Heist

The epilogue

Ryan handed a wedge of bills over to the cab driver and told him to keep the change. The change in the man's surly demeanour was instantaneous and he suddenly shouted after him to have a good night.

Ryan jogged up the front steps, managing to trip over his own feet when he reached the top. He stumbled but managed to right himself before he face planted. He gave the steps a filthy look as he smoothed down his shirt and rubbed each of his boots in turn against the back of his jeans. Satisfied he looked presentable he leant on the doorbell. After a minute of him standing squinting through the glass of the door a light came on and the door opened.

"Taaaylor." He stood upright. "Hi"

"You do know it's two thirty in the morning?" Taylor pulled her robe around her body.

"Oh…. it is? Did I w…wake you?"

"Yes you woke me but luckily for you once my mother takes her Mogadon and puts her eye shade on nothing wakes her bar an earthquake." Taylor stepped aside to let him pass. He knocked into her as he walked. "Are you drunk?" she asked, as the smell of stale beer and smoke radiated off his body.

Ryan held up his thumb and forefinger and narrowed them to an inch. "Maybe just a little bit." He smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, it was your night out with California's finest. I take from the look on your face that it was a roaring success."

Ryan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against his body.

"Uh-huh." he mumbled into her neck as he nuzzled his lips behind her ear.

It had been a good night. No, scratch that. It had been a great night. After his vacation things had improved more than he'd hoped for. He'd had a mild seizure in Texas but instead of it sending everything spinning on its axis again it had actually cemented his determination that the epilepsy was not going to rule his life.

Taking his meds was becoming the norm to him and they were no longer making him feel like hell anymore. They still kicked his ass but it was something he was learning to cope with now.

His physical therapy was finally coming to an end, he was no longer getting names and dates muddled and his speech was almost back to normal now, he only really had problems if he was stressed or really tired now.

After his vacation he'd felt renewed, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and the night out with Marco signaled his return to the world and he was ready for it. He'd been fairly sensible and the couple of beers that his doctor grudgingly acquiesced to had become several bottles over the course of the evening. Unfortunately, because he hadn't drunk in so long and because he was on medication, the Coors hit him hard. He was certainly feeling no pain at the moment.

Being with Marco and half the force (or so it seemed) was a good move. His age was most definitely forgotten for the evening and no one dared ask for an i.d with the entourage he was trailing. It had been a fun night. Ryan had made over a hundred bucks playing several of the younger cops at pool, the older cops had caught early on that he was a shark and laughed behind their beers as Ryan played the age old game of losing and then surprisingly powering through to thrash them and clear out their wallets. It had reminded him of many past evenings spent in Chino with Trey and Arturo except he was sure this evening wouldn't end with a drunken fight. Marco had also made good on his word and they had ended the night at a strip club. Several lap dances later Ryan had to take his leave from his new friends with a promise that they would indeed do this again. And hence why Ryan was standing in Taylor's house in the early hours of the morning.

"So is this just a booty call, Mr Atwood?" Taylor laughed.

"You bet it is." Ryan said emphatically as he backed her up against the wall.

"Oh. My first ever!" she said between kisses. "But won't the Cohens be wondering where you are?"

"For once I have a c…cast iron alibi, a dozen cops holding my hand making sure I don't get into trouble." He laughed. "I told them not to wait up."

"So you didn't get into trouble, huh?" Taylor asked sternly as she reached up and turned his head. "So that isn't lipstick on your cheek?"

Ryan had the good grace to blush as he recalled the young stripper who'd bird-dogged him into the men's room at the behest, he suspected, of Marco. Ryan was just frantically trying to think of a suitable excuse to explain why he had 'Rouge Rebel' smeared across his cheek but Taylor started giggling and he realized that she was not making it an issue, rather she was delighting in making him squirm. He caught her bottom lip between his teeth re-igniting the flame in his groin. Ryan pushed his hands under the elastic of her pajamas letting his hands roam over the warm, silky skin of her ass.

