Girl Code (36 page)
Authors: LD Davis
We could have sent a sympathy card and kept moving on with our lives. Leslie was part of our past, but as I have mentioned before, my husband is a giver, and past or not, Leslie was once my closest friend. We could not ignore the fact that she needed us, even if she didn’t reach out to us and ask for help. Leo and I made more than enough money to share. So we took it upon ourselves to help Leslie out. We wrote her a check and sent it with a note telling her that we were there, that we would always be there if she needed us. We didn’t know how she would react. We didn’t know if she would tear the check up and burn the pieces. We didn’t know if she’d contact us or what she’d say if she did. My hopes were that even if Leslie hated us, that she would still use the money to help herself and her kids, but you never knew about some people, even people you used to know inside and out.
“Do you regret losing your best friend?” Leo asked me as his hand slipped under my shirt. All of these years later, his skin on my skin still burned delightfully.
“I regret losing my best friend,” I admitted. “But if I had to choose to lose her all over again, is it wrong that I would?”
“I don’t think there is a right or a wrong,” Leo said. “Had you chosen to continue to uphold the code and to hang on to your friendship, you may have ended up friendless and single, and all three of us would be unhappy because no matter what, Leslie wasn’t for me. It would have never worked out. At the same time, if you would have chosen that path, maybe you wouldn’t carry the guilt around of hurting your friend, and maybe you would have felt better about your loyalty to her.”
“I am sorry that I hurt her, but I don’t feel…guilty. How can I feel guilty? Look at the beautiful family we have. Feeling guilty would be like wishing I didn’t have any of this, and I’m sure Leslie would do everything all over again if it meant having her kids. I hope that she and her husband were really happy before he died. I hope he loved her even half as much as you love me.”
“I do love you,” he confirmed and kissed my neck. “I love you so much that I’m going to do you a favor and take you out of this shirt.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that a favor for me or you?”
“For you, dolcezza,” he cooed in my ear as he slowly pulled my shirt up my body. “I’m a generous husband, you know. I’m going to do you this favor
and
I’m going to do you the favor of removing these pesky underwear.”
“Well, gosh,” I said as he pulled the shirt over my head. “You really are generous.”
“Mmm hmm,” he murmured as his lips touched my bare back. He moved off of the bed and had me stand up and step out of my panties. “I’ll do two more things for you,” Leo said as he gently pulled me to the other side of the room.
“What’s that?” I asked, pretending to be in suspense.
“I will take off my boxers and I will make love to you, but please,” he held up a hand. “Don’t take advantage of my generosity, Mrs. Pesciano.”
“Oh, Mr. Pesciano, I would never!”
Leo snickered as he slipped out of his boxer briefs, freeing his thick erection. He sat down in a chair, put his hands on my hips, and turned me around. He carefully pulled me back and guided me down until he was sliding inside of me. I let out a breathy moan as I slowly took him in inch by inch. Leo gently pulled me back so that I lay on his shoulder. He kissed me deeply and began to slowly move inside of me. One hand curled possessively around my throat and the other lay softly on my pregnant belly.
My body was so sensitive that every stroke drove me crazy. Every time his tongue moved against mine, I wanted him deeper inside of me. The way his hand curved around my throat made me feel possessed in the most delicious way. His hand rubbing my belly made my love for him boil over. All of this time later and I could not get enough of this man. Ever. He still made my heart flutter. He still made me blush. He still set me on fire.
That electrical heat between us would never be extinguished. It burned too bright and too hot.
I fell over the edge, crying out his name, and in those seconds, nothing else mattered, nothing else existed but us. I sat in his arms, trembling and panting, and wanting more.
“I’ll always want you,” I whisper to him. “I’ll never get enough of you.”
“You will always have me,” he promised. “amore mio, la mia vita.”
My love, my life
.
The End
I was at my best friend’s wedding reception dancing dirty with her husband. I grinded, I shook, and shimmied, and dropped it like it was hot. He got into it, dancing better than most guys I have ever known, and I’ve known quite a few. I dared a glance at his wife. She watched us while laughing, smiling, and clapping. I loved that she knew that I didn’t mean anything by it. I love that she knew how happy I was for her and that I was not trying to screw her husband.
The song changed and he drew me in for a slower paced dance that didn’t require me to shake my ass. Luke Kessler looked ridiculously happy. He was high off of his happiness. It pleased me, and it also made me sad for myself.
“You look really happy,” I said to him.
“I don’t think it’s possible to feel any happier,” he answered with that big, beautiful smile.
How has Emmy survived these panty dropping smiles?
I bit back my own smile and said “Sweet. Cheesy and corny, but sweet. I’ve honestly never seen Em look so happy.”
Emmy was now dancing with her father Fred. I danced with Fred at my wedding, too. He was the only dad I had when I got married.
“I really like you, Luke,” I said, turning my eyes back to my best friend’s husband. “In fact, I love you as much as a girl can love her best friend’s husband without it being scandalous. But…” I trailed off.
