Maraschino, Chapter 4
Well it took me long neough.
Title: Maraschino
Chapter: Four
Rating: Nc-17 (Not yet, but almost)
Summary: Autumn Richards was just as average and everyday as ever. Then why was Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome still stalking her?
“He’s got good shoulders.” Carrietta commented absently as Autumn felt her chest tighten. She felt like she had been hit in the chest with a bowling ball and was duly winded. Dominick was escorted over to the smoker’s table to be introduced while Autumn struggled to get her thundering heart under control. Edward stood to let Trish sit as the smokers began to wave away all the excess smoke.
“Is he barefoot?” Tara asked while Autumn took a deep, steadying breath. And indeed he was. Dominick was as tall and as attractive as she remembered, but the wrinkled shirt and mussed hair was new. He was barefoot too, exposing the tops of his knees all the way to the tips of his toes. He shuffled his feet occasionally as he reached forward to shake some ones hand.
Dominick turned from the group and began nodding as Edward led him down to the small group of people where Autumn was. Dominick laughed and the rich, low sound made her chest tighten even more. His eyes locked onto hers as he approached and he grinned while Autumn nervously clutched the fabric of her dress in her fist. Her palms were sweating profusely and she had to give up on her calming her erratic heart.
He was just like she remembered, impossibly tall and amazingly pretty in a way only he could be. His hair was a mess, sticking up in all directions and eerily similar to the massive shock of dark hair covering the child’s head. It was hard for Autumn to bear and she had trouble reconciling the boy in the hospital supply closet with the one standing before her, clutching a child to his chest.
“You’ve changed your hair.” He stated as he stopped in front of her chair, reaching out to lift a stray curl off of her cheek.
“I started tinting it a couple years back, and I’ve changed the cut.” Autumn said nervously as the skin of her cheek tingled. He still smelt as sinful as he always did, the same mix of caramelised sugar and grass that tickled her nose and made her breath catch in her throat.
“God, it’s been more than a couple of years hasn’t it.” Dominick said wistfully as he gently began to rock the baby in his arms.
“About five.” Autumn answered, happily taking note of her steady voice.
“Well no introductions needed for you two.” Edward commented, drawing attention away from Autumn and Dominick. Autumn turned away and reached for her drink, hoping to the higher powers that she wasn’t as flushed as she felt.
“We went to school together.” Autumn offered as she brought the bottle up to her lips.
“Well over here we Carrie, Lucy, Tara and Mel. Guys this the new tenant Dominick and his son Dante.” Autumn drew her eyes to the child he was holding and tried to ignore the strange pang she got in her stomach as she took in the altogether appealing vision of him barefoot and toting around a child.
“How old is he?” Lucy asked as the other girls murmured their greetings.
“He has his first birthday in a month. So you know, expect a lot of people related to me around to dote on him.” Dominick said as he took the seat that Edward offered him. He sat like she remembered, slouched down with his knees spread wide as he balanced his son on his knee. The girls were curiously quiet and Autumn watched as his son looked around at them, a pacifier obscuring most of his lower face. He had his father’s eyes, big and blue and shining.
“He’s beautiful.” Tara said as Autumn took another sip of her drink, ignoring the stinging jealousy she felt as Dominick gave Tara a quick once over. Tara leant back in her seat as she recrossed her legs, the fabric of her skirt siding up.
“Thanks.” Dominick said eventually as he kissed the top of the baby’s head. Tara smiled as she reached down to tug at the hem of her skirt. Dominick turned to face her and Autumn stopped, her drink on it’s way up to her lips.
“So Autumn, what have you been up to since graduation?” She gulped, her face heating as he brought his attention to her. He had an all to familiar expression on his face as he studied her intently.
“I went to uni, moved out of home and I now work for the department of health touring schools giving lectures on proper nutrition.” Autumn said quickly before taking a calming gulp of her drink, “And you?”
“I spent a couple of years traipsing through Europe with my brother and his band, I started uni, sired Dante and now I work part time and go to uni on a flexible program.” He answered as he kissed the fluffy tufts of hair gracing Dante’s little head.
“Sired?” Autumn snorted inelegantly as she set her drink down, suddenly conscious of how much she was drinking.
“There’s no other way to put it really.” Dominick said ruefully as he ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up as he began to bounce Dante on his knee.
