Family Secrets Read online

  Chapter 9

  Cari was sitting on the sofa cross-legged, while Jake was working at his desk. She was holding the phone, not wanting to make the phone call, but also knowing she couldn't put it off any longer. She knew Jake was glancing her way every now and then. She finally dialed the number and listened to it ringing. It was incredibly hard to not hang up when she heard her mother’s voice on the other end. She took a deep breath.

  "Hello, Mother. It's Cari."

  "Cari, darling! You left so suddenly. I've been worried about you. I even called Lauren to see if she knew where you were. Where are you, dear?"

  Cari swallowed hard to get past the lump in her throat. She was having trouble seeing her mother as an adulteress for all of her married life. She cleared her throat. "I'm staying with a friend, Mother."

  "All right, Cari, but who is she? I really need to have her phone number so I can reach you. We still have a lot of decisions to be made about the wedding, you know."

  Cari felt the knots forming in her stomach. She took a deep breath. Just before she started to reply, she glanced towards Jake’s desk. She was surprised to find that he had had stopped working and was watching her silently. "Uhm, Mother, about the wedding…"

  Her voice trailed away as the butterflies in her stomach went crazy. The ridiculous fantasy she'd indulged in earlier while in the bathroom had been more than silly. She just wasn't that type of person, and she probably wouldn't have been able to get the right words out when the time came. With her luck, she would have found herself married!

  "What do you want changed, dear? It might still be doable, just so long as it isn't something like the dress, or the church, or the reception hall."

  Cari listened as her mother laughed at her own joke. She wished she could have just written a letter. She realized that she preferred skipping confrontations, and the inevitable dramatics that followed.

  "What do I want changed about the wedding? Nothing that important, Mom." Cari paused, suddenly seeing the humor in the situation. The next moment, the words just spilled out. "Just the groom is all."

  Cari heard her mother gasp in her ear at the same time she heard Jake cracking up over at his desk. She looked up and saw he was leaning back in his chair, laughing. He told her in a loud whisper, "I might be available. What was the date?"

  Cari glared at him, throwing a pillow from the sofa towards him. It fell short of the desk as her mother raised her voice. "Cari, dear, that isn't funny. Maybe you need to come back here and stay with me. I think it would be best…"

  Cari listened as her mother obviously covered the receiver to speak to someone. She assumed it was her uncle Sal. It was just a moment later that she heard her "uncle's" voice over the phone.

  "Where are you, Cari? Your mother really thinks she and I should come and get you. You have had a lot of stress lately, and I think you would be best staying here, with your mother."

  Cari gritted her teeth, feeling a surge of anger rush through her. "I'm fine, Uncle Sal."

  "But what is this nonsense about changing the groom? We think it would be best for you to come back here. Obviously, something is upsetting you. You need family around you at a time like this. I'll call Tony and have him come up for a few days too. You two haven't had much time alone lately, and I know how difficult that can be on young people."

  Cari rose to her feet. It was getting very difficult to control her emotions and her words the longer this conversation continued. "I appreciate your concern, really. But I need time alone.” She took another deep breath, trying to keep her turbulent feelings inside and not let them spill out in angry, hurtful words. She could hear voices as Sal and her mother were obviously talking while only partially covering the mouthpiece of the phone.

  Expecting to hear Sal’s voice, Cari was surprised when Marina spoke to her once again. “Cari, dear, I don’t know what is bothering you, but come back home. I can understand because every bride gets jitters. It’s perfectly natural.”

  Cari closed her eyes, praying for control over her emotions. She was very near tears, with anger coming a close second. The last thing she wanted to happen was to break down and start crying on the phone. It would give the impression, she thought, that she was irresolute in her decision. And nothing could be further from the truth, but she didn’t want to start yelling accusations through the phone either.

  “Mother, this is not pre-wedding jitters. I don’t want to marry Tony.” She looked up as she listened to her mother, and her gaze settled on Jake. Their eyes met and held. “Look, Mother, can’t you just accept that I don’t want to marry him? That I have just changed my mind?”

