Everybody Hurts
Chapter 18
Pairing: EddieMunsonxReader
Summary: You needed to escape, escape from your life, your messy divorce, and all the pitying looks. Looks you couldn't ignore when everyone in town had known you and Cam, had known your shame and failure. So, you took the first job you could get, teaching third grade in a town called Hawkins. Little did you know, you were walking right into another messy situation, a messy situation with big brown eyes and long dark waves. But he's resistant, at times unbearable and you start getting curious about the town's past, his past, especially when things don't start adding up.
18+ Only for eventual smut
Next chapter: 12/27
Word Count: 7.9K
Masterlist
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
The following Friday, you rode from school over to Trusty Transmission, the garage where Eddie worked. You’d never been there before but this morning, as Eddie snuck up behind you, arms around your waist and gentle kisses against your shoulder while you were getting your coffee for work, he’d informed you that your car would be ready and asked if you could stop after work to pick it up.
He seemed pretty excited about it and honestly, so were you. You loved riding with Eddie but it would be nice to have your own set of wheels, a sense of independence to go wherever you wanted without having to make a call and ask a favor. Your bike worked for anything in town while the weather was nice but if you wanted to head to the city for anything, you would need a car or a ride.
You caught sight of Eddie’s van as you hopped off your bike, placing it in the rack just to the side of the entrance. The building sported brown siding with a red roof, the name across the front in red as well, and multiple garage doors out front for cars to be pulled in for service. To the left was a parking lot where, you assumed, cars waited for their turn. Being the only mechanic shop in Hawkins, it had to do decent business, leaving no one any other option.
As you pushed open the door to a world of dirt and oil and metal, you were pleasantly surprised to see the garage was bright and clean. Large windows along the sides allowed plenty of natural light to cover the space as well as intense fluorescent lighting overhead. A car lift sat in the center and mechanics covered in black grease worked on cars throughout the place with a sense of productivity. A faint smell of oil hit your nose while the sounds of motors and tools echoed loudly throughout.
“Hey there, sweetheart, can I help you?” asked a man in dark blue coveralls, wiping his hands on a rag as he approached. He looked to be about fifty, salt and pepper dotting his dark beard and short hair. His name, Dave, was stitched in red across the front.
“Yeah. I’m actually looking for Eddie.”
Eyebrows rose up in interest, an amused smile crossing his lips, “Oh, so you’re her.”
“Sorry? I’m who?”
“Munson’s girl,” he grinned knowingly. “The one he’s putting in all that free time for. The little Honda is yours, right?”
“Uh, yeah,” you nodded, heat warming your extremities. like sitting in front of a fire after hours in the cold, at being referred to as Munson’s girl. Did he talk about you like that at work? He had to have talked about you enough for this guy to think you were his girl.
“Man, he’s been working crazy hours to get that thing back in shape, staying long after his shift is over. You must be something pretty special for him to do all that work for free.” He laughed, shaking his head. “I never thought I’d see the day Eddie Munson finally settled down with one girl. I don’t know what the hell you’ve done to him, but it’s definitely for the better so keep it up, alright?”
“I…I’ll try,” you stammered. Had Eddie really spent hours working on the car? You’d just assumed it had taken so long because he’d fit it in where he could. Had it needed more work than he’d told you? You had never wanted him to give up that much time for you.
“Come on. Follow me,” Dave said, waving his hand and you trailed behind him, following him up to a black pick-up, familiar coverall clad legs with two black boots sticking out of the bottom. “Munson! You got a visitor!”
Fingers free from their usual chunky rings wrapped around the front bumper of the truck as he rolled out from beneath it. You were horrified when an audible whimper escaped from your lips at the sight of him. A black bandana was wrapped around the top of his head, smashing his bangs flat to his forehead, damp from sweat, the rest of his hair in a low bun to keep it out of his face while he worked. Grease stains, like strokes of paint crossed his cheeks. He was dirty and grimy and Jesus Christ, he was so damn hot. You wanted to pull those coveralls down and climb that man like a fucking tree.
“Prom Queen,” he grinned, catching sight of you, and you swore your heart would batter its way right out of your chest. “You made it!”
“Uh…yeah…I…I did…” you stammered. What the hell was wrong with you? You’d seen Eddie after work before. He often picked you up from school. But by that point, he had usually cleaned up, his hair was back down like usual, and the coveralls were gone. But for Christ’s sake, they were coveralls. They were literally called that because they covered it all so why were you so damn turned on?
“You wanna see it?” asked Eddie, hopping to his feet, eyebrows wiggling excitedly.
Yes. Yes you did, so goddamn much. Your eyes roved over his backside as he turned to set down the wrench and then pulled a rag from his back pocket, wiping his hands down before tucking it back in. Then this man had the audacity to undo the top buttons of the coveralls, dragging them down, allowing them to hang off of his waist before knotting the sleeves around the front.
