Baumgartners Empty Nest (The Baumgartners) Read online

  Miss you, babygirl.

  Carrie sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the text, feeling something take flight in her belly at the sight of Jody’s name on her phone.

  Miss you too. We’re second-honeymooning and mid-life crisis-ing in Petoskey.

  Carrie smiled when Jody texted back: What’s a Petoskey?

  A little northern Michigan town. Bed & Breakfast, very quaint, just checked in. Guess what we drove up in?

  A horse and buggy?

  She giggled, texting back: a Shelby Mustang GT500. Doc splurged.

  Whoa! You weren’t kidding about that mid-life crisis! Did a twenty-year old in a bikini come with it? Or in it?

  Carrie actually laughed at that, texting: Wish you’d come with it. Or in it.

  Me too. Can’t stop thinking about you.

  She closed her eyes, picturing Jody’s face, that mischievous smile. Carrie hadn’t planned this. She hadn’t gone looking for it. She hadn’t even been wanting it, not that she knew, when Jody had found her on Facebook and messaged her just to say hi. She’d fallen into it, like Alice down the rabbit hole, tumbling head over heels until she didn’t know which way was up anymore.

  She heard Doc in the bathroom, humming to himself, and blinked down at her phone screen. She hated keeping things from him. It was the first time she could remember in their marriage that she’d kept something so secret for this long. It was like trying to hold your breath. Eventually, you had to give in.

  I’m going to tell him.

  Carrie watched her text field, those three little dots appearing … indicating that Jody was typing. Then they disappeared.

  Jody texted: Now?

  This weekend. I’m going to tell him. I have to. I can’t do this anymore.

  Are you sure?

  Was she? Carrie jumped when the bathroom door opened, her heart hammering in her chest as if talking to Jody was something she had to hide.

  Gotta go. Talk soon.

  She slipped her phone back into her purse, smiling at Doc as he came out, tucking his shirt back into his jeans.

  “You ready for another little drive?” He leaned down and kissed her, softly, just a brief press of his lips, but she put her arms around his neck, keeping him close.

  “I’d go anywhere with you.” She kissed him longer, breathing in the scent of him, her tongue tracing his lips, hungry.

  “Don’t tempt me,” he growled when they parted, his wife looking at him with greedy, half-closed eyed. “We have reservations.”

  “First dinner, then dessert?” she asked. The long drive up north had left her quite hungry again.

  “First dessert, then dinner.”

  Carrie laughed as he grabbed her ass and pulled her in to another hot, hungry kiss, thinking he was going to make them late for dinner after all.

  But he was quite serious.

  They drove the Mustang through town, top down, to Lundquist’s Chocolatier and Ice Creamery for the best butter pecan in the world. That definitely took the edge off her hunger and they walked back to the car, finishing their cones in the afternoon sunshine.

  “Couldn’t do this with kids, could we, Mrs. Baumgartner?”

  “Eat ice cream?” She snaked her tongue to the bottom of her cone as she got into the passenger seat beside him, sucking out the last bit of sweetness. “Kids love ice cream.”

  “Brat.” He reached over and tickled her and she laughed. “When’s the last time we picked up and took off for a weekend on the spur of the moment?”

  “Point taken.” She smiled, eating the last bit of her cone as he started the car. “Where to now? Oh wait, let me guess—”

  “It’s a surprise,” they said together, laughing.

  Carrie really didn’t care where they were going. She tied her hair back with a Scrunchie, put on her sunglasses, and sighed happily. The sun was warm, the wind loud in her ears with the top down, and her husband’s hand was on her leg as he drove them out of town.

  It didn’t really matter where they ended up, she thought, her fingertips playing in the wind, as long as Doc was with her on the journey.

  * * * *

  Turned out, they had more driving to do, but unlike the trip up I-75, all concrete and passing cars, this drive was the most beautiful one she’d ever been on. The way toward Harbor Springs took them up thirty miles of old trunk-line road with no middle line. They drove through a true “tunnel of trees”—the only place in Michigan allowed to remain untouched by the relentless cutting back of foliage by power and phone companies.