  Marina’s voice increased several octaves, and it was obvious that Jake could hear some of what her mother was saying now. “No, damn it, you can’t just have changed your mind. We have spent entirely too much money on this wedding. I insist you come here to stay with Sal and I.”

  Cari listened in disbelief to her mother. Surely her mother must have thought at one time or another that it was possible her daughter would find out about her cheating fiancé. Then she realized that she was hoping her mother would just connect the dots so she wouldn’t have to explain her change of mind. She started to reply when her mother went on.

  “Cari, I think you need to face reality. You are very lucky to have a man like Tony.”

  Cari gasped at her mother’s words and was even more astonished at the words that were unsaid. It was painfully obvious her mother was telling her that a girl such as she—overweight, plain—was lucky to have such an attractive man like Tony interested in her enough to marry her. Cari felt sick to her stomach to hear her mother talking this way. A mother was supposed to support you and be the one person who thought you were wonderful, no matter what anyone else might say or do.

  The words hurt. She had never had any false illusions about who she was or how she looked. Having her mother throw it in her face, and telling her to be grateful she was getting Tony, was almost beyond her tolerance. She realized in surprise that she had tears rolling down her cheeks.

  Cari cursed herself silently. The last thing she had wanted to do was to cry! She had to take a deep breath before she could answer her mother. She thought she heard whispering through the phone, but went on anyway. “Lucky, Mother? You mean I am so homely and fat that I should be grateful to Tony for even looking in my direction? That no matter what he does, I should just accept it as my lot in life?”

  Sal's voice came back on the line a moment later. "I'm putting my foot down, Cari. You are upsetting your mother. So, let's put a stop to all this nonsense. Once you are back here with your mother and me, things will be clear to you once again. What you are experiencing is just pre-wedding jitters. Tony may have been acting a little foolish of late, but you need have no fear that he will be a good husband to you and father to your children. Tell me where you are and I'll be there to get you as quickly as possible."

  Jake had stood from behind the desk, sensing the rising emotions in Cari. They had talked a long time about her making this call, and he knew she was near the edge of breaking emotionally. He moved over towards her, almost reaching her when she snapped.

  "No! If I need someone to put their foot down in my life, Uncle Sal, I will look to my father!”

  Cari slammed the phone down angrily. She looked up from the phone and saw that Jake was standing right in front of her. She paused as she realized that she had indeed lost her temper, and what she had said sank in. She met Jake's eyes.

  "Uh-oh,” she said softly.

  Jake smiled and pulled her into his arms, hugging her closely. "I'd say that about covers it, honey.” His soft laugh rumbled in his chest as Cari curled her arms around his waist.

  "I guess I wasn't as cool, calm and collected as I had planned, huh?"

  Jake shook his head. “Cari, my sweet, so long as you broke off the engagement with Tony, I didn't care how you did it.” He pulled back a little and lifted her face. As their eyes met, he spoke again. “I don’t want
to see you destroy the relationship you have with your family though. Too many times people say things in anger, and it can take years to heal the breach.”

  He lifted one hand, and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his fingertips. Cari caught his hand and brought it to her mouth. She kissed his fingers tenderly. "You want to wait before you call your dad?” he asked her.

  Cari shook her head, stiffening her spine. "No, but I’m calling Tony next, while I'm still mad.” She stepped away from Jake, and quickly dialed the number for Tony's apartment. She wasn't surprised when a woman answered, nor when she heard Tony in the background yelling at the woman for picking the phone up. A moment later she heard Tony’s voice.

  "Hello!"

  She felt a distinct chill come over her emotions, and knew she wouldn't let her anger and other emotions get all tangled up this time. She also knew that she wasn’t lucky to have a man like Tony. She was the luckiest woman in the world though, to have met Jake. She imagined that she probably looked a mess, undoubtedly with mascara smeared on her cheeks. But she still looked up at Jake and smiled. As Jake smiled back at her, Cari knew instinctively that everything was going to be all right. She saw something in his eyes that warmed her inner being and made her feel good about herself.

