As Luck Would Have It Page 10

  Holding her hips, he directed her on and off of his shaft. He kept a slow and steady pace at first and then increased the rhythm to an outright bang. Sydney felt his balls hitting her in all the right places.

  “Babe, I’m going to come. I can’t hold it any longer.”

  “Oh shit, have you been waiting for me to finish? I can’t orgasm standing…” Before she could finish her sentence, Marcus came so hard that his banging became slamming and Sydney had to brace herself against the wall to prevent falling over.

  “Wow, that was incredible,” she said, kissing Marcus’ chest.

  “But you didn’t get to finish. That’s not right.”

  “Babe, I came like three times. I’m good, really. You can make it up to me when we get home.”

  “Home. That sounds so nice. We better get going.” Soaping up his hands, Marcus began to wash his head and then his face, working his way down his body until he reached his dick. He covered it with suds, rubbing his hands up and down his shaft.

  Marcus glanced over at Sydney, who was leaned against the shower wall with her mouth slightly open and her eyes closed.

  “Syd, are you alright?”

  Holding up her index finger as a gesture to wait a minute. “Now we’re even.” She opened her eyes and smiled. “What? I was watching you wash yourself, and when you grabbed your dick and starting stroking it with all those suds, I finished. Guess I can orgasm standing up,” she said, giggling.

  Marcus wrapped Sydney in his arms. “You are something special.” He placed a kiss on her head. “Let’s get you washed up so we can get something to eat before we board the plane.”

  After checking out and having lunch, they went outside to meet the car that would take them to the airport. Marcus could see that Sydney was very nervous about going home. Tightly holding her hand, he asked, “Are you ready to head out?”

  Squeezing his hand even tighter, she said, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Marcus was kind of excited about the plane ride home. He had gotten his girl, and he was ready to get on with everyday life. Plus, his curiosity about her family was starting to get the better of him.

  They had a couple hours to kill once they reached the airport, so they decided to have a drink or two at the bar.

  “It feels different already,” Sydney said. “But not in a bad way,” she reassured Marcus. “It feels very natural to be sitting here with you. I don’t feel like a million eyes are on me, watching every move I make.”

  “I don’t want to spook you, but there are always men watching you. I’ve seen it all week, and they’re doing it here too. You just don’t realize it.”

  She kissed him on his perfect lips. “No worries. I’m all yours and only yours.”

  They could hear the announcement that the flight to Philadelphia, was now boarding. “That’s us,” he said, grabbing hold of her hand and escorting her to the gate. “I can’t wait to hear all about your family.”

  “I get the window seat,” she called out.

  “But of course. Only this time I’m not leaving an empty seat between us, unless you want me to sit on the aisle?”

  “Don’t be silly. Of course I want you to sit next to me.” She gave him a light slap on his arm. “I don’t want to get a stiff neck straining to look at you.”

  The stewardess greeting everyone as they entered the plane just happened to be the same stewardess that spent her entire flight from Philly to Vegas trying to accommodate Marcus. “Good afternoon,” the stewardess started to say before Sydney interrupted with, “Mr. and Mrs. Matthews,” wiggling her finger between Marcus and her.

  “A little possessive are we?” Marcus joked with Sydney.

  “This is no joke Marcus, that b… whatever,” shaking her head. She wanted to call her a bitch but didn‘t want to sound like a bitch to Marcus. “She spent the entire flight to Vegas trying to get in your pants.” She stopped to look at the mental picture she had taken of Marcus when she was leaving the plane. “And I remember those pants. There wasn’t any room in there for anyone.”

  “They weren’t that tight before I sat next to you.”

  “I hope you wore looser pants today, ‘cause you are sitting next to me, and I just might need somewhere to keep my hands.”

  “You will keep your hands in your own lap,” he said, still joking with her. “We need to learn to control ourselves when we’re in public.”

  “What, you don’t want to join the Mile High Club today?” She made a face. “That’s so tacky anyway.”

