Meadowlarks (33 page)

             
“You know what it does to me when you have that on,” I tell her. This girl could convince me to rob a bank if all she was wearing was that Resistol.

             
“I know what
everything
does to you.” She grins. “Tell me when!”

             
“Oh, right. When you were sleeping. I sat downstairs watching infomercials, and it all just flowed out.” I try and sound like I knew what I was doing, when really what I had was a pad of paper full of gibberish and many spelling mistakes. I know what I want to say to her when we're standing hand-in-hand in front of God and all of our friends and family—that I love her—does there really need to be more than that?

             
“Well, I haven't finished mine yet. Still perfecting my masterpiece.” She laughs and pushes my hat up off her forehead. “Blaine? Do you remember that day? Over there?”               She nods toward the picnic table and starts slowly walking backwards.

             
“I remember...” I follow her, narrowing my eyes and growing extremely hard.

             
“Well, good...” She unbuttons her blouse, and it falls open, showing her beautiful body.               At that moment she turns and starts running, taking my hat off and holding it in her hands as she goes. I follow but can't catch her. Like a cat she climbs the steel gate and leaps over the other side, laughing the whole time.

             
“Come on, old man!”

             
Oh, she's really going to get it now.

I stop running and walk casually to the gate, opening it and closing it behind me. I look over at her and smile. This cat and mouse game we play ke
eps my blood thumping through me, and I love it. It's like the build-up to the best sex I've ever had, the anticipation of touch and taste and sparks.

             
She's standing by the picnic table now, shirt still unbuttoned and hat still in hand. I walk over and rake my hands through my hair. Then I pull off my t-shirt, throwing it over my shoulder, not breaking my gaze with hers.               “Old man, huh?”

             
“Well...” She swallows and bites her lip.

             
“Well
what?
”

             
She knows she's lost this one. She drops my hat and almost knocks me over by jumping into my arms. We kiss, deeply and feverishly. I weave my fingers in her messy red hair and pull it down, forcing her face up. I suck and bite her neck.

             
“Ahhhh!”

             
“Mmm...What, baby?” I breathe.

             
“You drive me crazy!”

             
“Is that what you wrote in your vows?”

             
“Did you peek?” She giggles and kisses me again. We fall onto the ground, and she straddles my stomach, running her hands on my chest.

             
The sun blazes through the locks of her hair, igniting them, and she looks like she's ready to burst into flames. She sits up and unbuttons my jeans; I lift so she can pull them down, boxers, too. I am rock hard, and she grins when I break free from the clothing. I don't even notice when she takes off her own jeans; I think I was too busy being locked in her eyes.

             
When she eases on to me, I get a rush of tingles, and I have to lean my head back into the ground and close my eyes tightly. It feels like every time is our first time, and it's an indescribable sensation to be inside of her.

She rises and falls slowly, leans down to kiss me, and her hair falls in my face. She
strokes my chest with her tongue, and I devour her shoulders and neck, high on my redheaded morphine again. I can't get enough.

             
Three days.
Three days until the
big day
. Maria, Kelsey, Riley and her son Isaac have been here from sunrise to sunset almost all week, whipping us guys into shape and getting the farm looking wedding-ready.

An enormous white tent arrives, and the crew it came with set it up to the right of the house. It has no sides but large towering peaks, like God
had reached down and pinched a sheet on the ground, pulling it up toward the sky. Large beams on the inside keep the peaks up. It's amazing, and it's not even finished yet.

             
Day Two brings stacks upon stacks of wooden folding chairs and a trailer full of long tables. The guys and I set everything up with the direction of my relative party planners. Kelsey might as well have a whip in her hand. Maria tells her a few times to relax and reminds her that it's not her wedding.

             
“It's gotta be just right, Maria!” Kelsey whines.

             
“It will be. Just let the boys have their space.”               Maria winks at me, and I smile back. I want to stick my tongue out at Kelsey, who is almost pouting at this point.

             
Riley and Addison have gone into town to pick up their dresses, though I'm sure that's not all. When they return, they've got a truck full, just like I expected. Maria and Kelsey load bags into their arms and scurry into the house. I offer to help, of course, but I'm told not to look.

             
One of the bedrooms upstairs has been transformed into Wedding Central. The door stays closed, and I don't bother to look in. I'd probably be risking life and limb if Kelsey caught me.

