Second Lies (The Second Life Series) (11 page)

“Let’s go,” I stood, and he followed suit.

As we took the elevator up to my floor, I couldn’t help but notice how impossibly close Garrett was to me.  He was standing behind me, hugging me against his body.  I fit perfectly within his hold.  His hands rested on my thighs, caressing them up and down.  Finally, I decided he must be a leg-man.  He was obsessed with touching my legs, and I wasn’t complaining one bit.  The elevator stopped and let us out on my floor.

I unlocked the door and pushed it open. 
Garrett took in my apartment until his eyes settled back to me. “This is a nice place and so close to the Philly bar.  That’s convenient for me.” He looked at my dress and the cleavage that was spilling out of it. “Maybe, you can wear that the next time you visit my office.”

“We should talk,” I said while removing my pumps.  My feet relaxed against the
flat, wood surface of my floor. “I’m trying to figure out what the fuck all of this means.  We just had sex tonight.”

“Yes and I’d like to do it again since I was feeling a little rushed last time,” I frowned, and he walked towards me, wrapping his arms around my body
in a hug.  He dipped his head and kissed me.  Instantly, I lost all of my senses.  How could he do that? “What do you want?  Because I want you.”

“You have a wife and a daughter and a baby on the way,” I said coldly.  I swear I could feel his ring on his hand even through the cloth of the dress. “That tends to complicate things.” He didn’t answer. “Are you really done with the marriage?  It couldn’t have been that long ago
that you loved her.  She’s what? Five?  Six months pregnant?  I can’t imagine you agreeing to have a baby with someone who you were no longer in love with.”

He nodded but tightened his hold around me. “You’re right.  When I agreed to have the second baby, I thought I might still love her.  Things were getting better.  We were dating again.
  It was like old times.  It was perfect.” It’s crazy.  A married man talking about falling back in love with his wife was wrenching at my heart. “Once she found out she was pregnant, things went back to how they used to be.  She used me.  She fucked with my head, so I’d give her another baby.”

“So what do you want from me?” I asked horrified by his answer because I had no idea what the hell I, myself, wanted.

“Happiness,” he said after placing a kiss on my forehead. “That night at the gallery was the best night I’ve had in a long time.  I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much. 
You
did that to me.”

“Somehow ‘happiness’ isn’t specific enough of an answer for me,” I said, but I didn’t let go.  On the contrary, I buried my head in his chest, relishing in his smell.

“Be patient with me, Adriana.  Our situation is pretty fucked up, so I think we need to approach this delicately, take our time, make sure we get this right the first time around because there’s no going back,” he answered firmly. “There’s so much at stake for me by choosing you, and there’s so many complications to be dealt with if you choose me.” He brushed his nose against mine, the way
he
used to.  It startled me.  Garrett breathed. “Besides, I know you’re still hurting over my brother…Let me take away that pain before we commit to anything serious.”

He kissed me hard, pouring everything he had into that kiss.  My mind swarmed with all the new thoughts he put into my head.  I couldn’t deny that he was being honest, and I could agree that we had a lot at risk by even touching each other right now.  I knew I was capable of giving him patience because Garrett was right on more than one account.  Yes, I was still heartbroken and bruised, but I wasn’t sad any more.  Garrett did that to me, and I really trusted that he could take the pain away.  I vowed that I wouldn’t make any commitments until that pain was completely gone.

“No more sex tonight,” I said suddenly and unexpectantly.  I hadn’t planned on saying it, but at least for right now, it was an accurate thought. “I need to think about everything before we do that again.”

He smirked and picked me up in his arms, carrying me like I was a little kid, ignoring my pleas to put me down.  He walked around to the front of the couch and laid down, maneuvering me on top of him until I was comfortable. “Let’s watch a movie and go to sleep.  Are you okay with that?”

“That sounds perfect,” I said while grabbing for the remote and choosing the first comedy I could find…and just like that, tonight was perfect.