  Jake liked her! Of that she was sure. And he was obviously attracted to her, desired her, if their times together were any kind of example. She didn't know what he felt for her yet, but what he had given her so far was much more than Tony ever had, or more likely, even could give her. She accepted that she was falling in love with Jake.

  Amazement left her speechless for a moment. She was in love with Jake! And it didn’t feel anything like what she had felt for Tony. Even though she didn’t know for sure the depth of Jake’s feelings for her, she knew he cared more for her than Tony ever had. The bottom line was that Cari felt better than she had in weeks, months!

  "Why, hello there, Tony.” Cari waited for the realization to sink in as to who was calling him. She could just see Tony scrambling to come up with an explanation as to why a woman answered the phone when his fiancée called his apartment, where he supposedly lived alone.

  "Hi, Cari." Tony paused.

  Cari guessed that he was covering the phone for a second. He was probably having a real fun conversation with his mistress, girlfriend or whatever the popular term was these days. She laughed softly, imagining what Tony and the woman must be talking about.

  Cari looked up at Jake again, smiling slowly, and pressed her finger to her lips, signaling for Jake to be silent. Without a word, Cari pressed the speakerphone button. Jake whispered, leaning towards her ear, “I would be pissed as hell if I found out my fiancée was breaking the engagement while another man was listening.” He grinned, adding in a whisper, “But since I’m not on the receiving end, I won’t complain.”

  Cari grinned and couldn’t resist whispering back, “No woman in her right mind would ever break up with you!” She saw the surprise on Jake’s face. Holding her finger to her lips, she pointed at the phone.

  "I'm a little surprised to find you home in the middle of the afternoon, Tony. Are you not feeling well?” Cari was feeling a need for revenge, and being here, with Jake, she was feeling stronger and more confident by the second.

  "No, babe, I’m okay. I'm here because I have a new cleaning lady starting today. That was her that answered the phone."

  Cari and Jake could both hear the woman in the background yelling angrily. Jake raised his own hand to cover his laugh. Cari smiled, crossing her arms at her waist, her eyes meeting Jake's. "How nice for you, Tony. Do you think she might want to clean my mother’s house? She has been feeling a little overwhelmed lately…"

  Cari stopped as she could hear Tony having to cover the receiver again. She ignored Jake shaking his head indicating that maybe she had gone far enough. She held her finger up, indicating she had one more dig to get in. Jake nodded.

  "Why don't you let me talk to your cleaning lady, Tony, so I can see if she is interested? Maybe she needs the money."

  Jake barely stopped a choked laugh once again. Cari smiled at him, knowing she had gone far enough. "Well, I really called for another reason, Tony. Have you talked with Sal lately? No? Well, he will probably call you in a bit. I'm calling off the wedding. If your cleaning lady is interested, she could have my wedding dress at half-price. That is providing that you are willing to marry your mistress. Of course, Sal might not approve of her, but I wouldn't let that stand in the way of your true happiness. Bye Tony."

  Cari disconnected the phone, replacing the receiver. She looked over at Jake and saw that he was grinning at her, but shaking his head at the same time. She shrugged her shoulders, but sensed that he wasn’t too pleased with it all. "You didn't like the way I did that?"

  Jake moved close to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Sweetheart, it isn't my place to approve or disapprove. I realized that you probably needed to seek some revenge in order to salve the wounds you have received at the callous hands of this man. And if doing it this way aided in your healing process, then honey, I support you one hundred percent.”

  Jake shifted hands to encircle her shoulders, pulling her close. “Now I feel compelled to add that you have a tongue that can cut like a knife."

  Cari looked up at him from under her lashes. She slid her tongue out and slowly licked it over her lower lip. "You want to try it?” She flicked the tip of her tongue a few times against her front teeth. “I don't think it will cut you. But if you want to go upstairs, I could try it out on some extra delicate places, just to be sure."

  Jake kissed her quickly, sealing her mouth with his. His tongue moved across hers.. When he pulled back, the look on Cari’s face caused his brow to furrow cursively.

