Bent (10 page)

"So, Micah, did Joel extend an invitation for dinner?" Everything about Amy Bryant was a little too polished. She seemed like she would be more at home living in Brentwood, Tennessee than Brooklyn, and that was a stretch. Julia had some very good friends from Brentwood who didn't seem to be nearly as pretentious as she found Amy in their first meeting. How did a woman like that wind up married to someone as pleasant as Joel?

Micah nodded, "He invited Julia to join us too," he responded, pulling Julia close to his side. It was obvious he wanted there to be no mistake that Julia held some significance in his life. What that was was the big question.

Amy tried, and failed, to hide the astonished look that swept over her face, "Of course...it's nice to meet you, Julia." The woman's handshake was limp. Julia reminded herself to be kind to Micah's friends and stopped her eyes when she felt them rolling into the back of her head.

Calling every ounce of city charm she'd adopted while she and Josh had moved around the country, Julia smiled smugly, "Likewise."

The trio chatted as they unloaded the truck and Amy told Micah that dinner would be served at six before offering to let Caleb stay at their house so Micah could catch up on the work he'd been hoping to finish for the weekend. Micah thanked her as he hopped into the truck.

Julia closed her eyes while Micah drove her home. Three days ago, she was on the Interstate, driving through Illinois, wondering how she was going to get used to having no one to answer to and no one to come home to. Since she drove through town on Thursday night, the hours leading to Friday morning were the only hours she'd spent alone.

"You know I'm not going to get the rest of the porch replaced today, right?" he asked as they pulled into the driveway. "The tenant at this place is a real witch about me starting work early in the morning, so I was behind from the moment I started."

Julia's chest heaved with a restrained laugh, "I'll talk to her about it."

Since there was no way to pull up the floor of the porch and replace it before they had to leave for dinner, Julia helped Micah clear space in the garage for the cut lumber and his tools. Once everything was organized, they stood in the driveway while both tried to figure out what was next. When neither of them spoke, Julia reached for Micah's hand and led him into the house. There was no game plan, no expectations.

The air around them crackled with anticipation as they silently walked to the living room. She sat on the couch and invited him to sit next to her. Micah removed his boots and pulled her from her seat. Once he was laying on the couch, he pulled Julia to him and she sank in-between him and the back of the couch. They fell asleep in each other's arms, legs intertwined.

Some time later, she felt Micah stir beneath her. Without hesitation, she brushed his jaw with her lips. A low groan fell from Micah's mouth as she trailed kisses from the edge of his goatee to the tender hollow below his ear. She pulled her head back to take in the serene look on his face as he laid with his eyes closed. 

Micah sighed again, pulling Julia onto his chest as he shifted to his back. The full body contact sent shockwaves straight to Julia's core. It had been years since such simple movements caused this type of reaction within her. She brushed the hair from Micah's face and continued to deliver feather-light kisses across his forehead, then one to the tip of his nose. Her breath caught when she saw the longing in Micah's eyes.

The moment she brought her lips to his, the passion exploded. He gently bit her lower lip before sliding the tip of his tongue to meet hers. When she didn't resist, he allowed his tongue to explore more, tenderly sweeping around hers before he felt her gently sucking his tongue deeper into her mouth.

Micah's calloused hands reached under Julia's shirt, caressing her sides. Her back arched as she felt his thumbs slide over the top of her cotton bra.

"You're going to have to tell me when it's too much," Micah groaned through staggered breaths. "I've waited so long to touch you again, I won't be the one to say no."

As he placed gentle kisses at the corners of her mouth, Julia whispered, "I'm not saying no either."

She tugged at the hem of his t-shirt needing to feel his bare skin against hers. Micah shifted their bodies so he could sit up without breaking their embrace. Before leaning back on the couch, he slid his hands up her back to unclasp her bra. Julia leaned back as he slid the straps from her shoulders allowing him to take in the sight of her swollen breasts.

Micah kissed and nipped his way down Julia's neck to her chest until he slowly took one taut nipple into his mouth. She moaned as his tongue teased his way around the sensitive tip. Her panties were drenched in anticipation. There would be time for taking it slow later. Right now, she needed him.

Julia hurriedly worked on the stud on Micah's jeans, "Do you still carry one... in your... wallet?" she whispered between deep kisses. Micah nodded in confirmation and Julia reached under him.

Micah sat on the couch with Julia straddled across his lap. "Baby, not here..." she swallowed hard at his words.

"I swear, I'll kill you if you stop now," Julia warned. She was past the point of no return.

Pulling away from her, Micah pointed to the front of the house. "No... curtains..." he said as he pulled Julia from the couch as he stood. With her legs wrapped around his waist, Micah carried Julia to her bed.

By the time they reached Julia's queen size sleigh bed, clothes were flying across the room. Micah stepped out of his jeans and navy cotton boxers. Julia held her breath as she took in the full sight before her eyes. He was everything she remembered and so much more. Gently, he slid her loose-fitting jeans down her hips and allowed them to pool on the floor with his own.

"Are you sure this is okay?" There was a hint of fear swirling with the raw passion in his eyes.

Julia nodded almost imperceptibly as she drew him to her. The frenzied pace from the couch was replaced by tender moments savoring every kiss and caress. When Micah eased himself inside her, they both shuddered at the sensation. For a moment, they were completely still, absorbing the depth of what they were feeling. Julia arched her hips, coaxing Micah to make love to her. "I need you," she whispered.

"I've always needed you," Micah responded as he brought his mouth to her neck. Their bodies swayed gently into one another, neither willing to rush the time they had together.