Like Emmy, and especially like her mother Sam, I spoke my mind. Speak first, and worry about the consequences later. My words have caused a great deal of trouble over the years. But maybe this wasn’t the time or place to say what I really wanted to say. Luke has been very good to Emmy, with the exception of a few months not that long ago, but that was kind of her fault. I didn’t want him to think that I doubted him, because I didn’t. But like the rest of us, he was only human.
“But?” Luke looked at me questioningly.
“If you fuck this up beyond repair, I will kill you,” I promised.
“I would rather die than to fuck this up beyond repair,” he replied. I felt his body stiffen ever so slightly under my hands.
“We all say that,” I said quietly. “We would rather die than to hurt the ones we love, but we do. She did it to you.” Under my breath, I said “Hell, I’ve done it.”
Luke frowned and looked at me with puzzlement and I realized with horror that he heard my last few words. He looked at my husband Jerry who was paying us no mind. He was surrounded by adoring baseball fans. Even if they were not Philly fans, they were drawn to the professional athlete.
“It’s my wedding day,” Luke said exasperatingly. “I don’t want to talk about that, Donya.”
“I just want you to always be conscious of your actions, Luke,” I said and looked at him very hard. “It’s very easy to find yourself standing on the wrong side of the line without ever meaning to cross it.”
He looked at me, startled. I suddenly felt like the banquet hall was too small. I kissed Luke’s cheek and pulled out of his arms.
“Just remember what I said,” I said in a rush of air.
I whirled around and raced towards the exit. It was January, in Chicago no less, but I felt hot and my palms were sweaty. It was very stuffy inside the building and I was having difficulty breathing. I promised myself I wouldn’t turn around and look. There was no reason to look.
I won’t look.
I was only a few feet from the door. I turned my head and looked.
It is as if there is a magnet that draws my eyes to his exact location every time. My eyes always find him right away, no matter the circumstances.
He looked stunning in his tuxedo. His deep blue bowtie was hanging to one side and his shirt was unbuttoned a few buttons, revealing the beginning contours of what I knew to be a well-defined chest. His dark hair was a little on the long side. Hair fell across his forehead. It was sexy. His wife hated it. She must not have liked running her fingers through it. His hands were in his pockets as he was speaking to his older brother. He looked casual and relaxed.
I looked away and escaped the crushing pressure of the room.
I dug into the little purse strapped to my wrist and got my ticket for my coat. I thrust the piece of paper at the guy behind the counter and he retrieved my coat a few seconds later. I walked out of the building and away from the few people outside who also dared the cold. I followed a walkway until I found myself on the other side of the building, facing what was probably a very gorgeous garden in the warmer months. It was still pretty, even under the ice and snow.
I looked around and was relieved to find myself alone. The sun was setting and the lampposts were flickering to life. It was cold as cold could be out there, but I needed to get out of there.
I opened my purse and found my hidden cigarette and lighter. I put the cancer stick in my mouth and lit it up. I inhaled deeply, closed my eyes, and let the smoke out slowly through slightly parted lips.
Smoking was the bad habit I picked up during my days as a model. I got lucky. It could have been cocaine, heroin, pills, or so many other things that strung a girl out. I quit smoking regularly when I quit modeling, but on occasion, a cigarette was warranted.
I heard light footfalls behind me. The long invisible tether tightened. I knew who was coming without having to look. I could feel him. My eyes always find him and he always finds me. I stopped questioning it long ago.
One strong arm encircled my waist. I shivered and it had nothing to do with the chilling weather. Fingers plucked the cigarette from my lips and tossed it away. I watched as it landed in the snow a few feet off of the path. It was resilient. It burned on, despite the cold moisture under it.
Another arm closed around me, securing me in an embrace. My head naturally fell back on his shoulder and his cheek naturally pressed against my hair. I breathed him in and his scent settled my nerves better than any cigarette ever has. Feeling his body enveloping mine made me feel safer than I ever have anywhere else.
We stood quietly as the sun set and darkness set in. He kissed the side of my head and I closed my eyes, both relishing and cursing the kiss. His breathing changed as his arms tightened their hold on me. I felt his breath on my neck and I knew he wanted to kiss me there. I hated that I wanted him to kiss me there.
There it was. The line I spoke to Luke about. I had one foot on the right side of the line and one foot on the wrong side of it. This was the third time this week I had found myself standing like this, with the line between my legs, but it had happened too many times over the years. The line got blurrier and blurrier every time I even poked a toe over it. If not careful, the line would dissolve, and so would so many other things. I knew this, yet I could not make myself pull away. I could not push him off of me and walk away. He would always find me again. He would always tug on that tether and I would always return.
Eventually, the line needed to be cut. Or we were all going to crash and burn.
I turned around and looked into those green eyes I fell in love with as a child, and spoke his name.
“Emmet.”
Tethered
is available on Amazon
Worthy of Redemption (Accidentally On Purpose 2)
Worth the Fight (Accidentally On Purpose 3)
Accidentally On Purpose Trilogy