"Oh I could have gotten into a lot of trouble but I realized that there was really only one woman I wanted." He'd obviously said the right thing because Taylor pulled him down the hallway into the den, kissing him as they went. She pushed him up against the closed door and was working on the opening of his jeans before he could even focus. Her nimble fingers pulled him free and her mouth was wrapped around his hardness in a flash. Her tongue and hand worked their relentless magic in tandem, as she bobbed and twisted her head and used just the right amount of spit to ensure her mouth slid up and down his cock with an ease that blew his mind. She paused and delicately wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. Looking up at him she regrouped before attacking the task at hand again. His balls tightened as she flicked her tongue up the sensitive underbelly of his dick, causing him to slam his head back hard against the door and groan with pleasure. He had to use every ounce of drunken self-control he possessed to make this last but Taylor's sultry tawny eyes staring up at him were certainly making his job difficult. Ever since Theresa let slip that when she dated a man she wasn't really into she sometimes fantasized that she was blowing someone else, well, it had made him more than a little paranoid, but the way Taylor looked at him it was clear that she wasn't thinking about a previous boyfriend or a film crush.

And as much as Ryan just wanted to let go with the building orgasm that was currently working its way up from his toes, he also wanted Taylor. He really, really wanted Taylor. The past two hours had been spent thinking of nothing else although that hadn't been a tall order considering he'd been focusing on the stacked blonde who'd been grinding at his groin and the series of desirable women sliding down poles. Ryan placed his hand on Taylor's shoulder and pushed her backwards as he knelt down and slowly crawled down her body. He unbuttoned the tiny pearl buttons on her pajama top, enjoying the strange juxtaposition between the childlike pink fluffy cow printed material and the way Taylor was breathing heavily whilst sucking her index finger as she watched.

He licked and sucked each of her nipples as she writhed underneath him. He teased each bud with his teeth as Taylor ran her fingers through his hair. He worked his way down her body pulling down her pajama bottoms as he went. He sucked and bit at the soft flesh of her thighs. She made impatient little mews that sent his dick throbbing. He kicked at his shoes and pushed his pants off with one hand. He sat up and pulled his shirt off over his head, Taylor hungrily pulled him down on top of her. He pushed himself into her in one quick fluid motion; she was so wet, felt so right to him. Soon they were fucking to the same frantic rhythm, Ryan praying that Mrs. Townsend didn't wake up and come to investigate the feral noises they were making. His knees were starting to hurt and he suspected that both he and Taylor would be sporting some impressive rug burns in the morning. Maybe Taylor was thinking the same thing because she sat up and told him that she wanted to be on top. He had no problem with that, no problem at all. They shifted, pushing clothes and boots out of the way.

Taylor bounced and ground her hips, leaving Ryan to do nothing but grip her hips and lose himself in the moment. Taylor's lips parted and she shut her eyes; he could feel her tighten around him, her cunt clenching as her muscles spasmed. The added pressure sent his world spinning and he came with a series of juddering spurts. After a pause they both started laughing. She got up and gathered their clothes up in her arms. She held her hand out to him and led him up the stairs into her room.

Ryan loved the relationship he had with Taylor.

He was also suspecting that he was falling for her…hard.

It was a good feeling.

"So please tell me Marco is not responsible for that rather large love bite you're now sporting on your neck?" Sandy asked innocently as Ryan sat down at the breakfast table and grabbed a bagel.

"Hey, man, I know he was grateful to you but…." Seth grinned.

Ryan's hand flew to the sore purple mark and covered it.

"I stayed at Taylor's last night." He mumbled, looking at Sandy and Seth as if they were crazy.

"So, we've all noticed you and Taylor are very cosy these days." Sandy waggled his eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah we're good." Ryan answered.

"Ryyaaaan and Taylor up a tree k…i…s…s…i…n…g…" Seth started singing.

"Are you ten years old, Seth?" Ryan scoffed as Kirsten tried to hide a smile behind her teacup. Ryan gulped down his meds with a mouthful of orange juice.

"I'm off to the salt mines." Sandy got up and grabbed his brief case. "I'm still meeting you for lunch, Ryan?"

Ryan responded by raising his hand and nodding as he took a large chew out of his bagel.

Kirsten watched as Ryan punched Seth in the arm with a happy smile on his face. Seth continued to tease Ryan about Taylor.

"Seth!" she admonished, knowing damn well that he'd take no notice.

