Bryn: Did something happen?
Me: Nothing to worry about, babe. I’m just tired.
Bryn: Want some company?
Me: Yours? Always.
* * *
The sun was barely up yetas Bryn bounced on top of me. Her eyes slammed shut, her hair flying around, her tits bouncing. My nails gripped into her hips as I growled, “I’m about to come, babe. Fuck!”
Our bodies shook, covered in a thin layer of fresh sweat as we panted. Bryn curled up in my arms.
“I think last night went pretty well,” she blurted out, out of nowhere.
My mind tripped back to the end of the night as how fucking pissed I was when the guys started talking about my girl like she was a prize cow to win at the state fair.
“I fucking can’t do this,” I muttered as I pulled my boxers up. My come was still dripping out of Bryn’s cunt as she lay there in my bed wide-eyed, staring at me.
“Can’t do what?” she asked, pulling the white sheet up over her chest and wrapping it around her bare body.
I pointed between the two of us. “I can’t be your casual fuck buddy anymore. I want more. Last night only drove the point home for me. I don’t want to have to sneak around, have you keep lying to Cam about where you’re going all the time. I sure as shit cannot hear guys talk about you like a piece of meat in front of me again—that is for damn sure.”
“So that’s what happened. It all makes sense now.” She ran her hand over her face before propping herself up against my headboard. “Who said what?”
“It doesn’t even fucking matter. It shouldn’t have fucking happen in the first place,” I barked.
“You’re right, but what do you really want? Because I thought this was working out pretty great.”
“I want to go out on dates. I want to tell people at work that I am happy in a relationship, because, news flash, I am. I want to be with you, but I need to really be with you. I need both of us to be in this, really fucking in this.”
Bryn’s jaw was on the floor as she just sat there blinking at me for a few seconds. “You pick now?Now? Of all fucking times to tell me this, you think five minutes before I have to get dressed to head in for my shift is the right time to tell me it has to be all or nothing?”
Getting up, I went into the bathroom quickly. I threw her a washcloth, which I knew she needed, before crossing my arms over my chest, standing in the middle of my room. “I couldn’t keep it in any longer.”
“We’re going to have to deal with this later.” She hastily started throwing her clothes on. “I can’t deal with this right now, Katz.” Her words were sharp and they hung heavy in the air. Bryn had never called me by my last name outside the firehouse—never.
“Bryn, wait. I don’t want you to leave here mad.” I tried to grab her arm as she made her way through my apartment, but she snapped it away from me.
“No, Mitch. This cannot happen right now. I need to think. I need to have my head on straight while I’m at work. We will deal with feelings later because they were not supposed to be fucking involved in this. Friends and coworkers first and foremost, benefits after. This is not a relationship. As much as it might feel like one to either of us, it was never supposed to come to this. Get that through that thick skull of yours while I’m working today.”
With that, she was out the door.
* * *
Bryn
“Fuck. Fuck him. Fuck this.”I repeated over and over to myself as I stormed into the station.
I knew that the guys talked. I knew that right when I had left that table the night before something was most likely going to be said. I was naïve. I talked a big game about fighting for respect and being an equal, but I fucking knew better.
Otis smiled as I poured a cup of coffee next to him in the kitchen. “Morning, Malloye. Feeling all right this fine morning?”
I smiled sweetly. “Better than you are, I’m sure. I know how old timers like you can’t handle your Jameson.”
“Hey now, those are fighting words,” he teased.
“No, what are fighting words are knowing that y’all can’t keep you traps shut and talk about my like I am some damn side piece.” My words shot out of me without me really thinking about them.
“Fuck, Malloye. No one said a damn word and if someone told you otherwise, they’re a damn liar.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I fucking bet. Go eat a dick.”