  “Doc, this is like heaven.” She put her hand over his, which had snuck higher up her thigh as the road twisted, meandering through lean, white birch, stunning maples and tall, sturdy oaks. The fall colors were so brilliant in the dappled sunshine, they were literally breathtaking.

  “Only because you’re here.” He squeezed her leg, guiding the Mustang around ‘Devil’s Elbow,’ a turn so sharp it made her gasp, even though he was only going twenty-miles-an-hour, tops. Her little tourist map, procured from a local farmer’s market they’d stopped at on the way—they had cider, donuts and caramel apples in the back seat—said that strange things happened at Devil’s Elbow. It had originally been named by the Native Americans with the loose translation, “Where the Spirits Live.”

  She didn’t know if there were really any spirits, but the place was truly magical, on old Ottawa trail that had been widened over the years by settlers and their wagons, and was now paved for cars. Carrie held her breath every time they passed one—there was barely enough room for two vehicles to go by one another, and there was no shoulder on the road at all, on either side. There were lake houses, of course, some of them very ornate, some more like basic log cabins, but when they passed through state forest, the trees came right up to the edge of the road. She could have reached out and touched tree branches.

  “Look at the water!” She pointed, leaning against Doc’s shoulder as she took in the stunning sight of Lake Michigan through the trees on his side. The sun dazzled the lake’s surface, little diamond points that made her squint, even with sunglasses on. “Oh Doc, it’s so beautiful.”

  “It is,” he agreed, sliding an arm around her and planting a kiss on the top of her head, but he wasn’t looking at the lake. He was looking down at her.

  Carrie put her arms around his neck and feathered kisses there, letting her hand travel up his denim-covered thigh, her fingernails walking slyly over his zipper.

  “Hey!” Doc gasped when she cupped him through his jeans. He might have been surprised, but he was already stiffening under her hand. “There’s nowhere to pull over. Don’t tempt me.”

  “You keep saying that.” She nuzzled his ear, feeling his erection growing. “But I like tempting you.”

  “I know you do.” His hand moved down her shoulder, squeezing her even closer over the console. “My evil temptress.”

  “I hope wherever we’re going has a bed,” she said with a sigh.

  “There’s always the back seat.” He chuckled, glancing in the rear view mirror. “I don’t think Betty will mind.”

  “That’s an awfully small back seat.” She eyed it doubtfully.

  “You can always start without me.” He reached over to cup her breast, thumbing her nipple through her dress.

  “Doc!” She pretended to be shocked, shivering as her nipple hardened under his attention.

  “Lean back.” His hand slipped down the front of her dress, into her bra, his fingers tweaking her nipple, making her moan.

  “Ohhhh Doc...” She did as he asked, leaning back in the seat, arching toward his touch. There were no cars coming toward them, but the road twisted so often, you never knew what was around the next corner.

  “Take your panties off.”

  She gave him a sidelong glance, half-smiling, but she slid her dress up so she could hook her thumbs in the sides, shimmying them down her thighs.

  “Gimme.” He pulled his hand out of her dress, reaching for her underwear. The othe
r, he kept on the wheel.

  She handed them over and blushed when he lifted them to his nose, breathing deep.

  “Fuck, you smell so good.” He had that wolfish look in his eyes. “I want to lick that little pussy.”

  “Drive, mister.” She pointed to the road, where it turned sharply to the right, after a long incline. “Don’t want to wreck this pretty new car on our first road trip.”

  “No, I wanna wreck you.” His hand, her panties still in them, reached under her dress, cupping her mound.

  “Doc!” She bit her lip, feeling him pressing her panties against her pussy, grinding his palm into her. “Anyone who passes will know exactly what you’re doing.”

  “So?” He grinned, lifting his hand and waving her panties at a passing motorcycle caravan. Six big Harleys roared by. This road was perfect for that kind of ride. One of the bikers, grinning underneath his helmet, gave Doc a thumbs up.