  They settled in their seats, and the captain came on to advise that they were ready for takeoff. Once they were in the air, Marcus turned to Sydney. “I’d like to start. My family is really small, so my story will be short.”

  Sydney shifted in her seat so that he would have her full attention. “Okay.”

  “Where to start?” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “I’ve lived in Delaware my entire life. My parents were killed in an automobile accident when I was fifteen. They only owned one car, so my dad would drive my mom to work. She didn’t mind because she hated to drive anyway.” He made a small smirk and continued, “My father had picked my mom up from work, and had a heart attack on the ride home. I guessing my mom was trying to help him when the car ran the red light and hit the garbage truck. When the paramedics got there, she was on top of him. They died instantly, no pain, no suffering.” He stopped and looked at Sydney, who was listening intently, “Stella and Stewart Stuben were our neighbors and my parents’ best friends. The Stubens were in their mid-thirties and didn’t have any children of their own. My parents didn’t have much family, so when they had their wills drawn up, they made the Stubens my guardians in case anything happened to them.” Marcus noticed that Sydney had tears in her eyes, “Babe, it was a long time ago. I’m okay.” He wiped the tear that was rolling down her cheek with the back of his hand.

  “My parents had everything covered, as if they knew. The life insurance policy paid off the remainder of the mortgage. We sold the house and took the remaining money from the insurance and banked it.” He was relieved that Sydney was starting to regain her composure. “When it was time for me to go to college, I had plenty of money. In fact, I used what was left to start my business and buy my first house. My first house needed some work, so I fixed it up. I made a killing when I sold it. Had enough to put down on the Georgian Villa.” Marcus looked at Sydney, who had her finger against her lips in thought. “What?”

  “You must have had a social life. I’m sure you didn’t just wake up like this a week ago.” She did the Vanna White thing with her hand as if he was a letter.

  “I was kind of a loner as a kid. Didn’t play many spots, but I was really into my computer. I’d hit the gym every once in a while but wasn’t fanatical about it.” He turned to Sydney, who was waiting for more. “I dated a few girls in High School and a few more in College. I lost my virginity the summer I graduated High School. Haven’t seen her since. The last time I had sex was about eight months ago. And if you haven’t figured it out already, I hate sandals.” He took a deep breath. “So that’s my life in a nut shell.”

  He remembered one last thing he wanted to tell her. “When we get picked up from the airport, Stewart will be driving. I’d like to tell him and Stella together that we’re married. So don’t be mad when I don’t introduce you as my wife.”

  He wasn’t surprised when Sydney immediately responded, “Actually, I’m not even gonna introduce you to my sister when I get home. I don’t want her going all ape shit at ten o’clock at night. After I tell her and the kids, we’ll do the introductions. I hope that’s okay?”

  “I totally understand. Please, I can’t take any more. What’s the deal with your sister?”

  “So I’ll start from the end. Natalie is the baby of the family. She’s 35 and single she lives in Weehawken and works as a freelance artist. Basically, she paints shit for people with a lot of money. She’s a little eclectic and a whole lotta crazy. Natalie hates when she
’s not involved in planning something and thinks she does everything better than everyone else. There isn’t anything she couldn’t or wouldn’t do. She’s the person who always knows what’s going on in the family. We shared a room when we were little. She was a slob, and she always stole my clothes. Oh, and slept with my boyfriends. We hardly got along as kids, but we’re inseparable now. It kills her that I live so far away.”

  Sydney glanced over Marcus’ shoulder and thought she saw Philippe sitting there with a big smile on his face. Was he giving her thumbs up?

  Marcus looked behind him. “Someone you know?”

  Sydney shook her head. “Um, thought I saw someone, but it couldn’t be. Anyway, where was I? Oh, siblings. So Nat’s the baby, then there’s Michael. He’s thirty-nine, married with two kids. Then there’s me and Dominick. He’s forty-eight, single, and lives in NYC. My oldest brother Peter just turned fifty and is married with three kids. My parents, Antonio and Lucretia, are in their late sixties and still live in the same house where I grew up. Is there anything specific you want to know?” she asked Marcus.