F
or a split second when I opened my eyes this morning, I thought it was three months ago.  It had been a long time since I woke up to a man’s arm cradling me into his body.  It had me smiling first thing in the morning, but that happiness was short lived once I realized who I was in bed with.

As I wriggled out of his arms,
Garrett woke up, looking scared to say a word to me.  It must have been the look on my face.  I forced a smile on my lips and told him to take his time getting ready, and I’d make the coffee for us.  He rolled out of bed, facing away from me, but not before catching a glimpse of the disappointment in my eyes.

“That smells great,”
Garrett said as he walked into the kitchen shirtless, wearing nothing but his boxers.  His muscled physique was impressive.  It brightened my mood a little bit. “I could definitely use a cup before I head off to work.”  Before he grabbed the mug that I set out for him, he walked up to me, tipped my chin forward and kissed me with the softest touch. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning,” I didn’t have to force the smile I was wearing now.
  This one was real. “I have an appointment with my kickboxing trainer in about an hour, so we should be going soon.”

“Kickboxing?” I nodded. “That explains the definition in your arms.” He ran the back of his hand up and down the length of my bicep.  Ugh, everything he did was so sexual, and I don’t even think he was trying.

“Yeah, there’s nothing like it.  Have you ever tried kickboxing before?”

“No,” he laughed. “I do
real
boxing.” I stuck my tongue out at him before I took a sip of my coffee. “It’s probably been about fifteen years that I put on gloves for the first time.  You should try my gym if you ever want a serious workout.”

“Or maybe you should try my gym one day.  It’s where all the current and former pros go to work out,” I flexed the muscle in my arm. “How else do you think I got this buff?
  You could learn a thing or two.” He flexed his muscle back at me, and it left me drooling.  His arms were huge.  I shook my head free.  A new thought came to mind. “Where have you been staying?  I thought you lived in Princeton.”

“Not at the present moment,” he took a considerable amount of time before he answered. “Shelly and I agreed it was probably best that
I didn’t stay in the house at this time.” I couldn’t help but feel relieved. “I’ve been staying with my brother while I search for a new place in the South Jersey area.”

“Oh,” all that newly gained relief washed away.  I took a long sip of my coffee and then cleared my throat. “Is he aware of the separation?”

Carefully, Garrett studied me before he answered, “Recently, yes.  He’s been…
distant
lately, so when I asked to stay with him for a few weeks, he didn’t ask questions.”

“Is he going to ask where you stayed last night?”

“I doubt it.  We haven’t been talking much lately,” Garrett put his hand over mine.  I couldn’t help but notice he wasn’t wearing his wedding ring. “If this is too weird for you, we don’t have to talk about this, Adriana.  I’m looking at a couple of places this afternoon.  It won’t be long until I have my own apartment.”

“Good for you.  It’ll be fun looking for a new place,” I stood up and dumped the rest of my coffee in the sink, rinsing the mug and sticking
it in the dishwasher.  As long as I was keeping busy, I could avoid thinking too much about things.

Garrett
glanced up at the clock and downed the rest of his drink, “Fuck, I have to get out of here.  I still have to pick up some fresh clothes before I go to work.” He went into the bedroom and came back dressed in the suit from last night.  His hair was a mess, but he wore it perfectly.  He kissed my forehead. “I know we have a lot of…” He rolled his eyes. “…
distractions
that are standing in the way, so we should get away from it all, take some time for just you and me.  I have a place in the Poconos and once I’m done with the realtor, I won’t have any plans until tomorrow night.  If you want, we can take a drive up there.”  I didn’t answer at first. “Just think about it and let me know, no pressure.”

“Okay, text me later, and we’ll talk about it,” I leaned on my toes and gave him a kiss goodbye, surprising the both of us because
he
was normally the one to kiss
me
.