“Fair enough. What are you studying at uni?” She asked, genuinely curious as she smoothed down the bodice of her pink dress.
“Medicine and eventually neurology. I’ll go back to full-time study once Dante’s old enough to go to school himself.” Dante responded to his name by whooping gleefully, nearly dislodging his pacifier as he looked up at his father. Dominick chuckled as he ruffled his son’s hair.
“Neurology? Does that mean you’re like super smart?” Melanie asked as she reached down to massage the back of her ankles where her too tight shoes had caused blisters. Melanie stumbled and her head slid into Lucy’s lap. Lucy grinned and smoothed Mel’s hair away from her forehead, encouraging her not to move.
“Not necessarily. I just worked hard to get into the course and I’m going to continue to work hard.” He answered as he shifted in his seat.
“Good money in neurology right?” Lucy asked as she combed her fingers through Mel’s hair.
“Excellent money in neurology.” He replied as Melanie groaned pitifully. A question about his sister formed in Autumn’s mind and she had to bite down hard on her tongue to stop from asking it. She bit down too hard on her tongue and she could taste the bitter tang of blood in her mouth.
“Fucking hell.” Autumn burst out. She looked around the group around her, blushing as Dominick covered his son’s ears, pressing him into his chest. She pointed to her sore tongue trying to indicate the source of her discomfort.
“Are you done?” He asked and Autumn nodded trying to hide her embarrassment as she looked down at her shoes.
“Are you okay? The last time I heard you swear was when you and Grant very nearly broke up.” Lucy said as Mel hid her face against Lucy’s thigh.
“You and Grant nearly broke up?” Tara asked as Autumn tried to ignore the coppery taste in the back of her throat.
“Once, when he kissed a girl from work.” Autumn answered.
“Did he just kiss her or did they…?” Carrie asked.
“Just kissed.”
“Grant, the guy in the purple?” Dominick asked as he indicated behind them. Edward had made his way up to the smokers’ table and was leant over Trish’s chair kissing her as Elliott continued to be pushed on the swing nearby.
“It’s not purple its lilac.” Autumn pointed out.
“That’s still purple.” He said shrugging. Autumn frowned at him, her question and sore tongue forgotten.
“That’s such a boy thing to say.” Lucy said.
“Second floor.” Melanie said as she struggled into a standing position, rolling out of Lucy’s lap.
“Mel, are you okay?” Lucy asked.
“I’m fine.” Mel said as she stood upright. Autumn peered closely at her face before glancing down to her feet. Autumn stood and slid her heels off, pushing them under her seat as she reached out to steady Melanie.
“You going to the second floor?” Dominick asked as he came to his feet and reached a hand out and gripped Mel’s waist.
“I’m sleep.” Mel answered as she swatted their hands away.
“Oh really.” Dominick said as Mel began to stumble towards the building. Autumn followed her, gripping her arm as Dominick kept his hand steady on Mel’s waist. He had Dante anchored to his hip as he awkwardly tried to keep her from stumbling into him.
“Hey Edward could you take Dante for a minute.” Edward stood as they approached and took Dante from Dominick while Melanie swayed on the spot. Dominick had to take his hand from Mel’s hip and he paused when he turned back to her, hands outstretched.
“Are your intentions honourable?” Melanie asked as she leant against Autumn for support.
“No, Autumn and I are going to take advantage of you.” He answered with a snort while Edward walked over to Elliott to introduce Dante to the boy.
“That’s okay then.” Mel said, fishing in her pocket before pulling out her keys. She shoved them at Autumn while Dominick blinked at them.
“Well yeah, that’s safe.” He took a cautious step forward.
“I trust Autumn.” Mel brought a hand up to pat Autumn’s cheek, her manicured nails narrowly missing Autumn’s eye.
“In that case.” Dominick bent and in one swift movement scooped Mel up in his arms.
“Oh okay.” Autumn stepped back, fully aware of Mel’s wildly swinging feet.
“Can you please show me to her apartment.” He requested, nodding at the keys in Autumn’s hands.
“Oh sure.” Autumn said flustered.
“Alright Honey are you going to be sick?” Dominick asked Mel, jostling her a little as Autumn held the door to the stairwell open to him.
