Page 24 of Tank

“Since you just admitted that it was going to be you, I’m going to have you arrested if anyone gets sick for any reason at the pool.” She blustered on about how the kids were the ruination of the world and that she couldn’t stand them. “Then I don’t know what to tell you. You can’t hear them from your home, and the pool will be watched all the time, so that you can’t get to it. I’m going to install cameras too, so that if anything happens, then I’ll have proof that it was you. I can’t believe that we’re having this conversation. I’m calling your daughter right now and telling her what you said to me.”

“You will not. I’ll tell her that it was all lies to make it so that my vote doesn’t count. She’ll believe me, too.” He asked if she was the one with the grandkids. “She has three of the mongrels. Worse kids you’d ever want to meet.”

“Why? Because you deem them so? I bet they’re great kids and are only having fun. My god woman, do you hear what you’re saying about your own flesh and blood?” She said she’d been saying that for the last five years. “I’m betting that’s how old the oldest is, too.”

“No, he’s seven. But he’d been so little that he didn’t know how to whoop things up alone. Now that he has two more siblings, he’s the worst of the bunch of them. Even my son had three kids. His aren’t any better.”

“I bet that Christmas at your house is a lot of fun.” She told him that if they behaved, it was quite nice. “I just bet that it is. Do they stay long? I’m betting the moment that the meal is over, they’re out the door.”

“We don’t have a meal. They come here, we visit, and they leave. Just the way I want it. If they bring me a gift, then that’s all right too, but I don’t cater to their needs by giving them anything. I hand them a five-dollar bill, and that’s the end of it. I don’t want any kind of paper messing with my house. I have it just the way I want it.” He could imagine that kind of party, too. No one would say a word for fear of bringing down the wrath of Grandma. “They know better than to bring them around when I have to put up with them, too. I won’t have it.”

He’d gotten so sidetracked that he didn’t remember why she’d called. Looking down at his notes, he realized that they’d gotten off topic about the pool, and he wasn’t going to remind her of what they’d been talking about. He didn’t have a grandma and surely didn’t want one like Mrs. Murphy. She was a bitch. And a terrible person as far as he was concerned.

Telling her that he had to go, he had another call, she told him to watch his back. She was nearly seventy years old and he’d bet anything that anyone around her watched their backs. He wondered what it was like to have her as a neighbor. He’d bet that she was out measuring their lawns for the right height. Even though they didn’t have that kind of rule around town, she’d be the one enforcing it if there had been one. Picking up the phone, he decided to call Peggy Murphy.

Peggy was Mrs. Murphy’s granddaughter, and she’d bet that she’d heard it all. All he was going to do was tell her what her grandmother had said and get her opinion of what was going on. As soon as she answered the phone, he knew that something had gone wrong. He asked her if she was all right.

“Yes, I’ve been dealing with my grandma today. She’s got a burr up her butt about the pool again. I’m sorry if she’s called you complaining. I’m actually looking forward to the pool being opened this year.” He’d always liked talking to Peggy but had never met her. Now, if she were his mate, that would be just grand. She was about the nicest person he’d ever talked to. “She wants me to take her to the grocery store, but I don’t have the car today. My brother borrowed it. She won’t allow him to go for her because it’s a woman’s job. I don’t know why he can’t pick up her peanut butter and jelly that she wants.”

He told her everything that was going on with her grandmother. She was taken aback by what she said and told him that she’d have a talk with her. Not that it would do any good, but she’d talk to her all the same.

“I’d put up the cameras if I were you. There is no telling what she’d do if she got the chance. She’d have to walk there because no one will allow her to ride with them but me, and I’m getting to the point where I can’t stand to be around her either. The things that come out of her mouth make me sick.” He didn’t expect her to say anything like that and was surprised. “She’s going to find herself in a nursing home if she doesn’t start acting like a human being instead of the monster that she is.”

He heard her sob and felt bad about calling her. Telling her how sorry he was that he’d upset her, she told him she’d been dealing with her all morning, and it had just come to a head. Waiting for her to calm down, he told her again how sorry he was that he’d compounded her day by calling about her grandmother. He was truly sorry.

