Reasonable Doubts (11 page)

The door opened and Mom invited me in.

“Dr. Miller has put in her two weeks’ notice.”

A gut punch. "You can't quit, you're a goddamn great voodoo witch doctor, Doctor, psychologist, jury consultant I mean. We make a great team. You make me better."

"I can’t work here like this. It's distracting, it's wasteful, it's no good."

"So I distract you?"

"You get in the way of work."

"I'll quit then."

“No one’s quitting,” Diane interrupted.  “When I’m done with either of you, I’ll fire you and I’ll enjoy doing it.  But for now, I want you both here, and working.”  She turned to Laura, “Now, Laura you agreed to think it over correct?”

“But that was—“

“Yes or no answers dear, we just talked and you agreed to think it over, correct?”

“Yes.”

She turned to me, “Jacob, can you pretend to be an adult while she’s thinking it over?”

“Yes.  I'll turn it all off, just have dinner with me.”

“If I do you promise no more surprises like this morning? No more distractions?”

“Yes, absolutely. One dinner.”

“Okay.”

“What?”

“I said okay. One dinner. I'll need a reference anyways. I think you can be an adult for one night, and all of this stops, right?"

"Right."

"No more depositions, surprise witnesses, peppermint costumes?"

"No, but I will wear a blue tie, just to let you know what you should match. Blue tie and black underwear for me, you can wear the same."

"It's not a date, it’s a formal break up, everything happened so fast, it's good to put a bookend on it. And leave as friends."

"Friends."

“You need closure since this has never happened to you. So I'll give it to you.”

“Drinks before? I know a place.”

She had a steely look.

“Kidding.”

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CHAPTER 24 - JACOB

You don't fuck up a good thing. That was a close call with her threatening to quit. So I was professional all week, and it killed me.

It killed me to see her walk across the office and not come to me.

But the tension was gone, mostly gone. I was professional, courteous, respectful, polite, all of those things that don't come naturally to me. I was all of that in my silly pink shirts and blue ties.

She glided around the office, she smiled when she saw me and it gave me hope, but I had to be patient.

Every smile made me think I won, every time she walked past without looking made me die.

I was a wreck. But I made it somehow.

The meeting with Diane went well, she got it down to 10 hours a week for each of us, but support staff too. So we would make a go of it. Laura had a million ideas and notebooks full of contacts and projects we could take up.

She would contact all the area legal aids and we could be over flow for them.

When we left, even Diane was impressed.

“Thanks Jake,” she told me as we left.

“You can thank me tonight.”

Her look hardened again, but the stone was cracking for sure.

“The way friends thank friends.”

“Sure.”

I left the office and prepared for tonight.

My apartment was wall to wall flowers (gardenias) and candles.

I learned how to cook a passable prime rib. I had Jameson on ice, and tequila as margaritas.

She showed up and looked fucking amazing in heels and a black dress. It stopped my heart.

She walked in, regal, gliding. The soft light of the candles and flowers didn't affect her, “This is a fire hazard.”

“So is that dress.”

We sit down and everything else melts away. She lets her guard down and I imagine how to peel her out of her dress, but control myself.

She puts back her third Margarita, "I want you to know, I believe you didn't do anything with those women. You didn't need to bring your brother in and embarrass yourself, I can tell when you lie, like in poker. You get over eager, over confident, like a little kid on a sugar high.” She smiled to herself and looked away, remembering. “And it wasn't that anyways. But I still can't do this. My mom never had the chance to go out and kick ass, I have to take advantage of it. My name's not on the firm doors, I need to be good at what I do and keep doing it."

"I want you to too, you're amazing. You helped me win the case. It never would have happened without you. I meant every word I said."

"I think we're good professionally and we should keep it there. There's too much other stuff between us, it won't work. And being here, it's even more obvious I can't do this. I need to go."

“You can't go. I've never felt like this, not with anyone. I promise you're the only thing I want. In the whole world.  It would kill me to see you every day and not have you at home too. To see you walking around, thinking someone else gets to have you. I can't do it."

“You can do just about anything, that I'm sure of.” She finished her drink, and I picked up the pitcher to pour another, “No, I think that's it. I have to use the bathroom, but we'll talk more and put the bookend on it when I get back.”

I got up to follow her to the bathroom and waited outside.

She came outside, a single tear down her cheek, but she was smiling too.

“I unpacked your overnight bag the next day and set all these things out. Every morning I wake up and I see your toothbrush, too close to mine, your makeup messing up the clean lines of my sink, and I want you here. Every morning that's what puts the smile on my face. I want that every day. I want you to use them, to be here to be in my way all the time. My key is the desert. I want you here whenever you want to be. I want you here always, but it can be slow, toothbrush in the cabinet, makeup on the counter, we don't have to go full tampons under the sink right away, but I want to wake up with you.  I want to figure out how to breathe through your hair, I want all of it.”

I stood still, a few feet from her.  Patience.  I wanted to close the distance and take her in my arms, but it had to be her.

“Remember when I told you why I stopped taking cases? Why I couldn't do them anymore because I go over the cliff, I dive in and everything else in my life falls apart? How thrilling it is, and then it's over? And I have to pick up the pieces. This is how I felt with you, and I decided to take the plunge then I saw you come out of the bathroom. I believe you, but, if we do this, I'm jumping off that cliff, and I don't know if I can put the pieces back together if it goes bad.”

