, finishing both cheesecakes. “Go!”

The whole drive to Feighlynn’s house, I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I have dreamed and longed for a chance to make things right again with my wife, and there was this building anxiety in me at the chance of it coming true. Having a weekend away with her to watch our son play baseball, then having the night to ourselves to reconnect is more of an opportunity than I ever expected to have this fast. I thought it would be a long battle to get back in Fay’s good graces. This felt like a miracle.

When I pulled up to her house, I was relieved to see that her neighbor across the street had his ancient, tacky car parked in his driveway. Part of me suspected she would spend her Friday night free of the kids with him again, but the lights were on in his living room, and so were the lights in Fay’s house. Maybe it wasn’t anything serious after all.

It still makes me want to empty my stomach to think about how a barbaric man kissed her last week. It’s a haunting thought I try to dispel whenever it creeps in.

I knocked on the door, but got no response. Her loud dog didn’t even bark behind it like he normally would. I looked in the window, concerned. Did she go somewhere and leave all the lights on? It wouldn’t be the first time.

After pulling out my phone to call her, I suddenly heard her dog barking from the backyard. Listening carefully, I heard more sounds. Music and maybe even the trickling sounds of the pool’s waterfall.

Is she going for a night swim?

Opening the gate to the backyard, I carefully made my way through the shrubbery to the patio by the back door. The music was growing louder, sounding like a soundtrack to some movie. My heartbeat quickened when I heard her dog bark again, followed by the joyous sound of her laughter.

Then, my heart stopped completely.

Following that laughter was a deep moan, and something like a growling grunt. Fay squealed and giggled again, then her whimpering moans followed.

No….

There was no way.

I looked around the tall bushes blocking the pool from view, and that’s when I saw them. My wife straddled that thug covered in tattoos from across the street on the steps of the pool. He was nuzzling and kissing her neck, and she was holding him close, her eyes close softly with a smile on her face.

“You’re going to leave a mark!” Fay squealed, but made no moves to stop him.

“Good,” he said darkly.

“Not good! I have to see other parents tomorrow at Preston’s game.”

“Since I’m going with you, I don’t see the problem.”

My stomach just dropped.