“Nope.” Mel answered with a giggle as they began the ascent up the stairs. They were silent the rest of the way up and Autumn once again held the door to the hallway on the second floor open. Melanie and Marcus’ apartment was located beneath Autumn’s and like her apartment had a troublesome lock.
“Have you had trouble with your front door yet?” Autumn asked as she struggled with the deadbolt on the front door.
“What kind of trouble?” Dominick answered as Autumn cursed under her breath.
“The building’s pretty old and in summer the timber warps and the locks stick.” Autumn threw her weight beneath her shoulder and pushed against the key, the deadbolt sliding open with a click.
Autumn stumbled into the apartment and held the door open, quickly brushing her bare feet against the welcome mat. Dominick turned sideways to get Melanie through althogh he also paused to rub his feet against the mat.
“Mel, darl, which room is yours?” Autumn asked as Dominick set her down and cradled her body against his chest. Mel was a lot drunker than she had initially thought and she glanced around the cluttered living room anxiously.
Mel didn’t answer, instead burying her face in the crook of Dominick’s neck as she gripped his shirt tightly. Dominick patted the small of her back as Autumn crossed to the bedrooms and opened the first door she came across.
It was the pink Playboy cover that did it. Autumn waved Dominick over and he wrapped his arms around Mel’s waist and lifted her up, her feet dangling a few centimetres of the ground as he carefully guided his way around the apartment. Mel curled up into a ball as soon as she was set down on her bed and Dominick looked away as her dress hitched up at the back.
“I’ll get her a glass of water.” He left the room and Autumn knelt by the bed and gently coaxed Mel out of her ball and rolled her onto her back.
“Mel honey, lift your hips.” Autumn said firmly as she slid her hands underneath Mel’s dress to roll her stockings down. Mel dropped her hips as soon as her stockings hit mid thigh and Autumn awkwardly rolled the nylon down the rest of her legs. She had gotten Mel’s stockings down to her calves when Dominick returned, a glass of water in his hand.
“Come here honey.” Dominick came to stand beside the bed and leant down, a calm hand on Mel’s side to try and coax her into an upright position. She struggled into a sitting position, gripping Dominick’s shirt as he gripped her jaw and poured the water into her mouth. Autumn could hear her gulping down the water as she rolled the stockings off of Mel’s feet. She balled up the fabric and tossed them aside, standing up at the same moment Dom pulled away from Mel.
They collided painfully, Dom’s elbow colliding with the top of her head and the water in his hand spilt down the front of Autumn’s dress. They both swore and Mel ignored them both, flopping back onto the bed with a content sigh. Dominick gripped the hem of his dark shirt and began to dab at the water that was seeping through the pink cotton. He muttered his apologies under his breath as he mopped up the water with his shirt.
Something in the air changed and Autumn found herself watching Dominick’s lips as his hand dropped to her hip. His fingers dug into the soft skin there as he tugged her flush against his chest. His other hand came up and threaded his fingers through her hair, tugging gently to tilt her head up towards him. Autumn felt her mouth dry as she dragged her eyes away from his lips to take in the rest of his face. She could feel his heart beating through his chest and he was watching her carefully.
Autumn brought her hands up and drew them across the breadth of his shoulders before drawing them down his back, her fingers smoothing over his tense muscles as she lowered her hands before boldly resting them on his bum. He looked down at her and grinned, his warm breath in her face as he gripped her hip even tighter, his fingers massaging her scalp.
“You were never this daring before.” He whispered as he leant his head down and ghosted his lips over hers. Autumn, had been about to lean forward and press her lips against his when his comment gave her pause.
“Is that going to be a problem?” She asked softly as she slid her hands back up to his shoulders.
“What’s going to be a problem is your boyfriend sitting downstairs waiting for you to return.” He untangled himself from her and stepped away and Autumn looked away from him, her heart beat racing as she thought of Grant who was indeed sitting down stairs and how much it would hurt him if Dominick hadn’t pulled away. And Autumn didn’t doubt that if he hadn’t reminded her she would have completely forgotten about Grant and done something she would later regret.
“I’m going to get one of the girls to come up and give you a hand getting her in the shower.” Dominick said as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Mel. Autumn could only nod mutely as the guilt began to settle in, trying to stop herself from watching his arse as he moved away.