             
Tonight everyone from Maine flies in—Mr. and Mrs. Cole, the girls, and Riley's parents. We have two vehicles to pick them all up at the airport from their five-fifteen flight.

             
“Just look at this place, Richard!” Lillian gasps when she steps out from Addison's car and takes in all the wedding decor. “It's just breathtaking!”

             
Addison takes her parents into the house and she and her mother go upstairs to the room they'll be staying in.

             
“Now who is this beauty?” Richard stands at the fireplace and points at the photo of my mother.

             
“That's my mom.” I smile, looking at her. I wish she was here for all of this, for her to tell me I'm going to be a good husband and she's proud of me.

             
“Lovely woman…Just lovely.” Lillian walks up behind me and smiles warmly. “When are your brothers and father going to be here?”

             
I look at the clock on the wall.               “In about an hour.”

             
“Well, my dear. What can we do in the meantime?” She looks at Addison and crosses her arms on her chest. “Anything your dad and I can help with?”

             
“Actually, yes; come with me!” She grins and takes her parents by their hands, leading them outside.

             
Once Nick and Owen arrive with their kids and my dad in tow, it's time for dinner.               Because there are so many people in the house, we all eat outside, enjoying the beautiful evening. Jeremiah makes another fire, probably the thousandth one he's made over these years.

Isaac fits right in with the other kids, and they all run around the yard, playing in the massive tent. Kelsey gets after them a few times, like an uptight mother hen
, or an anal perfectionist. Take your pick.

Bobby and Alex take turns driving them around in the side-by-side when they get bored with the tent, which relaxes Kelsey.

              Riley's parents, Ann and Clive, seem like very nice people. They're staying at Jer's for the duration of wedding. They are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their second grandchild, and even though they seem sad she's living out here now, they said they're happy as long as she's happy.

             
“Addison, you've got some catching up to do!” Ann grins, and Lillian nods happily in agreement. Richard shifts in his seat, probably uncomfortable with the talk of his daughter making babies.

             
“We do.” She smiles and takes my hand in hers. “We're going have to put an addition on the house for all the children, right, babe?”

             
I smile, remembering our conversation about kids in the truck after the shopping spree at Zeke's.               “That's right.” I squeeze her hand and rub her fingers with my thumb, envisioning all the practising we will have to do.

             
Tomorrow is the last day of details. Then it's all or nothing, and the day will be a blur, I'm sure of it. We both try and fall asleep after such a long day, but to no avail. We're wide awake.

             
“Are you ready for this, baby?” she whispers softly.

             
I turn on my side and look at her.               “Of course I am. Are you?”

             
“Yes. I was just making sure.” Addison looks at the ceiling and smiles.

             
“You're going to make the most beautiful bride; I can't wait to see you.”

             
“This is our last night together you know.”

             
“I know.” I kiss her hand and she places it on my cheek, gently feeling my stubble.

             
I want to make love to her so badly, but the last time we had company, we gave them quite the vocal show. I press into her, my growing erection sliding against her heated skin, and she turns to look at me.

             
“My parents are across the hall!”

             
“So…”

             
“So?”

             
I smile, slyly. “There's no gun under your dad's bed this time.”

             
“Blaine!” She whispers. “I can't be quiet when you touch me; you know that.”

             
I grin. “Oh, I know. Let's have a shower then.”

             
The sound of the water will hopefully drown out most of the noise. I just want to feel her; I don't care if we even have to go outside.

             
“Or we could go outside...” I cleverly suggest.

             
“Shower. Let's go.” She whips the sheet off and strips her t-shirt while skipping toward the bathroom.

             
I make sweet and deep love to my girlfriend for the last time tonight. She holds my hand against her mouth and bites down when she's splitting at the seams. Her soft moans are muffled by her clenched jaw and the water from the shower.

             
The next time I do this, it'll be with my wife. The thought drives me crazy, and even though she's unhinged, I thrust deeper and faster. Her eyes go wide, and she looks like she could scream. Her palm slaps the glass wall, and she ripples again. When I release, I feel light-headed and almost crumble to my feet.

             
The heat from the water and the electricity flowing in my veins is almost too much. Is it going to be like this every time? No one has ever made me feel like this; our connection is unlike any other I've experienced. I never want this to end.               I slowly lean down the tile, sitting under the shower head.