“Fuck, it’s hot,” he muttered, the back of his forearm running across his forehead.
“Y…yeah…”
Eddie’s head turned slowly, a wicked smile curving his lips up on one side like a semi-colon when he caught you, panting after him like a dog in heat. You swallowed, surprised your tongue wasn’t hitting the floor. He stepped into you, invading your space with the tang of mechanical parts, the smoky aroma of the Camels he smoked, and the delicious damn musk that was just essentially him all the time.
Head tilting, his fingers grabbed onto a lock of your hair, working it between the pads, “See something you like, sweetheart?”
You nodded, “Very much.”
He chuckled, the sound like a shockwave straight to your center as he leaned in close, nose coasting along the skin of your cheek, lips tickling the shell of your ear, “Fuck, the way you’re looking at me right now, I want to kiss you breathless but I don’t want to get you all dirty.”
“I don’t mind dirty,” you whispered, eyes slipping closed.
“Mmm, that’s right. My girl likes to be dirty for me, doesn’t she?”
There it was again. His girl. The very sound of those words rolling off his tongue, his nose brushing your skin, did things to you that you could not begin to describe because they were things you had never felt before in your life. You considered yourself a feminist. You didn’t belong to anyone but yourself but fuck, when he said that, it was a sledgehammer crashing through everything you’d once thought about yourself because you wanted to be his, completely.
“Yes…” you breathed, losing sight of everything else but him. There were no sounds, no smells, nothing but Eddie.
“As much as I want to bend you over the hood of this truck right now, I don’t like to share. Can’t have the other guys getting a look at what is for my eyes only.”
You blinked, eyes going wide, suddenly remembering that you were not alone. You were in the garage, in the middle of the day, surrounded by his co-workers. What in the hell were you doing? Seriously, this man made you lose all self-control. The old you never would have let yourself get like this out in public. Of course, Cam had never given you a reason to feel like this anywhere, not even in the privacy of your own bedroom.
“Shit. Yeah. Sorry. Obviously, you don’t want to kiss me or anything in front of all the guys at work. I…anyway, didn’t you want to show me the car?”
Eddie’s tongue ran over his lower lip before he gently pulled it between his teeth, his hand cupping your jaw as his thumb ran across your cheekbone. He smiled, soft and warm, a cozy blanket cocooning you, and then leaned in, pressing his lips to yours. It wasn’t the all consuming kiss your body craved, the kiss that made you feel like he was devouring you, taking every breath from you until you were left fighting for air. It was tender and sweet, like a hug when you needed one the most, chicken noodle soup when you were sick, it was happiness in the form of a kiss.
“Darling, I don’t give a shit if all these guys see me kissing you,” Eddie told you, his fingers winding through yours. “They’ll just know how very sexy and hot as fuck my girl is. Let ‘em wish they could only be half as lucky as me.”
With a wink, he pulled you behind him, smirking at his co-workers as they watched the two of you with interest as you headed out of the building and into the lot that you had seen when you first arrived. You made your way past a handful of cars in various states of repair before he swung his arm wide to display your little Honda.
Your jaw dropped open, “Eddie…oh my god…this isn’t…is this even the same car?”
“Yep. Same old beater my uncle’s had for years but all fixed up now. I replaced the head gasket, sealed up the oil pan, put in a new battery, and got you some brand new tires.”
“But the paint…it’s…it looks brand new.”
The little Honda absolutely shined candy apple red under the glare of the afternoon sun. The rust spots were long gone. It no longer looked like a used car that needed love. It looked like it had just been driven off the lot. You couldn’t believe the amount of work he must have put in.
Eddie’s lips pressed together as he toed the gravel of the lot with the tip of his steel toed boot and shrugged, “It was just some paint. Not a big deal, really.”
“But it is a big deal,” you told him, beaming from ear to ear. “It’s a very big deal. I never expected you to put so much time into it. I…Eddie, I don’t know how to ever thank you for this. It looks amazing.”
He smirked, lips pouting preciously to the side as he took a step into you, backing you into the car, “I mean, I could think of a few things.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. How about you come to my place tonight?” he suggested and your heart skipped a beat.
“Really?”
He hadn’t invited you to his place yet and you hadn’t wanted to be pushy. He’d been staying over at your place quite a few nights and that was wonderful. But you couldn’t deny that you were dying to see where he lived, where he called home, to get a close-up look at all the personal pieces of Eddie.
“Really.” His hands covered your hips, pulling your body flush against his. “I can make you dinner and maybe we can come up with a way for you to show your undying gratitude.”
“You’re going to make me dinner?” you asked, surprised.
“Please. Don’t sound so shocked. I’m a grown man. I’ve been on my own for eight years. I think I can manage to cook something. It might not be fancy but I know the basics of working a stove.”