Title: Maraschino
Chapter: Four
Rating: Nc-17 (Not yet, but almost)
Summary: Autumn Richards was just as average and everyday as ever. Then why was Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome still stalking her?
“He’s got good shoulders.” Carrietta commented absently as Autumn felt her chest tighten. She felt like she had been hit in the chest with a bowling ball and was duly winded. Dominick was escorted over to the smoker’s table to be introduced while Autumn struggled to get her thundering heart under control. Edward stood to let Trish sit as the smokers began to wave away all the excess smoke.
“Is he barefoot?” Tara asked while Autumn took a deep, steadying breath. And indeed he was. Dominick was as tall and as attractive as she remembered, but the wrinkled shirt and mussed hair was new. He was barefoot too, exposing the tops of his knees all the way to the tips of his toes. He shuffled his feet occasionally as he reached forward to shake some ones hand.
Dominick turned from the group and began nodding as Edward led him down to the small group of people where Autumn was. Dominick laughed and the rich, low sound made her chest tighten even more. His eyes locked onto hers as he approached and he grinned while Autumn nervously clutched the fabric of her dress in her fist. Her palms were sweating profusely and she had to give up on her calming her erratic heart.
He was just like she remembered, impossibly tall and amazingly pretty in a way only he could be. His hair was a mess, sticking up in all directions and eerily similar to the massive shock of dark hair covering the child’s head. It was hard for Autumn to bear and she had trouble reconciling the boy in the hospital supply closet with the one standing before her, clutching a child to his chest.
“You’ve changed your hair.” He stated as he stopped in front of her chair, reaching out to lift a stray curl off of her cheek.
“I started tinting it a couple years back, and I’ve changed the cut.” Autumn said nervously as the skin of her cheek tingled. He still smelt as sinful as he always did, the same mix of caramelised sugar and grass that tickled her nose and made her breath catch in her throat.
“God, it’s been more than a couple of years hasn’t it.” Dominick said wistfully as he gently began to rock the baby in his arms.
“About five.” Autumn answered, happily taking note of her steady voice.
“Well no introductions needed for you two.” Edward commented, drawing attention away from Autumn and Dominick. Autumn turned away and reached for her drink, hoping to the higher powers that she wasn’t as flushed as she felt.
“We went to school together.” Autumn offered as she brought the bottle up to her lips.
“Well over here we Carrie, Lucy, Tara and Mel. Guys this the new tenant Dominick and his son Dante.” Autumn drew her eyes to the child he was holding and tried to ignore the strange pang she got in her stomach as she took in the altogether appealing vision of him barefoot and toting around a child.
“How old is he?” Lucy asked as the other girls murmured their greetings.
“He has his first birthday in a month. So you know, expect a lot of people related to me around to dote on him.” Dominick said as he took the seat that Edward offered him. He sat like she remembered, slouched down with his knees spread wide as he balanced his son on his knee. The girls were curiously quiet and Autumn watched as his son looked around at them, a pacifier obscuring most of his lower face. He had his father’s eyes, big and blue and shining.
“He’s beautiful.” Tara said as Autumn took another sip of her drink, ignoring the stinging jealousy she felt as Dominick gave Tara a quick once over. Tara leant back in her seat as she recrossed her legs, the fabric of her skirt siding up.
“Thanks.” Dominick said eventually as he kissed the top of the baby’s head. Tara smiled as she reached down to tug at the hem of her skirt. Dominick turned to face her and Autumn stopped, her drink on it’s way up to her lips.
“So Autumn, what have you been up to since graduation?” She gulped, her face heating as he brought his attention to her. He had an all to familiar expression on his face as he studied her intently.
“I went to uni, moved out of home and I now work for the department of health touring schools giving lectures on proper nutrition.” Autumn said quickly before taking a calming gulp of her drink, “And you?”
“I spent a couple of years traipsing through Europe with my brother and his band, I started uni, sired Dante and now I work part time and go to uni on a flexible program.” He answered as he kissed the fluffy tufts of hair gracing Dante’s little head.
“Sired?” Autumn snorted inelegantly as she set her drink down, suddenly conscious of how much she was drinking.
“There’s no other way to put it really.” Dominick said ruefully as he ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up as he began to bounce Dante on his knee.