He looked beyond pleased. “Okay, have a good workout.  Hopefully, I see you tonight.” With one more kiss, he left my apartment.

On the surface, Craig had forgiven me for what I did to Declan, but he sought revenge by working me harder than ever before.  By the time we were done, I felt lifeless as I laid on the floor, sprawled out and gasping for air.

“Stretch,” Craig barked after squirting some water at me.  I flipped him off and sat up, so I could finish cooling down. “Your form has improved so much since we started.  You packed on some weight, too.” I frowned. “I mean that in a good way.  Clearly, you’ve been following my instructions and eating more meats and proteins.  A month ago, you were a skeleton.  Now, you’re looking fit.”

“This better be paying off.  I’
ve never eaten so many cows before in my life,” I stood up and grabbed a drink of water. “So what are you and Taylor doing tonight?”

“We have some dinner to go to at her cousin’s house
over in Lititz,” Craig groaned. “It’s her grandmother’s birthday.  She’s like 93 years old.”

“Wow, good for her,” I bit my bottom lip. “Can I ask you a personal question?” He nodded. “I remember Taylor told me you guys broke up once a couple
of years ago.  How did you know it was worth it going back to her?”

He sighed,
“There’s a difference between being able to
live
without someone and being able to
survive
without someone.  Long story short, I fucked up bad, and Taylor walked out on me.  I knew I could
survive
without her.  We can all survive without anyone.  That’s basic…but I couldn’t
live
without her.  I got my shit together and did whatever it took to get her back.” He shrugged it off like the distant memory that it was.

“That’s deep,” Craig was a jokester but not when it came to Taylor.  He treated her like a princess, but I guess that’s because he knew what a struggle it was to be without her.

“Are you still thinking about that ex-boyfriend of yours?”

“Yes,” I answered, “but only because someone else has been able to make me
live
without him.”

A two hour drive turned into nearly three as Garrett braved an oncoming snowstorm.  A thick blanket of snow covered the Pennsylvania Mountains as we scaled them in Garrett’s Escalade.  Finally, we pulled down a long, winding road and into the driveway of a lakefront cabin.

“This is it,”
Garrett said while throwing the car into park.  The view was spectacular.  The cabin was surrounded by a thick brush of forest and a lake that was capped with ice.  One of the outer walls was built with large, gray stones that continued to rise up to form a chimney. “I bought this as an investment property a while back.  Normally, it’s rented out every weekend in the winter, but when I noticed there was some free time on the schedule, I took it.”

I shot him a coy look.  Admittedly, I did have some reservations about coming to his cabin.
  For once, it had nothing to do with us being alone together.  Actually, part of me had some serious issues about coming to a property that he lived in with his wife and family, but he seemed to squash that thought.  It was good to see him thinking ahead because I’m not sure I could stay in a bed that he shared with Michelle.

“Let’s go inside.  I’m getting cold.”

Garrett climbed out of the car, and then walked around to help me out.  It was a good thing that I tucked my jeans into my boots because as soon as my feet met the ground, I sunk into the freezing snow.  Together we trudged through it, but I almost fell on a patch of ice near the steps going up to the porch.  Luckily, I caught myself on the railing and Garrett’s coat.  He couldn’t stop laughing as he helped me back up to a standing position.

When he unlocked the door, I took a good look inside.  The fireplace was gorgeous and massive, taking up an entire wall.  The inside of the cabin was decorated with outdoorsy charm, even baring the tacky, trademark moose-head on the wall.  It was an open floor plan that trailed into the extremely, high end kitchen, which contrasted the rest of the space.

“Leave your boots in here,” Garrett instructed as he removed his own shoes and tucked them into a basket by the door.  I followed his instruction and took off mine as well. “I don’t want to track snow inside.”

“This place is gorgeous.  I’ve never been to the mountains before,” I walked in further, taking in the massive windows that gave view to the jagged mountain scenery.

“Really?  Not even up north somewhere?”