She moaned softly against his mouth as he rocked into her until she felt the world shattering around her. Moments later, Micah thrust deep into her core and followed her over the edge. He braced himself above her, shaking from the explosive climax. Twice, he started to say something and twice he stopped himself.

Micah rolled off Julia and pulled her against his chest, "Was this the day you had planned?" He pulled the hair away from her neck and placed a single kiss on her earlobe.

Chapter Seven

The first half of the week fell into an easy routine. Without Micah banging around the front of the house, Julia was able to sleep until nine or later, enjoy coffee on the porch swing while she checked her email and shuffle into her home office around ten. By mid-afternoon, all of her work for clients was complete and she grew restless in the quiet house.

Luckily, Tom at the diner was typically sitting in the office playing solitaire after the lunch rush and welcomed her company. The first two days she visited with Tom, she noticed Caleb sitting in a corner booth when she left the office. When he was there again on Wednesday, she turned and knocked on the hollow door. "Hey, got a second?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Tom didn't look up from the computer screen.

She hesitated, knowing she was breaking one of Tom's cardinal rules by asking him about someone else's life. "I don't get it." Julia shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Does Caleb come here after school every day?"

Tom folded his glasses and set them on the desk. He waved for Julia to take a seat. She did because even though she was now a grown woman, she knew that when he told you to sit, you sat. "Why the sudden interest in the boy?"

Why was she so interested? It was a good question, one she didn't have the answer to. A big part of it was that she felt they were tied by the bond of having crappy moms, but would that be enough if he wasn't Micah's son? "It just seems strange that he's here every day after school. Why doesn't he just go home?"

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose like he did when he didn't want to get into a conversation. She couldn't blame him since she had no right to pry. "He got into some trouble over the summer. He worked off what he owed me, but then he asked if he could keep coming in. Personally, I think he doesn't like being stuck out on the farm with Mrs. Turner." He put his glasses back on and turned back to the computer. The conversation was over. "Oh, and Julia, please be careful."

Julia pulled the keys out of her patchwork hobo bag and started for the door. She detoured towards the corner booth where Caleb was engrossed in the latest book in the
Hunger Games
series. He flashed a half-smile in Julia's direction and then went back to reading.

She couldn't imagine anything that would make sitting in a stuffy diner more appealing than relaxing at home. Against her better judgment, Julia approached the table. "Hey, I was thinking about calling your dad and inviting the two of you over for dinner tonight."

The boy's eyes narrowed as he closed the book in front of him. "Why?"

There was a bitterness in his voice that threw Julia off for a minute. It was a good question, why was she inviting them to dinner at her place? When she and Micah talked Sunday night, they'd decided to slow things down a bit. He didn't want to rush into anything that could hurt Caleb and Micah wanted her to know she could trust him again. So why was she once again throwing caution to the wind, this time by inviting his impressionable, perceptive son to come home with her?  "I figured it has to suck sitting around here waiting for him to get off work and, unless things have changed since we were all kids, your dad sucks in the kitchen."

She knew that Micah wasn't bad in the kitchen, he simply lacked in the creativity department. There were plenty of nights after her mom left when Micah came to make dinner for Adam when their dad was working late. Maybe this was a sort of payback. He had taken care of her brother, now she was going to take care of his son.

"He's not that bad," he said defensively. In front of her eyes, it seemed the boy who she figured for a misunderstood sweetheart was turning into a moody tween.

"So, are we going or not?" Julia asked pointing to the door.

"Sure, whatever."

Caleb packed his books and they walked to Julia's car. The unlikely pair stopped by the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for lasagna. When she had realized she had nothing in the house that would feed more than just herself, Julia had offered to make whatever Caleb wanted. Before her mom had flaked out on them, Julia remembered how much she liked the nights she got to plan the dinner menu. She wanted to give that to Caleb now. With everything they needed for the lasagna, garlic bread, a salad and dessert packed into the car, they headed home.

Julia called Micah to let him know what was going on. He wasn't thrilled with the idea at first, worried that Caleb would start asking questions. He'd been through a lot and Micah wanted to protect him from getting hurt. Once Julia reminded him how he had taken care of Adam when he wasn't much older than Caleb, Micah relented.

"What was that all about?" Caleb asked when she got off the phone. Julia realized why Micah was concerned. His son didn't miss anything and he knew there was something being said between the lines of the conversation. Julia thought about how to approach the situation for a moment and then told him about her mom leaving them when she was sixteen. She left out the fact that she and Micah were dating at the time. Instead, she told Caleb that Micah had come over to make dinner for her brother when she and her dad worked late. Luckily, it was enough to satisfy Caleb's curiosity and they drove the rest of the way in peace.

Caleb loaded the grocery bags onto his arms and was waiting on the back deck by the time Julia finished locking the car and checking the mailbox. She showed him to the kitchen and told him he could go relax for a while. When he asked if it would be okay for him to help in the kitchen, she eagerly accepted the help. She hated the veil of secrets but loved having time to see what type of man Micah was by watching how he'd raised his son. As Caleb helped layer the ingredients into a baking pan, he looked relaxed and there was a brightness in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. Whatever was going on, keeping his mind off of his problems was helping. At least for now. She had to remind herself that he didn't know her and it wasn't right to pry.

Micah rang the doorbell shortly after seven. Julia pulled her hair back into a ponytail as she walked to the front of the house. Her heart melted when she opened the door and saw Micah holding a bouquet of daisies in one hand and a box from her favorite chocolate shop in the other. He brushed his lips across her cheek as he walked through the door.

She saw him look past her to see if Caleb was within view. He set down the flowers and chocolates, freeing both hands to pull her close. After a lingering kiss he whispered, "Thanks for inviting us."