“Well, okay then. You know, I think a man cooking is very sexy.”
“Oh, do you? Maybe I’ll have to whip out my apron.”
“As long as that’s the only thing you’re wearing,” you teased, palms resting against his firm chest, knowing you were probably getting grease stains all over your clothes but not caring in the slightest.
“I am a very bad influence on you,” Eddie growled, his tongue darting along your lower lip, causing you to gasp.
“Very,” you agreed huskily, hands running down, over his stomach and hips, slipping into the back of his coveralls to squeeze his denim covered ass.
“Son of a bitch,” he grunted, forehead pressed against yours. “You are trouble. You’re going to get me fired, woman. The boss won’t think highly of me fucking you on top of a car in the parking lot.”
You giggled, “Guess I should get going then.”
Eddie reached into his pocket, holding up your keys, “Take your brand new car. I’ll bring your bike back to my place and I’ll see you later, okay? I get off at five and we can continue this then.”
“Can’t wait,” you grinned, kissing him once more before you pranced excitedly to your new set of wheels, causing that rumbling laugh from Eddie that you loved so much.
___________________________________________________________
The warm breeze of the day swept through the car as you drove home. You’d laughed when you’d turned the car on to find AC/DC playing, a little surprise from Eddie. The cassette case sat on the passenger seat, a note from him in black Sharpie that read, Because you can not only name three songs but could write their memoir.
Along with that cassette, he’d included a bunch more ranging from Whitney Houston to Metallica to Tupac, another note sat with those, reading, For my girl who appreciates true talent. Your stomach flipped over again at those two small words, my girl, pleased at the way they sounded, at how it felt to be Eddie’s, to feel like he was proud to show you off, to let everyone know you were together. Maybe it wasn’t very strong woman of you but you didn’t care. You could be a strong woman while enjoying belonging to someone.
You would never make yourself less than for anyone else. You would never forget yourself in your efforts to keep someone else happy. You’d done that for far too long in your relationship with Cam. Maybe you felt so lucky that a guy like him had ever noticed you. Maybe deep down you didn’t feel like you could ever do better than Cam. But you knew now that he wasn’t the perfect guy you’d thought he was and you definitely knew you could do better because you already had. Cam wasn’t in the same ballpark as Eddie. Hell, he wasn’t even in the same time zone.
Eddie stirred feelings within you that you hadn’t known you could experience. He made you feel wanted, desired, and taken care of. You would never be able to truly convey how much it meant to you that he had put all that work into fixing the car, that he’d even taken the time to fill it with cassette tapes he thought you’d like.
Cam was all about grand gestures, buying you a piece of jewelry or taking you out to the most expensive restaurant. But life wasn’t about the grand gestures because those came far and few between. It was about the little things, like leaving cassette tapes, getting your coffee ready in the morning, leaving you a little note to find in your teacher bag when you got to school that read, I’ll be missing that beautiful face until tonight. Those kinds of gestures cost nothing but meant so much more.
Especially considering that now, looking back, you were certain that most of those gestures were done from a place of guilt. Cam had been trying to cover his own ass, to keep you from becoming suspicious of his extracurricular activities, his late nights at work, his out of town meetings. And it worked. For far too long, you hadn’t questioned a thing, believing your marriage was rock solid when, in reality, it had been on shaky ground for years.
Cassie was probably not the only one. You remembered catching him kissing Rachel Litmore at one of his friends, Timmy's, epic parties. You’d been looking for him and what do you know? There he was, in the backyard, the two of them pressed together against the big oak tree, his tongue down her throat.
Oh, he’d promised you that it had meant nothing. He’d been so drunk. Rachel had tricked him. He was too intoxicated to know what was going on. Hell, he’d even said that he thought it was you. Bullshit. It was all bullshit. It had always been bullshit and you should have seen that way back then, long before you ever walked down the aisle and promised in front of all of your friends and family that you would spend the rest of your life with him.
But no, you’d convinced yourself that it was a mistake. Cam loved you. Of course he did. He always told you how much you meant to him, how you were the only one. You didn’t think that had ever been the case. How many more had there been for the man who always had to feel like the most important person? How many women did it take to satiate his need to feel desired?
You pulled into your driveway, pushing those thoughts away because Cam was your past and Eddie was your present. You hoped he would be your future, too, and you didn’t want to dwell on what had been. You wanted to dream about what could be.
Making your way to the mailbox, you pulled the front open, reaching in to grab the stack of envelopes. Leafing through them, you headed up onto your porch, unlocking the door, dropping your backpack just inside. Walking into the kitchen, you dropped the envelopes on the counter as you looked through, pausing when you saw a cream color envelope with your name and address embossed on the front.
