Authors: Kathy Reinhart
He drove a little further down the road and asked, “How about dinner?”
I looked at my watch to see that it was already past six o’clock. I never made it to my grandparent’s or to the nursing home and it was obvious I wasn’t going to make it to either place today.
“Sure, but how about take-out at my place. Brian’s having my things delivered and I really should be there.”
He lightly squeezed me about halfway between my knee and the top of my leg, sending a rash of chills racing through me.
“Sounds great, you pick.”
I turned my head toward the window and thought
‘
to hell with the foo
d
,’ but asked, “How about Chinese?”
He said, “Chinese it is,” as he pulled my head to his shoulder.
The deliverymen who brought my things rang the bell only minutes after the food arrived and Con helped them cart the boxes up the stairs. This was the final phase of my relationship with Brian and I felt relieved that it had gone as well as it had. I wasn’t looking for an immediate involvement once Brian and I were through, but it's been said that that’s when you’re most likely to find one. Gram says, ‘there’s a reason for everything but sometimes the reason is the last thing you figure out’ and as usual, she’s right.
Surveying the piles of boxes strewn around the apartment, Con teased, “You don’t travel light, do you?”
“I never realized how much stuff I had until seeing it boxed up like this. I must have inherited it from my grandmother. Gramp says she’s a pack-rat.”
Relaxing into the couch, he said, “Speaking of your grandparent’s, when do I get to meet them?”
Re-runs of our meeting with his grandfather flashed through my mind. After witnessing first hand the acrimony that Joker directed toward the Embry’s, I was certain that my grandfather’s reaction would rival Joker’s in animosity.
“You know what; I think we should see my grandmother alone first... you know, test the waters. She understands my grandfather’s way of thinking a lot better than I do.” Considering what she had already told me about my mother, behind my grandfather’s back, I added, “Besides, she’d be more likely to answer my questions.”
He extended his hand and motioned for me to join him on the couch. Before I reached him, I knew that we were entering into a situation that could easily become out-of-control. His code of ethics played through my head like a mantra, friends-romance-love-sex, but I didn’t trust myself to follow it. I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anyone and it wouldn’t take more than a few of his enticing kisses for me to show him just how much I wanted him.
I hesitantly lowered myself, trying to keep space between us, a comfort zone to aid me from crossing the line from no to yes, but before I was seated, he slipped an arm around my back and pulled my into him so that the length of our thighs touched all the way to the knee. One to ten on the aroused scale, I was at four on a fast track.
Was he testing me? Or was he teasing me? He was the one who put stipulations on the course of our relationship and now he seemed to be pushing me into crossing the predetermined lines.
“Let’s forget about them for tonight, okay? I’ve been thinking about you all day.” His voice was low and seductive.
“Oh God...” I tried to lift myself from the couch to no avail. I did manage to turn sideways to look at him.
“Is something wrong?”
Certain my face had already colored, I did my best to get my irrational thoughts across in rational words.
“Con, do you remember the talk we had about friendship first and lasting past the sex?”
He nodded.
“Well, I agree with you...”
He smiled. “I see a but in those pretty eyes.”
I cleared my throat and inhaled deeply. “It’s hard... I know you want to wait but I’m not made of stone and being with you like this... well, it makes it that much harder.”
“It’ll happen...” He pushed back the loose hair that had fallen from my braid with his fingers as he wrapped his free arm around my waist. “...when it’s supposed to happen.”
I searched his eyes for a better answer, but couldn’t find one. As he closed the gap between us, I found myself lost, lost in a sea of desire with the only man who could save me.
His kisses began as slow, soft teases; his lips barely brushing against mine, veering off to caress my ear lobe lightly, only to find their way back to my eager lips. He left a trail of damp kisses over my lips, face and neck and each one of them danced with desire as he blew one, soft breath across them.
Pulling me snugly to his chest, we slowly fell to the cushions of the couch together, as he pressed me into them and deepened his kisses. I felt the exact moment that his sensual assault swept me away, my eyes rolling back under closed lids. His tongue caressed mine, as our legs intertwined. The wanting moan that escaped from me caused him to kiss me even more passionately, his hands exploring every curve of my body. I began to press myself against him and as if on cue, I felt him pressing himself into me. His desire was obvious through his jeans causing me to arch my back, and murmur, “Don’t tease me.”
Guiding my head back, he kissed my chin and down my throat causing my head to spin, before he softly replied, “I won’t.”
His hands continued to fondle and tease as I pressed myself into him with more force. I was aching to be satisfied and his teasing increased my need.
His hand rubbed lightly over the spot that craved his touch most and I gasped from between our joined lips.
He whispered, “Relax,” into my ear and I took a deep breath in an attempt to do as he asked.
He began to caress me gently, his hand moving in a slow, circular motion and I instinctively began to press into his hand. His free hand cupped my face as his lips returned to seek a response in every kiss. As his gentle caressing became more rapid, I pressed into him with even more urgency, arching my back and kissing him feverishly.
We had fallen into a rhythm until with one soft cry my body went rigid. His caresses became gentle again until I eventually relaxed underneath him, into the cushions of the couch.
Once my breathing had steadied, I opened my eyes to find him smiling down at me.
“That was...”
He kissed the tip of my nose.
I tried to express my thoughts again. “But you didn’t...”
“I’m fine.”
“What about your code of ethics?”