  Cari smiled and then ran her tongue across her lower lip. “Were you testing me for any sharp edges?” She looked up at him, a dazed look on her face. "Satisfied, sir?"

  Jake surprised her by grabbing her tight and swinging them around in a circle. He kissed her passionately and then grabbed her hand. Without a second’s pause, he strode with her out of the room, and up the stairs. He practically ran them up the two steps of the platform bed, pressing her onto the bed. Grinning from ear to ear, Jake came down beside her. "Not yet, but I'm willing to let you try…"

  Cari gasped as Jake slowly undressed her. And as he revealed each new body part, he paused to kiss it reverently. "Such lovely shoulders, my sweet."

  Cari smiled. "I swam some in high school. It's supposed to be good for your shoulders and posture."

  Jake tossed her t-shirt to the floor. Her breasts were unbound. "I love it when you don't wear a bra. All the while downstairs, I found myself unable to concentrate on my work. My eyes kept returning to your lovely breasts, which kept jiggling beneath your t-shirt. And when your nipples got hard, so did I." Jake's mouth fastened onto one nipple, sucking it deeply into his mouth, while his hands were busily pushing her shorts down over her hips.

  Cari moaned as Jake kissed and sucked her nipples. Both hands had come back up to cup the full globes. She could tell that her breasts were already becoming more sensitive. It also got her hot hearing Jake talk dirty to her. Maybe later she'd wonder about that...

  Jake was moving over her, and he thrust into her wet passage as Cari's legs lifted to surround his hips. "Yes!" she cried out as he began thrusting in and out of her body, each movement stimulating her clit by rubbing against it. She opened her eyes to watch Jake as he filled her body with his seed.

  Jake smiled down at her. He slowed his thrusts, watching her breasts shake wildly with each move. His voice was hoarse as he spoke. "God! Cari! It is so sexy watching your pretty titties bouncing all over the place. You are perfect for me! Look at yourself, Cari! You are so beautiful!"

  Even coupled so intimately, Cari couldn't keep one insecure thought away. "You don't think they are too big? Tony once said—"

  "Hush! Don't say that bastard's name in our bedroom, darling! You are beautiful, b
oth inside and out. Your body is perfect for me. I love your big boobs! I like nice soft pillows to sleep on, especially when they have such lovely thick, long nipples for me to suck on as well.” Jake grinned at Cari, while his hands showed his non-verbal appreciation. “My fantasy is to fall asleep sucking on your tit, and have it slowly slip from my mouth. And then I wake up hours later, and start sucking all over again."

  Cari couldn't stop the erotic thrill his words sent coursing through her body. Her orgasm followed and her hips jerked wildly, even as her body began to suck and squeeze and pull on Jake's cock. Her body sucked him even more deeply inside of her. She felt so full, but it also felt so good. With her arms and legs wrapped around him, and her cunt pulling and holding his cock inside of her, Jake came in a heated rush a few moments later. Over and over, he thrust forward, filling her body with his seed.

  Cari's arms and legs fell from their tight grip on his body. Breathing hard, and still feeling tiny aftershocks quivering through her muscles, she felt Jake's soft cock begin to slide from her body. She tightened her muscles deliberately, watching as Jake's eyes flew to meet her smiling gaze.

  "Woman! Are you trying to be the death of me?"

  Her smiled turned into a grin. "No. I just like having you inside me."

  Jake groaned. “Unfortunately, I am not as young as I used to be, and gravity isn’t really our friend at this particular time.”

  Cari could feel him slipping away slowly, until only the head of his cock was still within her heat. She knew that he would soon slide from her completely. She felt like the something that had been missing from her, was complete when they were joined.

  Jake spoke to her softly while lifting one hand to caress her soft brown hair. His voice was husky as he spoke. “Cari, I feel like something has been missing. But when I am inside you, suddenly everything feels right with my world. I feel completed.”

  Cari’s throat tightened as she heard Jake expressing her innermost thoughts out loud. She fought to keep the tears at bay as she spoke softly a moment later. “Jake, it may seem odd, but I feel the same way. In fact, I was just thinking…”