  Carrie blushed even redder and smacked him on the arm, but Doc just laughed, whooping and twirling her panties over his head. That only lasted a moment before the wind caught them. Carrie turned, gasping, seeing her underwear caught in a branch on the side of the road, a little dot of yellow growing smaller the further they drove.

  “Doc!” she scolded. “Those were Victoria’s Secret!”

  “I’ll buy you more,” he said to sooth her. “Besides, I know her secret.”

  “Oh yeah?” She crossed her arms, brooding. “What is it?”

  “She’s really a man.”

  “A man?” Carrie rolled her eyes. “With tits?”

  “Actually…” Doc cocked his head, smirking. “That’s kind of hot.”

  Carrie’s breath caught in her throat.

  “You think so?”

  “A chick with a dick?” He nodded slowly, laughing at the look of shock on her face. “Surprisingly, yeah. I think that’s hot.”

  “You never told me that.” She turned toward him, curious. “Is that a turn-on for you?”

  “Well, I’m not gay.” He shrugged. “I’m not even bi. But… I don’t know. Yeah, I guess, it’s kind of a turn on.”

  “Huh.” That was all she could manage.

  They’d had a discussion, early in their relationship, about seeing other people. Carrie had called him out on the double standard—he could be with other women, at least those women that Carrie was also involved with, but she couldn’t be with other men? He’d ultimately relented, albeit reluctantly, but the thing was, she really didn’t want to be with another man. Doc was more than enough man for her, and she’d never felt lacking in that way.

  “It would kind of be the best of both worlds, wouldn’t it?” he asked.

  “You’d like another man fuck me?” That surprised her.

  “No.” He shook his head. “But it wouldn’t be a man, would it?”

  She was so shocked by the turn in their conversation and his response, she almost couldn’t speak. She remembered what she’d texted Jody just before they’d started this drive. She’d made up her mind to do it, to tell him, once and for all.

  Maybe now really was the time.

  “Hey, Doc...?”

  “Hm?” He still seemed lost in thought.

  “I have something to tell you...”

  “Uh-oh.” That got his attention. He glanced sharply her way. “Sounds serious.”

  “Well...” She swallowed. How was she going to say it? Speaking of chicks with dicks…

  Ugh. No.

  “Oh my God.” The color drained from Doc’s face and he swerved slightly, the Mustang veering toward the other side of the road—not that there was far to go. “Are you pregnant?”

  “No!” She laughed covering her face with her hands and shaking her head.

  “Do you… do you want a divorce?” His face paled even more, if that was possible.

  “No!” she cried, gaping at him. “Of course not!”

  “Oh fuck...” His voice dropped and his foot came off the gas for a moment, the car slowing from a creeping thirty-miles-an-hour to twenty. “Is… is it cancer?”

  “Oh my God, no!” She blinked at him, nearly choking on her words. “Will you stop?”

  “Well when the woman you love says, ‘I have to tell you something,’ it usually means she’s about to drop a nuclear bomb...” Doc’s attention shifted back to the road, but his brow was drawn and he hadn’t stopped frowning.

  “It’s not a bomb,” she assured him.

  Except it was. Of course, it was. Telling him that she’d been sexually involved—even long-distance—with a transgendered woman, wasn’t just casual conversation. The moment she told him, things were going to change. And she wasn’t quite sure how. That was the scariest part.

  “Well, what is it?” he prompted.

  “It’s...” She sighed. “It’s nothing.”

  “Nothing?” He snorted. “Do you expect me to believe that?”

  “It’s really nothing.” She shook her head, leaning back in her seat, but she could tell by his sideways glance that he wasn’t going to let it go now that she’d brought it up. But it wasn’t the right time. Not yet, not now. This was Doc’s surprise weekend, and she didn’t want to weigh it down with something they were likely to have some long, involved, serious conversations about.

  “Hey...” He glanced over seeing her leaning back in her seat, slowly hiking up her sundress. “No fair trying to distract me...”

  “No?” She smiled, turning toward him and leaning against the passenger door. She lifted her left foot up onto the seat, letting her knee fall to the side, giving him a full view of her crotch, sans panties. “When have you ever known me to play fair?”