“I’ve known from the moment I first saw you that you were the one. I know it sounds crazy and I can’t offer a better explanation, but I’m as sure of that as I’ve ever been of anything. But, I want you to be sure, too, and until you are, I don’t want to do anything that you could come to regret.”
I applied pressure to his chest with my hand, forcing him to sit.
Once upright, I looked at him and said, “Although we haven’t known each other very long, there’s a part of me that knows for sure already... but then I think of our families and the pain that our being together will cause them and I wonder if I’m not being selfish.”
“I don’t want to be with your family, I want to be with you. They can share in our happiness or be alone in their misery; either way, it won’t change anything between us.”
He shifted his weight and lay alongside me with one arm underneath my neck as he pulled me close. Several minutes passed before either of us said another word.
Running a finger along the contour of my face, he asked, “What is your idea of the most romantic way to spend an evening?”
I gave his question a moment’s thought, and replied, “Well, I would be alone with you and we would be somewhere no one would ever think to look for us... somewhere romantic...”
“And what would we be doing?”
I turned my head to look at him, and laughed, “Playing Monopoly, of course.”
“Okay, I guess that was a stupid question.”
“How about you? Tell me about your most romantic evening.”
There was no hesitation before his answer. “Soft music... a bath for two... lace curtains blowing in a cool breeze... maybe a light rain... and lying naked with you all night long.”
Goosebumps flowered across my skin. In my heart, I knew I had found the one who would make me happy for the rest of my life. Now all I had to do was convince my head and my family of the same thing.
Twenty-Three
...Several days passed without seeing Con and I felt as though I were going through withdrawals, minus the shakes...
“Coming! Coming!”
My legs felt terribly heavy, as I made my way to the door. Dressed in little more than a nightshirt, I looked out the peephole to find Charlotte looking in. I opened the door and pulled her in by her sleeve before a neighbor spied me in my underwear.
“What time is it? Were we supposed to meet this morning?”
“Seven-thirty and no.”
I gave her a dumbfounded glance and returned to my spot on the couch, covering myself up to my neck with a quilt.
I mumbled, “What are you doing here so early?”
Flopping into the recliner, she replied, “I thought I’d catch you playing honeymoon.” Glancing around the room, she added, “Guess not.”
“Where’s Cory?”
“She’s getting ready for a big meeting with her father. I think she was up all night. She’s nervous, anxious and scared; I’ve never seen her like this before.”
Propping up slightly, I said, “I wonder what that’s all about.”
Charlotte shrugged. “Actually, I thought I’d come by and see if you needed a hand getting settled.”
Other than what I’d wear today, I hadn’t given any thought to putting my things away. I found the thought of living out of the boxes more appealing than the task of emptying them.
I teased, “If you could find the box with my deodorant in it, I’d be forever grateful.”
Ignoring my remark, Charlotte stared, questioning me with her eyes.
“What?” I moaned.
She stuck out her lower lip and giving me puppy dog eyes, said, “I’d tell you.”
I pulled the quilt over my head and immediately flung it off. “There’s nothing to tell. I’m great... he’s great... I’m in love...”
Charlotte’s cocked her head to one side. “Really? The ‘L’ word?”
I had verbally admitted to something that I had refused to admit to consciously until this moment. I looked at her and nodded my head slowly. “Yeah... I believe I am.”
She stood and absent-mindedly began to root through boxes.
“How is that going to sit with the families?”
Her last question woke me up faster than and alarm clock. I threw off the quilt and headed to the kitchen to make coffee.
I replied, “Well, I had the misfortune of meeting his grandfather yesterday. I find it amazing that someone hasn’t killed that man yet.”
Charlotte laughed. “That bad?”
“Worse!” I shook my head in an exaggerated motion. “He talked about me as if I weren't even in the room, chastised Con for not visiting enough and basically said Con was an all-around lousy grandson. He accused him of treason.”
“He got into it with his grandfather? In front of you?”
“No, that’s the thing. He sat there cool as a freeze-pop and I’m the one who lost it.”
“No way!”
I affirmed, “I called him mean and hateful and told him that I was sorry I came... all the things that would ensure a place on the outside looking in.”
“Who cares what his grandfather thinks anyway?”
I pulled out a chair and sat with my legs crossed. “It’s not that I care what he thinks as much as I was hoping he could answer some questions. I’d ask my grandparent’s but I don’t think the answers will come any easier there.”
Charlotte’s face took on a serious expression, as she said, “Meg, I’m not saying that what happened in the past isn’t important; all I’m saying is that you should be concentrating on the future. If you find out what happened, great.” She patted my hand. “But if you don’t, so what. If the two of you are happy with each other, isn’t that what’s really important?”
“I not looking for their approval, I’m looking for the truth.” I searched her eyes for understanding. “I feel like I can’t completely commit to a future with anyone, until I’ve filled in the holes of my past.”
Seeing my frustration, Charlotte said, “Okay, let’s figure this out. I remember you saying that your grandfather was once involved with Con’s grandmother. Could Con and his mother be right? I mean, could she have done it and your grandfather take the blame?”
“But why would he do that?”
“I don’t know, old flame... maybe he still had something for her... maybe being admirable and noble...”
“No. First of all, no matter how he may have felt about Gayle fifty years ago, I can’t imagine him giving up twenty some years of his life for a lost love. Besides, if he had done that for her, my grandmother wouldn’t have waited for him all those years, she would have killed him when he got out.”