“I don’t want his money.” Out of everything I said, this iswhat she replies. I shouldn’t be surprised, yet somehow, I am.
“Listen to what the guy has to say and go from there, but, kitten, think about what it can do to help you. I know that while you’re a hard worker, your ultimate goal is finishing your degree. Think long-term and go from there.” Fuck, she could take what she needs, put a little bit away for a cushion, and donate the rest.
“Fine. The appointment is tomorrow? What time and how?” She isn’t convinced yet.
“Video, and ten o’clock was the earliest I could arrange.”
“I’ll go call Ophelia. I’m still on the fence about the other stuff, and I hate to admit this, but you’re right.” Letty stands up, her pussy hovering right at my mouth, and I place my hands on her thighs to steady her. I also can’t hold back from licking at her pretty, puffy lips, wanting her flavor on my tongue as much as possible. Her hands find purchase in my hair, and I take my time tasting her until she’s coming on my mouth, cheeks, and chin.
“You ready for this?” I squeeze Letty’s hand the next morning. We’re sitting at the desk in my home office, she’s in the chair, and I’m sitting off to the side.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She worries her thumb with her teeth, and I have half a mind to pull that hand away, when the screen switches to showing an older gentleman wearing a button-down shirt and tie. This must be Arnold Schmidt, the attorney handling the case. Whereas I’d havemy secretary on the call first, he does things a little differently.
“Hello, Miss. Ashmoor, Mr. Carlisle. I’m Arnold Schmidt, and I have a few documents to go over. This shouldn’t take much time at all. Any questions you may have, I’ll answer them to the best of my ability. Does that sound alright?”
“Yes, thank you.” I nod, staying silent while wishing I could have the documents in front of me to read over. I’m about to ask if they can be sent when Letty does it for me. “Will you please send any papers to Matthew’s email? I’d like to see them in front of me, if possible.” I squeeze her hand in acknowledgement.
“Yes, of course. You’ll need them regardless to sign as it stands. Now, your mother and stepfather had a few investments as well as a life insurance policy. In light of Joshua’s passing, it was brought to my attention that your inheritance from your mother, where you were to wait until the age of twenty-one, would be null and void. You’re now eligible to have what your mother left behind in her passing. A total of seventy-five thousand dollars.” Letty looks from Schmidt to me. The hand I’m not holding covers her mouth as tears springing to her eyes, and her chest moves in a way that I know when this call is over, she’ll need me. “Joshua’s is a little bit more difficult, because the home and belongings, minus your mom’s jewelry, are being sold back to the state to cover the back taxes he owed. As long as everything is paid back, which it looks like it will after the appraiser sent me the documents, you should receive an additional one hundred thousand dollars,” Schmidt finishes. Letty turns her body into mine, clawing at my shirt,trying to get as close to me as possible. I lift her out of her chair to place her in my lap. My arms wrap around her body. She’s shaking and crying, deeply emotional, and saturating my shirt.
“Thank you. Is there anything else?” I try to wrap this up so I can tend to Letty.
“That’s all. I’ll send you the documents, and as soon as those are filled out, we can transfer her mother’s portion and then later on her stepfather's. I know this is a lot, especially after what you’ve told me. Please accept my apologies once again.” I finish the conversation and hit the end button before I slide one arm beneath Letty’s knees, the other around her waist, her arms are already around my neck, and I stand up.
“Hold on for me, kitten. Gonna get us somewhere comfortable and hold you through this pain,” I mutter quietly near her ear. She’s breaking my damn heart. Sadly, this isn’t something I can fix for her. All I can do is hold her through it.
The minute we’re in the bedroom, my knee hits the mattress, and I situate us so that she’s facing me, her leg thrown over my waist, and my leg wedged between her thighs. I keep Letty in my arms while I reach for the duvet. Neither of us bothered with making the bed. I couldn’t give a single fuck about the damn thing, and Letty was too busy pacing the floors awaiting this call.
“Matthew.” I feel her rub her face along my shirt, probably abrading her smooth skin in the process.
“I’m right here, Letty.” My lips brush against her forehead. She lifts her head, eyes searching for mine.
“All of that, well, it brought everything up, and I need to tell you something. Life’s too short. I, well, I love you.”
“Fuck, Letty, I love you, too. It’s not too soon or too fast. Nobody can dictate how or when you fall in love. When it’s right, it’s right.” She barely lets me get the rest of my words out before her lips are sealed to mine, she’s climbing into my lap, and we end up in bed for the remainder of the morning, only getting up when it’s absolutely necessary.
19
LETTY
“Are you sure they’re going to like me?” I ask Matthew as we’re walking around the back of Jude and Ronnie’s place. It’s the Sunday after speaking to the attorney about my inheritance, and I sat on it for a few days, mulling over what to do and how to do it. In the meantime, Matthew looked everything over and allowed me time to process, as long as it wasn’t in a different house. Which then led me to the next subject I talked to him about earlier today. The girls and I sat down yesterday when I stopped by to grab more clothes. They are piling up at Matthew’s, yet he didn’t seem to mind.
Mischa and Liv had the same thought in mind when it came to the rent increase. While at first, we were all okay with dealing with the three-hundred-dollar monthly hike, now that everyone seems to be doing their own thing on the weekends, it doesn’t make much sense for us to stay together anymore. My stomach sank to my toes, and while I havemoney put away that I can use for a place of my own, I was really hoping to go part-time at work, focus on school, and use my inheritance as a cushion.
It sucked seeing our group come to a close in the form of living together, even if I’m more of an outsider for trying to keep to myself.
“Kitten, you’ve met Crew, and you’ve met a few of the others as well around town. Plus, I love you, so they’ll love you,” Matthew tries to reassure me. While he’s carrying the platter of macaroni and cheese, I have absolutely nothing to do with my hands, meaning I’ve got my thumb at my mouth, trying to refrain from biting my nail. It’s a horrible habit I’ve developed, one I’m trying to kick, but sometimes, my nerves get the best of me. “If for any reason you feel uncomfortable, we’ll leave. I doubt that will happen, though, as soon as you meet the girls. You’ll see.”
There’s no time like the present. The minute Matthew opens the side gate, we’re bombarded with open arms.
“Hey, Letty, I’m Ronnie. Come with me, and I’ll introduce you to everyone else.” She loops her arm through mine, guiding me through the throng of guys who are near a table, some standing and some sitting. “You can meet the rest of them later. We girls are inside.”
“Oh, okay. It’s nice to meet you. Matthew has talked about his friends for a long time, and Jude has helped out a lot. I’m really thankful, and I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to finally meet you all.”
“No apologies necessary. I only met them when I did because they came into the bar I worked at, and even then, it wasn’t all of them. Much like you, we ended up meeting atone of these gatherings, and I’m pretty sure all the other girls did, too. Well, maybe not Lennie, she was the first girl brought into the group, so it wasn’t as big as say you or me meeting them,” Ronnie explains as we enter through the kitchen.
“I can imagine. From what Matthew tells me, everyone is settled down, minus Crew.” I don’t add anything more to the story, even though Matthew has mentioned he thinks a woman is involved at his office, and it’s riling him up.
“For sure. Ahem, ladies, allow me to introduce you to Letty. Letty, from left to right, you have Macie, whose man is Tysen, and she’s clearly pregnant. They work together at Vaughn Air Elite. Then you have Rory, Jude’s sister and my live-in best friend. She’s in high school and is damn smart.” Rory laughs at Ronnie’s remark.