  “Wow, there are a lot of you.” Marcus really wanted to hear more about her kids but could see that she wasn’t offering any more information than he already had. “Are you close with them all?”

  “Well, my parents like to come over for the weekend once a month. Nat comes whenever she wants. She’ll show up unannounced and stay just the night, or the weekend. Sometimes she stays for the week. I usually only see my brothers on holidays and birthdays. With nine nieces and nephews, it seems more often than not. But we all keep in touch by phone.” Sydney couldn’t read Marcus’ face. “Wishing you knew all this before you married me?”

  Reaching out to hold her hands, Marcus said, “Absolutely not. Sydney, I married you because I truly am in love with you. You filled a void I was unaware of until I saw you. I don’t have a big family, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want one.” He pulled her close and kissed her.

  Sydney curled up to Marcus and fell asleep. Marcus spent the entire hour she was sleeping just listening to her breathe. He truly did love her and would make sure she knew it every day.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  When the plane landed, Sydney didn’t move. People starting exiting the plane and she still didn’t budge. Marcus didn’t know what to do. He had never seen her like this. It was almost like she had totally checked out. He got up and gathered their bags, and when he turned back she was still sitting there. “Babe, come on, I got our bags.” Nothing. “Sydney, we have to get off the plane, whatever it is, we’ll talk about it in the airport. It’ll be fine.” He reached his hand out for her to take, and thankfully she did.

  She was white as a ghost, and he could feel her hands shaking. As soon as they left the terminal, he dropped the bags, sat on the floor, and pulled her down onto his lap. He held her for a few minutes, letting her cry against his chest, “Babe, I feel completely helpless. Please talk to me so I know how to make it better.”

  “I don’t want to be alone. I don’t know how to tell them about you. I feel like such an ass. I’m afraid.” Sydney continued to cry into his chest.

  He would have sat there forever with her, but he knew she needed to get home to her kids. “Sydney, I will do whatever you want me to do to make this right. If you want me to just drive you home and walk away-” He couldn’t finish his sentence because he was getting choked up, “It would kill me to have to do it, but if it’s what you want, if it makes it easier, I’ll do it.” One tear drop rolled down his cheek.

  Sydney wiped his cheek with her thumb. “Marcus Matthews, if you ever leave me I’ll kill you and then have you resurrected. I don’t want to be without you.” She nuzzled her face into his neck. “I’m sorry. I love you, Marcus.”

  “I love you, too, and please don’t ever feel like you have to apologize to me for the way you feel.” Marcus stood up. “Stew is waiting for us. We really should get going.”

  Sydney stood, threw the garment bag over her arm, and grabbed Marcus’ hand. As soon as they left the airport, Marcus noticed Stewart leaning against his car. Stewart waved his arm as soon as he noticed Marcus.

  “Are you shitting me? Is that your car?” Sydney asked.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “It’s nice, really nice.”

  “I have a thing for Cadillacs. It’s a CTS V.” Marcus Shrugged. “In my favorite color, Thunder Gray.”

  When they reached Stewart, Marcus dropped the bags and shook his hand. “This is Sydney.”

  Stewart extended his hand, and Sydney shook it and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Nice to meet you, I’ve heard so many great things about you,” she said with a smile.

  “Why don’t you both sit in the back while I put the bags in the trunk,” Stewart suggested.

  “Thanks Stew,” Marcus said, opening the door for Sydney.

  “Marcus, are you going straight home or to Sydney’s house?” Stewart asked.

  “You can just drop me off so neither of you have to come back out later,” Sydney offered.

  Marcus looked disappointed. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to my house first.”

  Sydney would have loved to do it that way, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to leave and didn’t want to share a big goodbye when he dropped her off. She was having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that he wouldn’t be with her tonight. “I’m sure. It will be better this way.” She told Stewart her address and sat back for the ride...