She slides down and sits with me.
              “Are you okay?” Her hands are holding my face, and I catch my breath.

             
“Yeah. I hope we were quiet enough.”

             
“I think so. You sure you're okay?” She looks at me with concern in her eyes. “Do you want me to turn the shower off?”

             
I take her hands and hold them in mine, pulling her to sit on my lap, the water still rushing out like a waterfall down onto us.               “Baby, do you feel it, too?”

             
“Feel what?”

             
“Feel like you could just...
explode
.”

             
“When we're making love? Every time.” She giggles and looks away from me and blushes. “After that time in the barn I had to seriously consider doing it again. My heart didn't stop racing.”

             
I look surprised. “Really?”

             
“Blaine, I don't think you know what you do to me.” She blushes again and wipes the water from her face. “After that day, when you punched Reid, I was devastated. Not only because I thought I lost the one person I loved most, but also because I couldn't imagine anyone else touching me like you do. Or making me feel like this.”

             
“Let's go to bed, my love.” I smile, and we somehow manage to get to our feet and out of the shower. We both fall asleep quickly. Tomorrow night she'll be in this bed alone, and I'll be at Jeremiah's.

             
Just as I expected, the entire day was a blur. By the afternoon, the guys and I were pretty much told to leave. All I was able to do was give Addison a quick kiss before Maria and Kelsey shoved me into the driver’s seat of my truck and stood in the driveway to make sure I was actually going to leave.

             
“Hey, you,” Addison calls my cell as I'm driving away. “I just wanted to tell you that I love you.”

             
“I love you too, beautiful. I'll call you tonight.”

             
“Okay, bye.”

             
Jer, Alex, dad, my brothers and I have some dinner and drinks. Dinner consists of wings, ribs and wedges, compliments of Jesse Wolf. Drinks are about three cases of beer. It should suffice for my last day as a free man—or so my brothers both tell me. Dad falls asleep on the couch after we eat, and we don't hear from him for the rest of the night.

             
I try not to drink too much, but I lost count after...a lot. Bottles are all over the ground under my lawn chair, and we're all sitting around Jer's biggest fire yet.

             
“Those feet gettin' cold yet?” Owen flicks a bottle cap at me and laughs.

             
I stretch out my feet and look at them.               “Nope. They’re nice and toasty.”

             
“You're lucky, man. Girls like her don't come around too often,” Nick chimes, in and Owen shakes his head in agreement. “Maria just loves her.”

             
“That makes two of us.” I smile and chug the remnants from beer number...well, more than ten, less than 20.

             
I promise myself not to pass out in the chair and sleep outside again; the last time I did, was stiff for hours—and not in the good way, either. When I know I've had enough, I stand up and stagger into the house.               “G'night boys!” I call back to them and wave my hand in the air.

             
“You sure are a cheap date!” one of them, not sure who, calls back to me. They all laugh.             

             
Dad is snoring loudly on the couch, and I pull off a quilt from the rocking chair and cover him with it. He smiles in his sleep, and it makes me smile too.

             
I find a bedroom, and flop down face-first on the bed. Not bothering to take off anything, I lay there as the room starts to slowly spin around me. Or the bed is spinning—I have no idea. I can feel my phone vibrating, and it takes me a few minutes to work it out of my pocket.

             
“Hi?” I groan.

             
“Blaine?”

             
“Ohhhh, it's you…” I growl.

             
“Who else would it be?”

             
“Well, you never know.” I roll onto my back and laugh. “I've heard I'm not too bad on the eyes.”

             
“Mmm. How much have you had to drink?”

             
“Oh, just a few.” I hold up my fingers, trying to count.

             
Addison giggles in the phone.

             
“Do you have any idea just how fucking wonderful that sound is?” I breathe.

             
“What sound?”

             
I groan through each word. “Your. Sexy. Giggle.”

             
She does it again, and I smile, my eyes closed like I'm ready for a daydream.

             
“You better get to sleep, Mr. Blackstock. You have a big day tomorrow.”

             
“I'm in bed right now, ma'am.”

             
“Oh,
are you
?”

             
I can hear the suggestive tone in her low voice, and my hand travels down my chest and ends up on my jeans. I grip myself and whisper into the phone.               “I wish you were here. I'm
so hard
.”