  “Carrie...” His eyes darkened as he watched her hand slip between her legs, one finger sliding down her slippery slit, parting her pussy lips. “You’re bad.”

  “So bad, I’m good?” She reached out with her other hand, taking his off the wheel and bringing it between her legs. “Maybe you want to play a little?”

  “You know I do, little brat.” He looked at her and she knew he understood what she was doing. But neither of them cared now. The moment had passed, the energy shifted. He’d bring it up later, and she’d tell him—she would. But not now.

  “Only if you keep your eyes on the road,” she warned.

  “I promise.”

  His fingers found their way between her legs. She eased back, parting her thighs for him, eyes closing as he circled her clit. The wind whipped her hair, even though it was tied back, little strands of it stinging her cheeks. Her nipples hardened and she rubbed them through the thin material of her sundress, her lace bra brushing over them, sending shivers through her.

  “Feel good, baby?” Doc asked and she heard Jody’s voice asking, too, feel good, babygirl?

  “Yes.” She edged her bottom closer to him, putting her feet up on the console, knees spread, letting his fingers work their magic. He knew just where to touch her, how to make her feel good.

  “Fuck, you’re so hot,” he growled, his fingers rubbing faster, harder, making her squirm in the passenger seat. “Goddamn it, there’s got to be a place to pull over so I can fuck you…”

  “Eyes on the road!” She opened her own, seeing the trees over her head, growing toward one another, reaching across the whole expanse of road so she couldn’t even see the sky.

  “But you’re so beautiful,” he protested, his fingers moving lower, dipping into her pussy and pressing in. “And wet! Christ! You make my cock so hard…”

  “You hard for me, baby?” A slow smile spread over her lips.

  “You have no idea.”

  “I’m gonna find out.” She moved quickly, before he could say anything, kneeling on the passenger seat and unzipping his jeans. His cock sprang free and she took it into her mouth without a word, sucking the precum off the tip, hearing his moan being carried away with the wind.

  “Baby,” he gasped, his hand in her hair, pressing her down on his throbbing length. “Oh fuck…”

  Car
rie moaned when his hand slid down her body, moving underneath and yanking her dress up so he could cup her aching mound. They weren’t going that fast, but the road required quite a bit of concentration, with all its dips and turns, and she worried that they really were going to wreck their brand new baby, especially because the longer she sucked, the louder Doc moaned and the more his hips began to move uncontrollably.

  But she didn’t want to stop. She could taste his precum and wanted more. Her pussy throbbed under the press of his fingers and she wiggled and thrust, aching for more. The car swerved and Carrie gasped, her mouth losing its grip on the head of his cock.

  “Doc!” she cried, looking up and seeing that he had, indeed, found a place to pull over. Or, more to the point, pull into. The Mustang was parked sideways on the grass in a very old cemetery. The headstones were grey with age, the names and dates barely legible.

  “Get over here.” Doc grabbed the edge of his seat and shoved it as far back as it would go, and before she knew what was happening, Carrie was straddling him, sliding his cock deep into her waiting cunt.

  He’d pulled toward the back of the cemetery, away from the road, and there were no cars. They rocked together, Doc’s hands moving under her sundress, tracing the curve of her waist, cupping her breasts as she rode him faster, faster.

  “Fuck, baby,” he groaned as she slammed her pelvis into his again and again. “Fuck! You’re gonna make me come!”

  “Yes,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him, her tongue moving between his lips, feeling her own climax catch up with her in that moment. She shuddered in his lap, his hands reaching around and grabbing her ass as he thrust up, emptying himself into her spasming pussy.

  “Oh God,” she whispered, panting against his neck.

  “Can’t do that with kids around, either.” Doc chuckled, picking colored leaves out of her hair that had fallen from the tree they were parked under.

  “I don’t think I need much more convincing.” She laughed, slowly climbing off him and easing back into the passenger seat.

  Doc tucked himself back in, watching his wife straighten her dress and dig Kleenex out of her purse to clean herself up.

  “Thank God for leather seats,” he said as she pulled her dress down over her knees again.