  Stewart turned to look at Marcus in the back seat. “You had to go all the way to Las Vegas to meet a woman who lives five miles away from you?”

  Marcus smiled. “Go figure.” He leaned over and kissed Sydney.

  The ride home was short. Steward asked how their trip was. Marcus and Sydney made arrangements to meet for lunch the next day. Sydney wanted to have enough time to tell Natalie and the kids.

  Sydney squeezed Marcus’ hand really hard when they pulled up to her house. “Do you want me to walk you to the door?”

  “Actually, don’t even get out of the car. I’ll grab my bag from the trunk. Natalie’s on the front porch and if she sees you, she’ll be asking a thousand questions off the bat. I’ll call you when I go to bed.” She kissed him and whispered, “I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Stewart got out of the car to get Sydney’s bag. “Will you be alright?” he asked, handing her the bags.

  “I’m great. Thank you, Stewart.” She kissed his cheek and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Absolutely, have a good night.” He got in the car and drove away.

  Sydney turned to walk up the pathway when she noticed Natalie was walking towards her.

  “Shit, that was a nice car. Was that the airport car service?” Natalie was still looking down the road.

  “Nice to see you, too. No, that wasn’t airport car service,” Sydney said as she walked around Nat to the house.

  Nat ran after her. “Let me help you with that bag,” she said, reaching for the garment bag.

  Sydney snatched her arm away. “I’ve got it. You can take this one.” She handed over the Vera duffel bag.

  When they reached the porch, Natalie grabbed Sydney’s arm. “Hey, what’s up with you? You just spent a week in Las Vegas vegging. Why are you so cranky? Did something happen?”

  Sydney wasn’t going to answer her, but when she reached to open the front door, Natalie noticed the ring on her finger.

  “What the fuck is that? Oh. My. God. That’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. Did you buy that for yourself?” Natalie asked in amazement.

  “Nat, all I want to do is get inside, see my kids, and then I will explain every detail to you,” Sydney said, walking through the front door.

  “Oh, I can’t wait to hear about this. By the way, the twins are still at a friend’s houses. They’ll be home first thing in the morning.”

  Sydney had just put her bag over the kitchen stool when Dominick came running in. He hugg
ed her around her waist. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

  “I’m so glad to be home. I missed you guys. What did you do all week?”

  He stepped back to look at her. “Not much. I hung with Aunt Nat most of the time.” He regarded her strangely, “You look different, like you’re not so sad. I’m happy the trip worked for you. I’m going to bed. Glad you’re home, Ma.” He gave her another hug and went upstairs.

  “Where’s Micky?” Sydney asked Natalie.

  “She must be up in her room. She spends an awful lot of time up there on her phone and that computer.”

  “I’ll go up and let her know I’m home and say good night. Make some tea, I have a lot to tell you.”

  When Sydney reached Michaela’s room, she knocked and opened the door to pop her head in. “Hey Micky, I’m home.”

  Michaela got off the bed and hugged her mom, “I didn’t hear you come in. How was your trip?” She managed to continue texting on her phone with one hand as she spoke.

  “It was good. We’ll talk in the morning. I just wanted to say good night. Love you.”

  “Good night, Mom. Love you, too,” Michaela yelled back through the already closed door.

  Sixteen year olds. It’s always all about them.

  When Sydney returned to the kitchen, Natalie had two cups of tea steeping on the counter. “Am I gonna need to open a bottle of wine for this?”

  “Let me show you something,” Sydney said, reaching for the garment bag. She unzipped the bag, removed the wedding dress, and held it up for Nat to see.

  “Is that a wedding dress? Fuck, I’m gonna need the Patron. Are you for real?”

  “You don’t need the Patron. Drink your tea,” Sydney explained everything to Natalie. Starting from the time she got to the airport to the moment she got home. The only detail she left out was that Marcus had his penis pierced. Nat didn’t need to know that.