“You'll never have to. That I swear. Under oath, may god strike me down. I almost lost you twice this week. It'll never happen again.”

“You did lose me.”

“But now I have you?”

She hiked up her skirt, revealing blue underwear, matching my tie. “I hope so.”

“You cheater, you were bluffing?”

“No, just hoping you could pull off a miracle.”

She met me half way and our lips crashed together.  I fumbled with her to the bedroom, and my mouth covered her pussy and I drank her in like nectar, sucking and licking and driving her wild. Before long her knees began to give way, but I just threw her legs over my shoulders and delved in deeper, sucking insistently at her little clit. My fingers probed her hole, sliding into her wetness and mimicking the motion of my cock, in and out of her pussy, and that sent her shuddering over the edge into ecstasy.

“Oh,” she gasped, mashing her flesh against my lapping tongue.

I just mumbled something, my fingers thrusting in deep as she spasmed around them, the walls of her pussy contracting with pleasure. She moaned her whole body collapsed, melting like jelly, and I took her weight in my arms, sliding my body up hers, keeping her pressed to the bed as I kissed her.

“I want you,” I whispered.

“You have me,” she teased, gripping my length, making me growl.

I pulled her into my arms to kiss the top of her head. She laughed again, letting me kiss her, my hands roaming all over her body.

We rolled around, kissing on my bed until we were breathless, “I can’t get enough of you,” I groaned, kissing my way down between her thighs.

“I want the rest of you, not just your mouth,” she said and rolled on top of me, playing with my cock. She licked it, held it against her lips and tongue.

“Oh Laura,” I moaned as she took my length, as far as she could, deep into her throat.

She smiled as she came up on my cock, rubbing the head over her lips. My mouth was still busy between her legs, licking and sucking at her pussy, greedy with lust.

“Are you close?” she teased, smacking my cock lightly against her mouth and tongue.

“You have no idea,” I gasped, my voice strained. My thighs were trembling beneath her with the effort to hold back. “Your mouth is so good.”

“Think if I made you come now, you could get hard again?” She gripped me in her hand, stroking fast, making me thrust up into her fist.

“For you?” I gave a strangled cry, a half-laugh. “I have no doubt.”

“Good.” She ran her tongue around the head, still tugging on my cock. “Because I want you to come in my mouth before you fuck me again.”

“Oh god,” I whispered against her pussy as she started to suck me in earnest, working her mouth and tongue up and down. I seemed to forget about her altogether for a moment, just resting my cheek against the smooth expanse of her thigh as she took me again and again into her eager mouth.

“Laura,” I warned, my arms wrapping tightly around her hips, squeezing. “Oh you’re going to make me come!”

Her only response was to suck harder, faster, cupping my balls in her hand and feeling their weight, the skin there tightening in anticipation.

“Ohhhhh!” I finally gave in, driving my cock deeply into the back of her throat. She gulped madly, trying to catch it all and not spill a drop. My cock pulsed between her lips as I emptied into her mouth.

“Yum.” She turned around on me, kissing the corner of my mouth. I was still shaking with the force of my orgasm.  “Now…how long do you think we have to wait?”

Her hand was already grasping the softening length of my cock.

“I’ve waited a week, that’s long enough,” I groaned, barely opening my eyes to focus on her.

“I want to fuck you,” she murmured, sliding a thigh over my body to straddle me, rubbing the wet flesh of her pussy into my crotch. “Just like this. Remember the first time?”

I held onto her hips. “Not likely to forget that for the rest of my life.”

“Me either.” She rocked on top of me, using the half-hard length of my cock, rubbing it against her clit. “I come so hard when I think about it.”

“You too?”

Her pussy was on fire. “Ready for my pussy?” She grasped my length, squeezing, tugging, testing my hardness, but there was no need. I was thick and stiff and ready for her again. I just nodded, gasping when she slid down onto me, settling herself into my hips.

“Oh god.” My head went back, eyes closed. “I’m gonna come too fast.”

“Wanna race?” She smiled focusing on her clit, the sensation almost too good to bear.

“Not another competition,” I muttered as she started to ride, grinding her pussy down into my crotch. “Oh fuck…”

“Get set…” She squeezed her muscles hard around me, her pussy already contracting in anticipation of her orgasm.

“Ohhh!” I began to thrust up into her, unable to resist the sweet pulse of her pussy.

“Go,” she whispered, rolling her hips, my cock was swelling inside her as she rode me. There was no stopping now, either of us. She moved in easy circles, I closed my eyes and drove up into her, “Oh god! What are you doing?”

“Winning.” She couldn’t hold back anymore. Her orgasm shook us both and she cried out with her release, her clit throbbing I groaned and gave up too, giving her a few more long, delicious, shuddering strokes before burying myself to the hilt and coming up inside her.  I tried to push her toward the ceiling, and she clutched me, trying to hang on.

When we were both spent, I pulled her close, wrapping her up in the sheets, our bodies sheened with sweat, breath still coming fast.

“I'm glad everything is working for you again.” She said as I snuggled up behind her, spooning her and trying to breathe through her hair. 

“Me too.”