You slid your finger under the flap, breaking the seal, slowly exposing the thick cardstock inside. Beautiful pale blue paper with silver writing:
Ms. Cassie Jones and Mr. Cameron Campbell request the pleasure of your company at their nuptials
Saturday, the 21st of September
1 o’clock in the afternoon
The words began to blur in front of you, your stomach rolling sickly. Your fingers opened, the invitation slipping from them and onto the counter. A throbbing began behind your eyes and you slipped them closed, inhaling slowly through your nose in an effort to keep your lunch from coming back up. You splayed your hands flat on the counter, your entire body trembling with rage at the cruelty of two people you once would have called the most important people in your life.
You snatched the phone off the wall, punching in your sister’s number. Kim would know what was going on. In fact, you couldn’t believe she hadn’t told you about it when you’d spoken a few days ago. Why wouldn’t she warn you that this was coming? A heads up would have been appreciated instead of the gut punch you received when you opened that envelope, just another blow dealt by them. As if running you over hadn’t been good enough, they just had to put the car in reverse and crush you all over again for good measure. Make sure they didn’t miss any pieces on their way to their happily ever after.
“Hello?” came Kim’s voice down the line, slicing through the fog of disbelief and anger.
“Kim?”
“Sis?”
“How could you not tell me this!?” you demanded, fingers wrapped around the cord so tightly that the rubber was digging into the tender flesh of your hand.
“Tell you what?”
“That Cam and Cassie are getting married in a few months!”
“What!?” You yanked the phone from your ear at your sister’s earth shattering shriek. “What in the hell do you mean they’re getting married? How do you know?”
“I got a goddamn invitation in the mail today!”
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me. That is so fucking low,” seethed Kim. “Just when I thought they couldn’t sink any further into the muck, they prove me wrong.”
“Do they really expect me to attend this thing?”
“No! Obviously not. They don’t actually want you to come. They just wanted to rub it in your face. Look at how happy we are since you left. I’m sure Cassie is just tickled, showing you that he actually loves her because he’s marrying her. Well, newsflash to that trashy bitch, he married you too. It’s only a matter of time before he gets bored and does the same shit to her. Jesus Christ, the ink on the divorce papers is barely dry. Those two didn’t waste a minute and in a few months? They must have already been planning this thing because you know Cam isn’t doing anything small. He never passes up a chance to show off.”
“I…I don’t understand any of this. Why do they keep wanting to hurt me? I’m not the one who did the betraying here!”
“Because they’re in denial. They don’t want to be the villains in this story so now they can say, see, we’re in love. We’re so in love that we couldn’t help our feelings. We’re getting married and spending the rest of our lives together. We didn’t want to hurt anyone. We both love her but the heart wants what it wants. We even invited her to the wedding but she just can’t find it in her heart to forgive us.”
“No. How could I…how could they…Jesus Christ! How could anyone actually expect me to show up to this thing? They really think I would come, sit and watch the two people who stabbed me in the back pledge their lives to each other, and be happy for them?”
“No. Look, I’m not saying any of it makes sense. But this stinks of two people who are doing everything they can to rid themselves of their guilt, make themselves feel better about the shitty things they’ve done. You know what you should do? You should show up. They’d never expect that,” Kim snorted.
“Are you insane? Kim, I am not going to their wedding. The very thought makes me want to puke.”
“Yeah, but just think about it. They’re trying to rub it in your face that they are so happy while picturing you all alone, miserable, crying your eyes out. But you’re not. Show up with your new man. Show them how you’ve moved on, how you don’t need them. Show them how they haven’t taken anything from you and, in fact, your life is better off now. Show Cam exactly what he lost, what he chose to throw away in exchange for that inferior piece of garbage he’s got now.”
“Kim, no. I can’t do that.”
Your sister made a sound as if trying to dislodge a hairball, “And why the hell not?”
“Because it’s petty.”
“They’re petty! You don’t have to go and be a bitch. You just go and smile and hold your head high. You don’t even have to talk to them. But, come on, just imagine them up there, stumbling through their vows as they try to ignore that you’re sitting right there. Imagine Cam fumbling through his words because he can’t get over how you’re so much hotter than Cassie and what the hell was he thinking? Imagine him losing his mind because your new guy is so much hotter than him.”
“You don’t even know what Eddie looks like,” you sighed.
“I don’t have to. I’ve heard you talk about him. Am I wrong?”
Your cheeks blazed with heat, your teeth worrying over your bottom lip, “No. You’re not wrong.”
And it was true. Cam had nothing on Eddie. Those steel gray eyes couldn’t hold a candle to Eddie’s, like deep pools of top shelf whiskey that she wanted to drown in. His close cropped blond hair could not compete with Eddie’s soft, tousled waves. Cameron Campbell did not come close to Eddie Munson, not even in the same universe.