“No, my parents hate the cold.  I think that’s why my dad moved to Virginia although that’s not doing him much good now,” I shook my head at the thought. “It’s been unusually cold in Virginia this year.  He’s not happy about it.”

“I love winters, especially up north in Rhode Island.  One of my dad’s restaurants was on a ski resort, so I was constantly on a snowboard or in a hockey rink whenever we’d visit there,” he said as we each took the time to remove our coats, hats, and gloves, hanging them up to dry.

“Did you get the idea to purchase bars and restaurants from your dad?” It was something I was genuinely curious about.  I knew from the past that Garrett’s dad used to be a big time chef in Rhode Island before he died five years ago.

“He was definitely an inspiration.  My dad had such a head for business, but his passion was cooking.  People would travel from around the country to visit his restaurants.  When he passed away, his inheritance was enough for my brother and me to buy out the Cherry Hill bar.  From there, we just kept making more and more purchases.  I guess we got that business sense from him,” he smiled at the memory of his father.  I wondered if he looked like him.  I had never seen any pictures of his parents before.

The lights flickered, and Garrett groaned.  The wind was blowing hard out there.  I gulped, “I hope we don’t lose power.”

“It’s definitely a possibility,” Garrett went over to the fireplace and started stacking wood inside. “I should light this thing just in case.  It’ll keep us warm if the power does go out.  The good news is there’s plenty of wood for tonight, which means I won’t have to send you out there to chop down any trees.” I gave him a wry look that made him laugh. “I’m kidding.  I wouldn’t send you out there.”

The lights flickered again, but this time they shut off. “Shit, do you have a backup generator or something?”

“No but at least I’ve got the fire going,” Garrett said, leaning over the fire place.  The wind ripped through the air, crashing through the surrounding trees.  Fuck, I hated storms.  The only thing that could make this worse was lightening.  How was I nineteen years old and still scared of this stuff? “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I bit my lip. “I’m just a little nervous.”

He held out his arms to me, “Come here.  It’s warm by the fire.” I stepped over and relaxed against his chest, the fire immediately unnerved me. “I checked the weather earlier.  The storm should only last a few more hours.  It won’t get much worse than this.  Hopefully, the power will come back by the morning.” He kissed my hair. “Besides, this could be a lot worse.  I could be stuck in this cabin with anyone but you.”

“This is my first winter wonderland experience, and we have no power,” I pecked his lips. “You better start thinking of some ideas to make this an amazing experience.”

“I can think of something,” he growled as he leaned down to grab my earlobe between his teeth.

I giggled and gave him a playful push to his chest, “How do you know I’m ready to have sex with you again?”

“Because I can be very convincing,” he purred while running his hand up my shirt and under my bra.  He teased my nipple with his thumb and bit down on my neck.  I clenched his waist, digging my nails into his side.  He sucked in a breath of air. “Fuck, I love when you claw me like that.” He kissed my forehead. “Take off your clothes.”

Without hesitation, I followed his instructions instantaneously until I stood naked before him.  Garrett kneeled down and stuck two fingers inside of me, pushing up as far as he could go until I clenched my muscles around him and sucked in a breath of air.   I could feel him watching me as he moved those two fingers in and out.  His thumb snuck up front and rubbed around my clit, building the beginning stages of an orgasm.  Just before I felt like I was going to crumble, he stopped and pulled his slick fingers out.

“Let’s try something new,” he said, still with his eyes locked on me.  He moved the fingers to my behind and began circling the puckered hole.  Slowly, he inserted one, making me jump. “Relax, Adriana.  Just relax.”

I trusted Garrett.  I trusted him to show me something new, and honestly, I wanted to make him happy.  Feeling me tense, he pulled the finger out and sucked on it.  He eased it back inside of me and began a slow paced thrust that my body began to respond to.  My jaw started to tremble.  I never expected to feel such pleasure from there, but Garrett knew what he was doing.