Since coming back from their vacation the atmosphere in the house had changed.

They were no longer four adults living under the same roof. It was like they had finally gelled as a family.

Sandy parked his car and hopped out. He was late. He looked around to see if he could see Ryan and saw him leaning against the wall of a bookshop watching the world go by. Sandy caught his eye and Ryan waved. Sandy crossed the road at a jog apologizing as he went.

"Sorry, sorry, I lost track of time." Sandy blustered, but Ryan seemed unconcerned.

"So what do you want for lunch?" Ryan asked. "Pizza, seafood or Mexican?"

"I could kill for a burrito right now but don't tell Kirsten. I'm supposed to be laying off."

"My lips are sealed." Ryan laughed as they walked towards 'Cilantro's, Sandy's burrito heaven of choice.

They talked easily as they ambled along the board walk. Sandy listened as Ryan talked about Berkeley. He'd deferred his starting for six months but was already halfway through the reading list they'd sent. Sandy felt that things were finally coming together for Ryan. He seemed more relaxed than he'd ever been, less closed off and for once he openly talked about his hopes and plans for the future.

Sandy had never felt more proud of someone in his life.

Ryan moved onto the topic of Taylor. By the look on his face it was clear he was smitten.

For once Sandy was content to listen, as there was no need to warn Ryan about getting in deep with this girl.

Sandy sidestepped a young lady who was more interested in her cell phone than looking where she was going. He looked up and noticed something up ahead he watched, keeping one ear open to what Ryan was saying. Two women were walking towards them but it wasn't them that Sandy was looking at. It was the two men who were walking closely behind; they were glancing at each other and taking much too much interest in the designer handbags casually thrown over the women's shoulders in his book.

As quick as a flash the men lurched forward and grabbed at the bags. Both women screeched but stood still clearly in shock as to what had just happened as the men ran off.

Ryan was already running.

Sandy was behind him but Ryan had youth and twenty odd years on his side.

Sandy should have guessed that Ryan had also noticed something was up. Ryan was the most observant person he knew and they were women…everyone knew that Ryan had an inbuilt savior alarm when it came to the ladies.

Sandy ran and was thankful he still surfed, his feet pounding the ground as they dodged bystanders and benches.

Ryan caught up first and barrelled into them both. One guy was knocked on the floor but the other turned and threw a punch at Ryan, catching him squarely on the jaw. The thief obviously expected Ryan to go down but Ryan stayed on his feet, the only indication he'd been hit was his head flying backwards. The look on the man's face was a picture…it said 'Oh shit'. Ryan obviously did not have a glass jaw.

Ryan gave his head a quick shake then snatched the purse out of the man's grasp whilst his other hand made a fist and flew. The guy on the floor was up on his feet and heading Ryan's way. Sandy waded in. People scattered, not knowing what was happening but also not wanting to get involved whatever, most carrying on walking. Sandy couldn't tell what was happening, a blur of arms and fists merged into one, but it sure was exhilarating.

The sounds of police sirens and clattering of feet broke up the party. For the first time in his life Sandy found himself being shoved up against a police car having his hands cuffed. He looked over to where the same thing was happening to Ryan and the other guys. Ryan had blood running out of his nose and a gash above his eye, a bruise already forming around his eye. He turned his head and winked at Sandy and smiled the smile of someone who knew that he wasn't in trouble this time.

It took less than five minutes for his and Ryan's cuffs to be removed. The police apologized and took witness statements.

Both women hugged them enthusiastically; Ryan even got kissed and blushed when the word 'hero' was bandied about. Sandy had to admit to rather enjoying the attention even though his knuckles hurt like a bitch.

By the time Sandy had finished with the cops he found Ryan sitting on the sidewalk with a medic attaching steri-strips over his eye. Sandy could already feel the bruises on his own face without looking in the mirror. He walked over and crouched down next to Ryan. He took a coin out of his pocket and flipped it.

Ryan looked at him curiously.

"Heads you tell Kirsten why we both look like we went head to head with Tyson…. tails I do."

Sandy's heart sunk when he lost.

Ryan patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Bad luck!" he chuckled.

Sandy looked desperately at Ryan.

"Best out of three…"

Fin.