“Talk to Eddie. From the way you’ve described him, I bet he’d find an opportunity like that quite fun,” your sister chucked. “Oh, what I wouldn’t give to see that.”
“Cam wouldn’t know what to do with a guy like him.”
“But I bet you do,” cackled Kim.
“You’re so wrong,” you laughed, shaking her head. “You enjoy revenge just a bit too much.”
“No. I enjoy revenge on people who hurt my sister. That’s my job, babe. Nobody messes with my family.”
“I love you, psycho.”
“Love you too, pushover.”
“Alright, speaking of my new man, I have to get going. He’s making me dinner tonight at his place and I have to get ready. Oh, and I get to drive my new car over there. He got it all fixed up and gave it a new paint job. You wouldn’t believe it if you saw the before and after. It looks brand new!”
“Sis, I am so happy for you. Eddie sounds like an amazing guy. He’s already done more for you in a few weeks than Cam did in a decade. I can practically hear the happiness radiating off of you over the phone. You deserve this, sis. Seriously.”
“Thanks. I am pretty happy.”
“So, when are you bringing him home so we can meet him?”
“Kim, I gotta go.”
“Hey! When do I get to meet this tall, dark guitar player?”
“Love you, Kimmy. Bye.”
“Don’t you hang up!”
___________________________________________________________
“Welcome to my castle, fair maiden!” Eddie bellowed loudly as he swung the door open to his place, ushering you in with a dramatic sweep of his arm.
A loud laugh erupted from you as you saw he had actually donned an apron for the occasion. It read It’s no sin to get my sauce on your chin, with a saucepan and spoon full of liquid. Of course Eddie would have an apron like that.
“Love the apron,” you told him, dropping your purse onto a chair just inside the door.
“Yeah?” Eddie’s teeth flashed brilliant white. “Well, if you like my spaghetti sauce, you’ll absolutely love…” He brought both hands down in front of him just in case you didn’t get the very obvious meaning behind the message.
“Got it, thanks.”
He shrugged as he waved and you followed him into the kitchen, “You’re the one who said you wanted to thank me for the car. I mean, that would be an excellent show of gratitude.”
“Duly noted,” you chuckled, leaning over the pot simmering on the stove, inhaling the aroma of spices. “This smells amazing. Is that…did you make spaghetti sauce?”
“I did,” he stated, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the counter. “I learned from my Uncle Wayne. He’s not a gourmet chef or anything but he can whip up a few things and his spaghetti sauce is way better than some Ragu from a jar.”
Your eyes moved around the house, eager to soak in as much detail as you could about the man in front of you. This was his sanctuary, his space, and you were itching to see what treasures you would come across in here that might give you just a little more of a peek into the enigma that was Eddie.
“Your house is nice,” you commented. “Want to give me a tour?”
Eddie pushed off the counter with his hands, “Okay. The bread’s got about six more minutes and the sauce needs to simmer a bit. Well, kitchen as you can see. You walked through the living room when you came in.” He moved through the archway of the kitchen. “Dining room and there’s a half bath just down that hall, along with the door to the garage.” Taking your hand, he led you up the stairs, pushing open a door to the right. “This is a bedroom but I use it for my instruments and amps and shit for now. Across the hall is another bedroom where I stuck my old bed from the trailer. Occasionally, if one of the guys gets shitfaced or something they’ll crash. Next to that is the bathroom and then…” He pushed open the last door on the right. “This is my room.”
Your hand curled around the frame of the door as you looked inside. The bed was covered in a black blanket. The walls were a deep red where they weren’t covered in posters of various metal bands from Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath to Judas Priest and Metallica. A large Corroded Coffin banner hung along one wall, a dark red guitar with crackles of black paint proudly displayed underneath. You slowly stepped inside, making your way over to it before turning back to him.
“Is this guitar special? Do you still play it?”
Eddie’s hand came to the back of his neck, rubbing, “No. I don’t play that one anymore. It uh…it kind of saved lives, I guess. I don’t know. It just felt wrong to play it anymore but it also felt wrong to get rid of it so it sits there.”
You glanced over your shoulder, confused. “The guitar saved lives?”
“I mean, yeah? Kind of. I don’t know. I guess maybe I did it because I was the one playing it but it…you know, I really should go check on that sauce. Red is a bitch to get out when it boils over.”
He turned on his heel and walked out suddenly, leaving you standing in his bedroom. You looked around you, wanting to stay, to get a closer look at all the things on his nightstand and his dresser. But it would be weird if he went downstairs and you just remained up there. He would definitely think you were snooping. So, with a sigh, knowing you’d gotten a small piece of a much larger picture once again, you followed him back down and into the kitchen.