“Fair enough. What are you studying at uni?” She asked, genuinely curious as she smoothed down the bodice of her pink dress.
“Medicine and eventually neurology. I’ll go back to full-time study once Dante’s old enough to go to school himself.” Dante responded to his name by whooping gleefully, nearly dislodging his pacifier as he looked up at his father. Dominick chuckled as he ruffled his son’s hair.
“Neurology? Does that mean you’re like super smart?” Melanie asked as she reached down to massage the back of her ankles where her too tight shoes had caused blisters. Melanie stumbled and her head slid into Lucy’s lap. Lucy grinned and smoothed Mel’s hair away from her forehead, encouraging her not to move.
“Not necessarily. I just worked hard to get into the course and I’m going to continue to work hard.” He answered as he shifted in his seat.
“Good money in neurology right?” Lucy asked as she combed her fingers through Mel’s hair.
“Excellent money in neurology.” He replied as Melanie groaned pitifully. A question about his sister formed in Autumn’s mind and she had to bite down hard on her tongue to stop from asking it. She bit down too hard on her tongue and she could taste the bitter tang of blood in her mouth.
“Fucking hell.” Autumn burst out. She looked around the group around her, blushing as Dominick covered his son’s ears, pressing him into his chest. She pointed to her sore tongue trying to indicate the source of her discomfort.
“Are you done?” He asked and Autumn nodded trying to hide her embarrassment as she looked down at her shoes.
“Are you okay? The last time I heard you swear was when you and Grant very nearly broke up.” Lucy said as Mel hid her face against Lucy’s thigh.
“You and Grant nearly broke up?” Tara asked as Autumn tried to ignore the coppery taste in the back of her throat.
“Once, when he kissed a girl from work.” Autumn answered.
“Did he just kiss her or did they…?” Carrie asked.
“Just kissed.”
“Grant, the guy in the purple?” Dominick asked as he indicated behind them. Edward had made his way up to the smokers’ table and was leant over Trish’s chair kissing her as Elliott continued to be pushed on the swing nearby.
“It’s not purple its lilac.” Autumn pointed out.
“That’s still purple.” He said shrugging. Autumn frowned at him, her question and sore tongue forgotten.
“That’s such a boy thing to say.” Lucy said.
“Second floor.” Melanie said as she struggled into a standing position, rolling out of Lucy’s lap.
“Mel, are you okay?” Lucy asked.
“I’m fine.” Mel said as she stood upright. Autumn peered closely at her face before glancing down to her feet. Autumn stood and slid her heels off, pushing them under her seat as she reached out to steady Melanie.
“You going to the second floor?” Dominick asked as he came to his feet and reached a hand out and gripped Mel’s waist.
“I’m sleep.” Mel answered as she swatted their hands away.
“Oh really.” Dominick said as Mel began to stumble towards the building. Autumn followed her, gripping her arm as Dominick kept his hand steady on Mel’s waist. He had Dante anchored to his hip as he awkwardly tried to keep her from stumbling into him.
“Hey Edward could you take Dante for a minute.” Edward stood as they approached and took Dante from Dominick while Melanie swayed on the spot. Dominick had to take his hand from Mel’s hip and he paused when he turned back to her, hands outstretched.
“Are your intentions honourable?” Melanie asked as she leant against Autumn for support.
“No, Autumn and I are going to take advantage of you.” He answered with a snort while Edward walked over to Elliott to introduce Dante to the boy.
“That’s okay then.” Mel said, fishing in her pocket before pulling out her keys. She shoved them at Autumn while Dominick blinked at them.
“Well yeah, that’s safe.” He took a cautious step forward.
“I trust Autumn.” Mel brought a hand up to pat Autumn’s cheek, her manicured nails narrowly missing Autumn’s eye.
“In that case.” Dominick bent and in one swift movement scooped Mel up in his arms.
“Oh okay.” Autumn stepped back, fully aware of Mel’s wildly swinging feet.
“Can you please show me to her apartment.” He requested, nodding at the keys in Autumn’s hands.
“Oh sure.” Autumn said flustered.
“Alright Honey are you going to be sick?” Dominick asked Mel, jostling her a little as Autumn held the door to the stairwell open to him.
