The Last One (26 page)

I opened my mouth to deepen the kiss, and our tongues twined lazily around each other. Sam ran his hands down my sides, pausing to tease my breasts, and I felt him harden against me.

“We still have one more rubber, you know.” He murmured the words with his mouth on my neck, making me squirm.

“And so you’re going to come join me in Grandma’s bed?” I whispered.

He blanched. “Okay, you got me. But I have to admit, for a minute there, I was tempted.”

I pulled his head down and put my mouth next to his ear. “Then you better not think about the fact that I’m going to go into my room, strip off all my clothes and crawl naked between the sheets. I bet the blanket will brush up against my boobs and make my nipples go hard ... and while I’m falling asleep, I’ll still feel you there, between my legs. Your mouth ... your hands ... and ... hmmmm.” I twisted out of his arms, tip-toed to kiss his cheek and whispered, “Good night, Sam. Thank you for tonight. See you later today.”

As I slipped away toward my waiting bed, I thought I heard him laughing softly as he said, “Damn it, Meghan.”

“MEGHAN—ARE YOU UP?”

A knocking at my door made me sit up straight in bed, disoriented and sleepy. Ali leaned in and her mouth dropped open when she spotted me.

“Sheesh, Meghan! I’m leaving for the stand, and I saw you hadn’t had coffee yet. It’s nine o’clock.”

“Shit. Damn. Hell.” I clutched the sheet to my chest. “Get out of here and let me get dressed, please. I can’t believe I overslept.”

Ali turned around in the doorway but didn’t leave. “Late night, I guess?”

I jumped out of bed and grabbed my robe, shoving my arms into the sleeves. “More like an early morning. You can turn around.” I opened a drawer and began pulling out clothes. “Can you call someone, let them know I’m running late? Have one of the parents stay with the kids ‘til I get there?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” Ali grinned at me. “But don’t think you’ve heard the last of this.”

I made it into school before ten by some miracle of time bending. The mother who was watching the class smiled at me sympathetically. “Ali said you weren’t feeling well. You okay?”

“Oh ... yes. Thanks. Just something I ate, I guess. Thanks for covering for me. I’m so sorry.”

“Not a problem. You’ve been working so hard for us, and we all appreciate it. I know it must not be much fun for a college kid like you, stuck in a backwater town like Burton. Not really anything to do.”

An image of Sam standing with me in the river last night, water streaming from his hair down his perfect chest flashed into my mind. I coughed and shook my head. “Oh, not really. I love the town. Everyone here has been so welcoming. And teaching has been so much fun. I’m not much of a party girl, so this has been a perfect summer.”

And after she left me with my little group of budding artists, I realized that I had spoken the truth.

I struggled through the rest of the morning, trying to keep my yawning to a minimum until the first class left. As the last student’s voice echoed down the hallway, I laid my head on the desk.

“Looks like teacher had a long night.”

I jerked up my head, my heart thumping in surprise. Sam stood in the classroom doorway, leaning against the jam.

“God, you scared me to death. Again. What are you doing here?” A tiny thread of trepidation circled my heart, remembering the last time he’d shown up at the school, after he’d kissed me. Was this a replay? Was he going to tell me last night had been a mistake?

“I thought you might need a little pick-me-up about now.” He held up a brown paper bag. “And I remembered you said you had an hour for lunch.”

“Oh, God bless you. I overslept this morning, didn’t get here until almost an hour after I was supposed to, and I didn’t bring anything for lunch.”

Sam walked into the room and dropped the bag onto the desk. A delicious aroma floated from it, and my mouth began to water. He reached in and pulled out two foil-wrapped packages.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got you the same thing I eat.” He peeled back the wrapping, revealing a seed-covered bun. “Pulled pork with cole slaw on top. And there’s extra barbecue sauce, too.”

“It smells so good. That’s perfect, exactly how I like it.”

He pulled two bottles of water out of the bag, unscrewing the lid on mine before handing it to me along with a bunch of napkins, and then opened a foam container filled with French fries and little tubs of ketchup. As I picked up my sandwich, he dragged over a chair and sat down across from me.

“So how’re you feeling? You overslept, huh?” A mischievous smile, almost cocky, spread over his face.

I swallowed my bite of sandwich and stuck out my tongue at him. “Yes, I did. Proud of yourself, are you? If Ali hadn’t come in to wake me up, I’d probably still be asleep.”

He tried to tamp down the smile. “Why would that make me proud? Oh, you mean because I kept you awake all night?” He lowered his voice, leaning toward me. “Because I made you come, like, seven times?”

My face heated. “Were you counting?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Well, you missed one then.” I picked up a fry and dipped it into ketchup before popping it into my mouth.

Sam’s eyes widened. “Really? Eight? Wow, I’m even better than I thought.” He caught my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the knuckles before releasing it. “You know I’m just playing, right? I mean, yeah, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself last night, but I’m not that kind of guy.”

“The kind who goes around bragging about his conquests? Nah, I didn’t think you were.” I wiped my face with a napkin. “But after last night, you’d have the right.”

“Maybe, but so would you. And that’s why I wanted to bring you lunch. Just to tell you ... last night was incredible. I’ve never had anything like that, ever.”

“I haven’t, either.” I covered his hand with mine. “And thank you for lunch. It’s going to get me through the afternoon.”

“Like I said, I aim to please.” He finished his sandwich, balled up the wrapper and tossed it into the trashcan.

“I was kind of surprised to see you here, though. I have to admit, for a minute I thought you might be here to tell me it was a mistake. That you hadn’t meant for it to happen.”