“I hated her as a child. She was such a terrible person. Did I tell you that my brothers won’t go to her aid because of the way that she treated us all when we were children? It’s no small wonder that she even has our parents come and see her. Dad can’t stand her, and Mom puts up with her. I don’t know how she does it either.” She blew her nose, and he could tell that she had a better hold on her emotions. “I’m the only one who will take her places. She lost her license when she turned fifty-five. She doesn’t even own a car anymore. Dad sold it one day while she was with me. Boy, you can just about imagine the hell I caught for that. I didn’t even know he was going to do that. Now she won’t speak to her only son.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t know what I’d do without my family around me all the time.” She said that she had her brothers, but they wouldn’t help with Grandma. “I bet not. I’ve only just heard about how she feels about kids. I can’t imagine growing up with her around.”

“I’d like to say that she has good days, but she doesn’t. She’s just as mean any day of the week, and I can’t stand it. When I take her to the store, you’d think that I was the one running it. She demands that I find her cheaper prices on things, or she won’t buy it. The last time this happened, I put everything back on the shelves and left her standing there with her cart. I don’t put up with her as much as I used to, but there are days when I can’t do it.” He told her she needed a keeper. “You got that right. And not family. She thinks because she’s older than us, she can rule us. Not strangers, however. She’s nice to strangers until you get to know her. Then you’re put in the same place as anyone is. I tell you, Mr. Savage, it’s like being around a kid all the time with temper tantrums.”

“Please call me Ace.” The two of them spoke for a little while, and he had her laughing at some of the things that he’d been dealing with over the last few weeks. Not her grandmother, but other people around town who thought that they could do a better job than he was doing. “I tell them to take it. There are days of the week when I’m ready to toss in the towel, too. I won’t. I love my job, but there are times when I feel like I need a break.”

“You should take one.” He told her that he had too much to do. “I bet you don’t even date. How about I pick you up for dinner tonight, and we have a good time without mentioning my grandmother? We could both have a good night out, and that would be something that we can look back on when we’re dealing with grandma.”

“I’d love that.” He was thinking they could get a pizza and have some fun. He nearly changed his mind, the whole mate thing bothering him, but he needed a night out, and Peggy sounded like she would be fun. “I get off at six.”

After making arrangements for when he was going to meet her at the pizza shop, they rang off. It was only noon right now, but he was looking forward to tonight. As soon as he got busy enough to focus on his job, he kept checking the clock to see how much longer he had to go. Ace was really looking forward to having some fun with a nice person.

~*~

Sherman was looking forward to tonight. He and Serenity were going to meet Tucker and Kaida at the restaurant in Columbus for a night out. He’d not known it was Serenity’s birthday and was glad that she’d told him. It was little things like that he didn’t know about her, but was learning. A night out in some fancy place was just what the two of them needed.

“I don’t know what to wear.” He told her that she could wear anything and still look beautiful. “You’re only saying that to get into my panties.”

“You got that right.” He moved up behind her while she looked in the mirror and brushed his lips over her bare shoulders. “I love this dress. It’s perfect for me to get into your panties.”

He slid his hand up the slit in the dress and found her bare to his touch. Sliding his finger into her pussy, he watched her face in the mirror. When she started to ride him, breathing hard, he slid another finger into her and fucked her gently.

“You’re so wet.” She moaned, and he nibbled on her shoulder while still watching her. “You’re not going to be able to wear this dress, I’m afraid. I’m going to ruin it when I take it off you.”

He tore the dress from the slit to the top of her shoulder, where it hung. She was naked now, and he could only stare at the view in front of him. Telling her to come on his hand had her coming softly, but he wanted more. Riding his hand now, he reached between them and undid his pants.

“I’m going to fuck you while you watch us.” She held onto the mirror and nodded. When she backed her ass up to his cock, it was all he could do not to tear his own clothing off. But she liked it when he took his time, and he wasn’t going to disappoint her right now. “Watch my cock, baby. I want to fill you up with my cock until you’re ready to come.”

He freed himself and watched his mate. Her eyes were hooded and barely open. She was watching him now, and it was all he could do not to toss her to the floor and have her. Instead, he slid his cock into her pussy from behind and moaned himself.

“I’m going to fuck you like this, but you can’t come until I tell you to.” Yes, she said and rode him harder. It was all he could do not to lose control of his own body while fucking her. Putting his hands on her waist, he held her there as he watched his cock enter her and come out covered in her juices. “You have no idea what I’m seeing here. You’re soaking my cock with your juices, and my balls ache to empty inside of you.”