“Nope.” Mel answered with a giggle as they began the ascent up the stairs. They were silent the rest of the way up and Autumn once again held the door to the hallway on the second floor open. Melanie and Marcus’ apartment was located beneath Autumn’s and like her apartment had a troublesome lock.
“Have you had trouble with your front door yet?” Autumn asked as she struggled with the deadbolt on the front door.
“What kind of trouble?” Dominick answered as Autumn cursed under her breath.
“The building’s pretty old and in summer the timber warps and the locks stick.” Autumn threw her weight beneath her shoulder and pushed against the key, the deadbolt sliding open with a click.
Autumn stumbled into the apartment and held the door open, quickly brushing her bare feet against the welcome mat. Dominick turned sideways to get Melanie through althogh he also paused to rub his feet against the mat.
“Mel, darl, which room is yours?” Autumn asked as Dominick set her down and cradled her body against his chest. Mel was a lot drunker than she had initially thought and she glanced around the cluttered living room anxiously.
Mel didn’t answer, instead burying her face in the crook of Dominick’s neck as she gripped his shirt tightly. Dominick patted the small of her back as Autumn crossed to the bedrooms and opened the first door she came across.
It was the pink Playboy cover that did it. Autumn waved Dominick over and he wrapped his arms around Mel’s waist and lifted her up, her feet dangling a few centimetres of the ground as he carefully guided his way around the apartment. Mel curled up into a ball as soon as she was set down on her bed and Dominick looked away as her dress hitched up at the back.
“I’ll get her a glass of water.” He left the room and Autumn knelt by the bed and gently coaxed Mel out of her ball and rolled her onto her back.
“Mel honey, lift your hips.” Autumn said firmly as she slid her hands underneath Mel’s dress to roll her stockings down. Mel dropped her hips as soon as her stockings hit mid thigh and Autumn awkwardly rolled the nylon down the rest of her legs. She had gotten Mel’s stockings down to her calves when Dominick returned, a glass of water in his hand.
“Come here honey.” Dominick came to stand beside the bed and leant down, a calm hand on Mel’s side to try and coax her into an upright position. She struggled into a sitting position, gripping Dominick’s shirt as he gripped her jaw and poured the water into her mouth. Autumn could hear her gulping down the water as she rolled the stockings off of Mel’s feet. She balled up the fabric and tossed them aside, standing up at the same moment Dom pulled away from Mel.
They collided painfully, Dom’s elbow colliding with the top of her head and the water in his hand spilt down the front of Autumn’s dress. They both swore and Mel ignored them both, flopping back onto the bed with a content sigh. Dominick gripped the hem of his dark shirt and began to dab at the water that was seeping through the pink cotton. He muttered his apologies under his breath as he mopped up the water with his shirt.
Something in the air changed and Autumn found herself watching Dominick’s lips as his hand dropped to her hip. His fingers dug into the soft skin there as he tugged her flush against his chest. His other hand came up and threaded his fingers through her hair, tugging gently to tilt her head up towards him. Autumn felt her mouth dry as she dragged her eyes away from his lips to take in the rest of his face. She could feel his heart beating through his chest and he was watching her carefully.
Autumn brought her hands up and drew them across the breadth of his shoulders before drawing them down his back, her fingers smoothing over his tense muscles as she lowered her hands before boldly resting them on his bum. He looked down at her and grinned, his warm breath in her face as he gripped her hip even tighter, his fingers massaging her scalp.
“You were never this daring before.” He whispered as he leant his head down and ghosted his lips over hers. Autumn, had been about to lean forward and press her lips against his when his comment gave her pause.
“Is that going to be a problem?” She asked softly as she slid her hands back up to his shoulders.
“What’s going to be a problem is your boyfriend sitting downstairs waiting for you to return.” He untangled himself from her and stepped away and Autumn looked away from him, her heart beat racing as she thought of Grant who was indeed sitting down stairs and how much it would hurt him if Dominick hadn’t pulled away. And Autumn didn’t doubt that if he hadn’t reminded her she would have completely forgotten about Grant and done something she would later regret.
“I’m going to get one of the girls to come up and give you a hand getting her in the shower.” Dominick said as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Mel. Autumn could only nod mutely as the guilt began to settle in, trying to stop herself from watching his arse as he moved away.