His face grew serious. “No, I’d never say that. Not about last night. A kiss, yeah ... and I felt so guilty that day. I’d been telling myself to stay away from you, so when the kiss happened, it felt like I’d done something wrong.”

“Do you still think I’m too young for you?”

He glanced up, and I caught a fleeting expression of vulnerability. “Probably. But I’m tired of finding reasons not to touch you. Tired of spending all day building walls, just for you to knock them down the minute I see you.”

“I’m glad.” I stood up and walked around the desk. Taking his face between my hands, I kissed his lips, swiping my tongue into his mouth and when it opened for me, I tasted barbecue sauce. I’d only meant for it to be a quick kiss, a thank you, but when he snaked his arms around me to rub his hands over my ass, I pulled him tighter and deepened it.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” We jumped apart at the sound of a voice in the door. Maureen Evans stood there, holding her nephew’s hand. He was staring at Sam and me, his eyes bright and mouth open.

Sam recovered first. “Hey, Reenie. Hi, there, Graham.” He stood up and held out his hand for the boy to give him a fist bump.

“I’m so sorry,” Maureen repeated. “We’re early, but I told Mom I’d drop Graham off on my way to the office. I thought he could just sit and draw until the other kids got here.” She flashed me a smile. “No sugar today. Mom learned her lesson.”

“That’s okay.” I managed a smile. “Sam just brought me some lunch. Wasn’t that nice of him?” I was rambling, but Maureen took pity on me.

“Is that Smoky Joe’s I smell? God, I didn’t realize how hungry I am. Might have to swing by and get some to-go.”

“Well, I better get back to work.” Sam stood by the door. He looked at me, indecision on his face.

“Thanks again for bringing me lunch. It was delicious.”

He glanced at Maureen, who had gotten over her embarrassment at interrupting us and was watching back and forth as we spoke. And then, as though he had finally made up his mind, Sam strode back over to me, tilted my face up to his and kissed me. “See you at home.”

He left the room without looking back. I stood gaping after him, my fingers on my lips as though I could hold his kiss there.

“Oh. My. God.” Maureen came the rest of the way in. “Graham, get some paper and crayons and sit down.” She walked up to the desk and swatted my arm. “Get the hell out. You and Sam?”

“Um.” It was the most I could manage at the moment.

“I mean, everyone knows Sam’s a catch, but he’s never let himself get caught, you know? There’s rumors about him ah, visiting certain women.” She cast a look at her nephew, but he was busy coloring. “But he doesn’t date. This is huge.”

“Maureen.” I managed to find my voice. “Please don’t make a big deal over this. Don’t tell anyone. It’s not what you think. We’re not really dating, we’re just ... you know. Just a summer fling, okay? I’m leaving to go back to Savannah, but Sam’ll still be here, and I don’t want him to have to deal with people asking him what happened. Please.”

Her face was inscrutable, but she nodded. “Yeah, sure.” She cocked her head. “But are you sure this is just a fling? It didn’t look casual to me. The electricity in this room—good God. It crackled. It felt like more than a fling to me.”

“No, really. Sam has the farm and his family. I have another year of college. We’re just enjoying each other right now.”

Maureen sighed. “Whatever you say. You don’t have to worry about me telling anyone. I don’t gossip.” She took her phone out of her jeans pocket and checked the time. “Oh, shit, I’ve got to go. I have an appointment in fifteen minutes.” She turned to Graham. “Listen, kid, behave yourself, and Granny will see you after class.” She sketched a wave at me and took off down the hall.

I collapsed back into my chair and put my hands to my cheeks. This casual summer affair was getting more complicated by the minute.

SAM DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING to me about our encounter with Maureen when he came home that evening. I was helping Ali with dinner and working with Bridget on perspective when I saw his truck pull alongside the barn. He glanced up at the kitchen window, and I waved, sighing a little without even thinking about it.

Ali looked over my shoulder. “Aha, I see why you’re going mushy.” She shoved at my arm. “Go on, get out there and greet him.”

I looked at Bridget, her small face focused on the pencil and paper. “Not in front of the munchkin. I promised Sam.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying, don’t worry about it on my account.”

The screen door squealed open, and Sam came in, his eyes on me right away. He halted in front of the laundry room, paused and then took the extra steps toward me. Leaning down, he gripped the back of my neck, pulled me close and kissed me, open-mouthed and deep. I breathed in his scent of soil, sweat and man.

“Hi.” Straightening up again, he rubbed his thumb over my cheek. “Did you stay awake this afternoon?”

“Just barely.” I realized I was staring up at him, probably looking like a lovesick girl with stars in my eyes. I turned back toward the sink and dried my hands. “How about you? Good afternoon?”

“Yep.”

I watched out of the corner of my eye as he pulled a clean shirt on. I wanted to beg him not to cover up his chest, but it might have been a little too much, I decided. Bridget might pick up on that.

We fell into our normal rhythm of dinner, talk and clean up. While Ali supervised Bridget’s bath and bedtime ritual, Sam helped me with the dishes. He was playful, blowing bubbles into my face and splashing water until my shirt was soaked.

“Look at this.” I peeled the cotton away from my stomach. “See what you did?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m looking.” He chucked the dishtowel onto the counter and grasping the bottom of my tee, pulled upward. “You don’t want to keep wet clothes on, you know. You’ll get pneumonia. Least that’s what my grandma used to say.”

I let him tug it over my head, smiling when his eyes widened upon seeing my white eyelet bra. “I should go get a dry shirt.”