Mister West by R.J. Lewis (animal farm read .TXT) 📕

“You left him again?” She’s horrified.

“Technically we were never back together, Mom.”

“You went back to work things out with him.”

I roll my eyes. “I went back because you said I couldn’t stay with you.”

“Shawn said the place was too small. You know it was.”

“You have a spare bedroom.”

“It’s being used for essential things.”

Essential things like her shoes and Shawn’s fishing gear. Which were way more important than her daughter’s homelessness at the time. Whatever. Doesn’t matter.

“Where are you now then?” she prods. “At Ana’s?”

“No. I have a different…roommate.” I cringe because I haven’t thought of what to tell her before now. “He’s really clean and keeps to himself, and he’s not even around all that much.” All true things.

“He?”

Oh, boy. Damage control, Ivy. “Yeah, anyway, it’s working out well.”

“Did you cheat on Derek?”

My mouth drops open and a flare of anger surges through my chest. “I think you’re getting that backwards, Mom.”

“I’m simply trying to catch up, Ivy.”

“You seem to do that only after drama goes down and never before.”

“Don’t speak to me with that tone.”

I’m too pissed to care at the moment. “No, you’ve been speaking to me with your shitty tone for years now, looking down at me like you’re this pillar of righteousness.”

“I certainly don’t have your path of destruction behind me, Ivy.” Now she’s getting mad, too. “If you happened to forget, I was against your union with Derek from the start. I said you were too young, didn’t I?”

“You did,” I painfully admit.

“You ran off with him, got married at eighteen and gave me a heart attack, but I came around to it, didn’t I?”

I swallow my pride. “You…did.” Sort of.

“All I ever said was you needed to work it out with him until it was simply not possible to anymore.”

“But Mom, you made it seem like we could come back from anything.”

She’s quiet for a moment before saying, “Perhaps.”

Now we’re both not talking.

I slide off the bed and walk to the large window, peering out. It’s dark and gloomy out. The city is spectacular from up here.

I can hear my mother sigh, and I sigh, too. I don’t want to argue with my mom, and I certainly don’t want to make her feel like a shitty parent.

“Mom,” I begin, “I thought I knew it all. I wasn’t easy, I know that.”

“Neither was I,” she finally admits. “I had too many men around, didn’t I?”

“Not anymore. You’ve been with Shawn for many years now.”

“Yeah, but…I could have done better.”

She could have.

She blows out a breath. “Ivy, please tell me the truth, are you with another man?”

I run a hand over my face. “Sort of. I don’t know. I guess?”

“You guess?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you been intimate with him?”

“I haven’t slept with him…like all the way.” Oh, God. This is so awkward.

“Oh, Ivy.”

“I know how it looks, but honestly, Mom, he’s different.”

“Silly girl,” she admonishes.

“He treats me right.”

“It’s not about him, Ivy. I’m not concerned about him right now. I’m concerned about you and everything you've been through.”

I swallow back my emotion. “I’m okay, though. I’m so happy getting out of there, Mom. It got really bad in the end. Now…I’m free, you know? I can actually breathe, and Aidan, the guy I’m living with, he’s…been everything.”

She listens quietly, not saying a word. I don’t know if this is worse than her going off on me.

“You must take it slow,” she finally says. “Ivy, you might feel like you’re okay, but that could be because you’re burying it all in, do you understand?”

“I’m really not, though, Mom. I’m happy.”

She makes a sound like she isn’t convinced. It’s not my job to convince her, though. She will see it as time goes on.

The door of the bathroom opens, and Aidan reappears. I glance at him, taking in all his naked glory. He moves to the bed and takes a seat facing me. His elbows settle on his knees, and he watches me, looking over my body with a hungry look on his face. My body tingles from his attention. I’m pulsing with red-hot need.

“I have to go, Mom,” I force out.

“We aren’t finished discussing this,” she responds, sounding unimpressed. “You will pick up my calls from now on.”

“I will.” I’ll say anything to her right now just to get off the phone.

“Okay.”

“Bye, Mom.”

“Ivy,” she quickly says before I hang up. “I am glad you’re out of there. I hope you’re safe.”

“I am,” I assure her, staring Aidan in the eyes. “I’m safe.”

“Talk soon.”

I hang up and walk over to him, stopping just before him. He buries his face under my shirt, pressing kisses along my belly and hips. Then he pulls me down so I’m straddling him.

“Everything okay?” he asks, palming my breast from under my shirt, looking at me now.

“Yep,” I answer. “My mom found out I left.”

“Is she being supportive?”

“In her own way.”

He lifts my shirt and takes a nipple in his mouth. The second he sucks on it, I feel a bolt of pleasure run through me. My fingers rake through his hair as I let out a soft moan.

“You finished eating, temptress?”

“Mm,” I let out, shutting my eyes as he sucks at my skin.

“What do you want? My mouth again or my hand?”

I want his cock, but he’s been holding back. “Both.”

He turns us around and lays me flat on my back. He shoves the plate of food aside and slides me up the mattress so I’m in the center. Then he covers my entire body with his own and kisses me tenderly.

“Grip your pillow tight,” he says against my lips. “I’m going to build you up so slowly, Ivy. You’re going to be sinking your nails into my scalp, begging me to come, but I’m not going to listen.”

“This sounds like a terrible game.”

He slips his tongue between my lips. “No, baby, it’s not, because when you eventually do come, it’s going to feel like every orgasm you’ve ever had before was a lie.”

I kiss him back, eyeing him curiously. “Will it