Eddie turned his head at the sound of your feet across the linoleum floor. With a smile, he gestured for you to sit at the dining room table, a small round wooden table with four chairs. The top looked like it had been well-loved, possibly a hand-me-down, notches dug deep into the wood in places. Your finger ran along one, feeling suspiciously like it could fit one of Eddie’s large rings. You imagined him sitting in this exact spot, anxiety running through him as he tapped or pounded his finger against the tabletop.
“Your house is really nice,” you commented when Eddie approached with a big plastic bowl covered in a towel.
He snorted, “Thanks, I guess.” He shrugged, calling over his shoulder as he headed back into the kitchen, scooping pasta and then sauce onto a plate. “I mean, I don’t really have that Home and Garden vibe going on but it works for me. You know, if you’re into nerdy shit, heavy metal, and thrifting for furniture.”
“Oh, I love thrifting!” you exclaimed just as he was setting one plate in front of you and another across from you. “You can find really great stuff that other people just planned to toss out in the trash.”
“Well, that explains it!” Eddie proclaimed with a chuckle. “Wine, beer, water, or pop?”
“Umm, wine if you have it.”
“White, okay? It’s just the box shit. I keep it around for the girls.”
“Fine with me.” He made his way back into the kitchen so you called loudly, “And explains what?”
“Why you’re into me,” he answered, setting a glass in front of you before taking the seat across from you. Eddie lifted his fork, twirling pasta onto it and shoveling it into his mouth with a smile, his eyes lighting up mischievously. “I’m the definition of thrift store, baby. I’m the trash that was sitting on the side of the road and you decided to save me from the dump and load me in the back of your car.”
“Eddie…” you groaned, sipping on your wine. “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?” he asked through a mouthful of garlic bread.
“Talk about yourself like that, like you’re not worthy, like you’re not an absolute find. You’re not garbage. And if you are thrift store, you’re the priceless antique that someone tossed in the pile without realizing its true value. And I am thankful that they did because then I just happened to get lucky enough to find you.”
“Damn sweetheart, you’re gonna make me blush.”
“I’m serious. Eddie, you know, if you would just tell me what happened back then then maybe I could…”
His fork hit the plate with a clatter and he sat back, dropping his napkin in his lap, “Prom Queen, we talked about this. I can’t tell you that. I will tell you anything else you want to know but not that, baby. You told me you could handle not knowing everything.”
“No, I know I did,” you said quickly, bringing your glass to your lips, taking a long swig. “And I can. It’s fine. I just thought…never mind.” It wasn’t fine but it had to be. Eddie wasn’t going to share with you. You swallowed down another drink of wine, pushing back the disappointment. “Anyway, I got an invitation to Cam and Cassie’s wedding today in the mail.”
Eddie sputtered, almost showering you with his beer. His hand came to his mouth, he swallowed slowly, and set the bottle down onto the table. Folding his hands, he leaned in, that little furrow appearing between his eyebrows.
“Are you shitting me?”
“Nope. Not shitting you. They’re getting married on September 21st. Didn’t want to waste any time I guess.”
“Those fucking assholes. Jesus, that’s goddamn low, man. I can’t believe they had the balls to send you an invitation.” His fist slammed down onto the wood, the plates clattering, you jumping. That same hand instantly opened, reaching over the table to cover yours, thumb running over the back of it soothingly. “Sorry. I’m sorry. That just pisses me the hell off. I just, Jesus, are you okay?”
You shrugged, offering a small smile, “Yeah? No? I don’t really know.”
Eddie’s head tilted forward, eyes trying to catch yours, his own wide, almost vulnerable as he asked softly, “Do you still love him?”
“No,” you stated, shaking her head. “No. Any love I felt for him died as soon as I realized he’d been cheating on me for a year. It’s not that. I mean, I will always care about both of them in some weird twisted way because they were such a large part of my life for so long. But it’s not even that. It’s just that I don’t understand how two people who I trusted with everything, two people who I thought cared about me, loved me, are so willing to hurt me again and again. They claimed they couldn’t help their feelings but to send me an invitation? To rub it in my face that they’re together and happy after everything? Why?”
“To make themselves feel better. To say, see, we’re not the assholes everything thinks because we’re in love. And to say they invited you but you couldn’t be the bigger person and come, which is all a bunch of bullshit and anyone with half a brain cell could figure that out.”
Your fingers ran over your brow bone as you chuckled, “You sound like my sister. Kim said something very similar.”
“Sounds like a smart girl.”
“I don’t know about that. She also said I should go and take you as my date to rub it in their faces.” You rolled your eyes, guffawing at the very idea, finishing off the last of your wine. “Can you imagine?”
Those plush lips pooched out as he raised his hand up, finger pointing directly at you. You did not have a good feeling about whatever was going to come out of his mouth next.
“Actually, I think that’s a damn good idea,” Eddie said, only proving your fears correct. “I say we do it. Why not? I think I have a suit jacket up in the closet from…well, a funeral. Let’s do it. Let’s go and have the best damn time. Why not?”
“Why not? Eddie, are you kidding me? There are a million reasons why not.”
“Like what? Because he’s an asshole? Because she’s a raging bitch? Because they wouldn’t like it if we were there? Well, maybe they should have thought about that before they invited you.”
You rose from your chair, coming around the table, placing your hands on his shoulders, “Eddie, they did not actually want me to come. We both know that.”
“They sent the invitation,” he sang, his chair moving along the floor with a scrape as he pushed back from the table. Large hands covered your hips, pulling you into him. “Besides, I really do want you to come.” There was that mischievous grin again. “I mean, it’s vitally important to me.” Those hands traveled, cupping your breasts as he rose to his feet. “Maybe the most important thing to me.”
“Eddie…” you breathed when one of his hands slid into your hair, tangling the locks between his fingers, tugging it back. His nose and lips moved up the side of your neck.
“Come on, Prom Queen,” he urged, rocking his hips forward, his already hard length providing sweet pressure that had you moaning. “Let’s go to that wedding.” Teeth scraping the skin of your jaw, hand kneading the fleshy mound of your breast through your top. “Let him see how stupid he is.” A nip at your earlobe, tongue slipping along the shell of your outer ear. “Let me show him how very glad I am that he’s so fucking dumb.” Fingers slipping underneath your top, dragging over your stomach, pinching your nipple between his fingers until you cried out. “Because now this is all mine.”
Then your shirt was off and his lips were claiming yours, tongue dominating yours, hands massaging your breasts. You groaned, the sound swallowed, hands gripping the lean muscles of his biceps as you met his kiss with the force of the desire currently pulsing between your thighs. You rose onto your toes and Eddie’s hands came to your waist, lifting you up, your legs wrapping around his waist.
Fevered kisses, gasped breaths, and then you were on your back on his couch and his lips were everywhere, your body buzzing, nerve endings burning, held open to the open flame that was Eddie’s lips, tongue, and teeth. His hands grabbed onto the waist of your shorts, pulling them slowly down your legs, that beautiful mouth worshiping every single inch of skin as it was exposed.
Kisses to your ankle, your calf, his hand wrapping around it and nudging it over until it landed on the floor, opening you to him. You groaned roughly when his mouth laid over your lace panties, a slow exhale, warm breath brushing over your most sensitive parts. Your hand tangled in his long locks, pulling his head back and away.
Eddie’s eyes, molten chocolate, burned into yours as that lower lip jutted out in the sweetest little pout, annoyed that he had been stopped. You rose up onto your knees, grabbing onto the hem of his shirt, yanking it over his head. Your hand came to his chest, pushing him back against the arm of the couch.
“What did you stop me for, baby?” he growled, his finger hooking into your panties, pulling you toward him. “I was gonna make you feel good, make you forget all about those assholes.”
“Mmm, and I am looking forward to that, but I believe I still owe you a thank you for the car,” you reminded with a smile, your fingers working his belt buckle, coming free with a clink as you slid it from his jeans, holding it up and dropping it to the floor with a thud.
“Oh yeah?” One eyebrow raised, those lips curving up on one side as you unbuttoned his pants, the purr of his zipper as you slid it down.
Eddie lifted his hips as you grabbed onto the loops of his jeans, pulling them down and off, leaving them in a heap on the floor, quickly followed by his boxers. Sitting back on your heels, your tongue ran along your bottom lip as you took in the sight of his engorged cock, the tip glistening with wetness already as he sat, one leg against the back of the couch and one on the floor, spread and ready for you.
“Like what you see, baby?” mused Eddie, head shifting to the side, brown locks falling across his face, those deep brown eyes watching you intently.
“Very much.”
You settled yourself on your stomach between his legs. Reaching out, you took his length in your hand, velvet fingers moving along his rigid shaft. Eddie’s eyes fluttered shut at your touch.
“Fuucckk…” he groaned.
“Feel good?” you inquired, your grip becoming firmer as you pumped him with your palm.
“So good, sweetheart…so fucking good…”
Bolstered by his reaction, you flicked your tongue across the tip, delighting in the hiss from between his teeth that followed, his hips bucking up, reactively searching for your mouth. Keeping your hand around the base, you wrapped your lips around him, working as much of him as you could inside the warmth of your throat.
“Jesus Christ, yeah, baby. Just like that,” Eddie praised, bucking up and into your mouth, sending the tip of him hitting the back of your throat until you gagged. “Love that goddamn mouth. Looks so pretty wrapped around my cock, princess.”
You hummed around him as his fingers dove into your hair, guiding you up and down. Wetness pooled in your panties, pleasure racing through you at the knowledge that you could make him feel this good. You’d never had a man react to your touch the way Eddie did and you found it was a powerful aphrodisiac. You swore you could get off just from the sounds that you were capable of drawing out of him. You just wanted to make him moan, growl, and curse again and again.
You released him from your mouth to run your tongue along the underside, the thick vein that ran there. Continuing to work him in your hand, you lifted his cock up just enough and then you did something you’d never done before. Hesitantly, you ran her tongue over one of his testicles.
“Jesus fuck!” Eddie cried out, his entire body tensing for a moment. “Fuck baby, do it again.”
You eagerly complied with his command before taking one of the heavy sacs into your mouth carefully, remembering your friends talking about how sensitive they were, how guys loved ball play but you had to be gentle. The sounds that Eddie was currently making let you know that whatever you were doing was right as you sucked softly before showing the other one the same attention.
“You’re like goddamn magic…jesus…fuck me…baby, I’m so close…” he gasped, guiding your mouth back to his cock.
You took his length in again, hollowing out your cheeks. Your hands came to his thighs, the muscles tense under your grasp. Eddie’s hips rocked helplessly, his head collapsed back against the arm of the couch, sweat slicked tendrils of hair sticking to his forehead and cheeks. He looked so goddamn beautiful on the verge of losing control and all because of you.
“Fuck yes. Don’t stop, baby. Don’t stop. Right there. Jesus. Fuck. Shit. Oh my god,” Eddie muttered, his grip on your hair tightening as he roared, back arching up and off the couch before he painted your throat with his release. “Holy shit…that was…holy shit…”
You smirked, swallowing him down, before crawling up his body. Hovering over him, you tenderly pushed pieces of hair from his face, your heart aching at the sight of him, completely blissed out, peaceful, happy, a small smile on his lips as he looked up at you.
“You are so beautiful,” you whispered, thumb tracing his bottom lip.
“I thought we went over this,” Eddie teased. “Sexy, sweetheart. I’m sexy. It’s much more manly.” He snatched your hand in his, pressing his lips to your fingertips. “But thank you. Now, I have something that I started before I was so rudely interrupted that I am dying to finish.”
“Oh, by all means, don’t let me stop you,” you laughed.
“Sweetheart, the goddamn U.S. Army couldn’t stop me.”
He leaned into you until you had no choice but to lie back on the couch, his lips claiming yours once again. Calloused fingers, a guitar player’s fingers slid along your skin, down your side to hook into your underwear.
Just as Eddie was dragging the lacy fabric over your hip, the entire room lit up with a flash of lightning that was quickly followed by a rumble of thunder so loud that it shook the house. It took you a moment to realize that Eddie was frozen, his hand on your outer thigh, and that hand was trembling.
“Eddie?” you asked softly, your own hand cupping his cheek, turning his head to you.
His eyes were wide, no longer molten chocolate, those brown pools were defenseless with fear. Plush lips were parted, quick ragged breaths sounding between them. You didn’t know how you knew but you knew he was back there, wherever there was, the place of his nightmares and something about the storm had set him off.
“Eddie? Hey. It’s okay,” you assured, sitting up, your arm coming around him, his body shaking, like the lone leaf on the tree, fighting to survive the bitter winter wind.
You pulled him to you, his body collapsing against yours as if he were a rag doll, an inanimate object incapable of movement. You snatched the blanket off the back of the couch, wrapping it around the two of you. Just holding onto him, you rocked gently back and forth in an attempt to soothe whatever was aching in him.
Eddie whimpered, soft moans, his eyes slipping closed, head shaking back and forth. He was scaring you, again, but you knew you wouldn’t get anything out of him now. He was in the midst of it, all but gone to you, his body was with you but his brain was somewhere else entirely.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you. You’re safe. I’ve got you,” you repeated again and again, trying anything you could think of to make whatever this was better for him.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.”
“No. No. You don’t need to be sorry.”
“I fucking hate lightning…that place…red sky and lightning…” He groaned, burying his face against your neck like a frightened child.
“That’s okay. Fuck lightning.” You ran your hand over his hair, your other one gripping his arm tightly, keeping him locked against you. You had no idea what place he was talking about. Red sky? The fire? Was there a storm the night of the mall fire?
“Don’t…don’t leave me, please.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Eddie. I am going to stay right here with you, okay? I’ve got you. You’re safe. You’re going to be okay.”
“I’ll never be okay…”
Your eyes slipped closed, a tear slipping down your cheek, your heart aching for him, the things he’d seen, the things he’d been through, the things you would never get to know and could therefore never truly be able to help him with.
Chapter 19
Taglist: @tlclick73 @bebe07011 @eddiesguitarskills @witchwolflea @nailbatanddungeon @emilyslutface @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @corrodedcoffincumslut @mmunson86 @josephquinnsfreckles @katethetank
97 notes
·
View notes