Chapter 63
Nick
opened the screen door and let Ciara go in first,
hardly able to control himself before shutting the door behind him. With one
quick move, he bent down to kiss her, pressing her up against the wall in her
foyer, sliding one hand up her shirt while the other swam through her long,
soft curls. He’d missed her so much. The tour had been grueling, but tolerable.
He’d kept himself clean this leg. He’d lived through an entire leg with Mandy
and they ended the tour feeling better than they had began. No Grammy,
unfortunately, but they had high expectations for a new album looming over
head. After the two years he’d had, he felt like he could conquer anything.
But
now? Now, he just wanted Ciara. No work, no Mandy, no
expectations, no nothing. Just her.
She
moaned into his mouth as his hands worked and kneaded at her breasts, fumbling
with the clasp between them to release her bra. Wrapping a leg around him, she
pulled him in, wishing she were just a few inches taller so they’d both enjoy
this position a little bit more, still comforted and calmed at the feel of his
body pressed against hers.
“Take
me upstairs. Make love to me, Nick.”
No
problem. He scooped up her other leg, hiking her up so his hands cupped under
her bottom. Never letting their mouths separate but to take a few seconds to
drink in her eyes. So dark. So green. So full of passion for him. It made his
head swim. She held onto the wall surrounding the staircase as he carefully
made his way up, feeling for each step before he took it. “God, how many steps
do you have?”
“I
added a couple just to frustrate you.” She sucked on an earlobe while he
trudged up a few more stairs.
“It
worked.”
Carrying
her all the way into the bedroom, he plopped her on the bed, lifting her shirt
over her head, smiling as she slipped off her unhooked bra. “Cici…I want you so bad.”
“You
got me, baby.” Smiling as he ripped his own shirt off, she sat up and pulled on
the drawstring of his pants, easing them down his thighs and kissing her way
back up. “Something looks yummy.”
Smiling
down at her, he ran a hand through her hair and jumped as she gently licked his
purple tip with her tongue.
“You
like that?”
“No,
hate it.”
“Oh,
well, let me try this then.” She glanced back up to him with a wicked smile and
happily receiving one back from him, she moved her head slowly letting her long
curls brush his tip, giggling as he groaned at her teasing. As she lowered back
to him, she swirled her tongue around the whole of his head and stopped. “Like
that?”
“More.
Please.” His hand continued its travels in her hair and kept it brushed back
enough so he could see what she was doing. He loved watching her love him.
“More?
Okay.” She licked her lips again, letting the tip of her tongue ‘accidentally’
touch his tip again and finally, mercifully, covered him with her mouth,
sliding over his length until she had taken as much of him in as she could.
“Oh,
yeah…” Nick moved his hips up to her mouth matching her rhythm, still running
his hands through her hair, keeping the curls that threatened to block his view
back out of the way. Seeing her lips wrapped around him, watching himself
disappear into her mouth was so damned erotic. Feeling her moan against him as
she worked was almost too much. But, when her free hand slid between his legs
and gently massaged his balls, he almost jumped off the floor. “Jesus, Ci!”
Stopping
her mouth work, she looked up at him and smiled, “Yes?”
“Lay
down…now.” He pushed on her shoulders, yanked off her pants and underwear in
one fell swoop, immediately straddling her, kissing her breasts, chest and
stomach with an almost frantic passion. Slow torture be damned.
Finally
able to find her voice, though not wanting to stop what he was doing, she had to
be the responsible one. “Condom. Now.”
He
kissed her again and pulled away with panic in his eyes. “Shit. I didn’t bring
anything.”
“Tell
me you’re kidding.”
“Ci, I’m not…don’t you…?”
“Uh…”
closing her eyes, realizing that this admission would indicate she’d been
“with” someone…namely Dennis, she finally spoke up, “I just ran out.”
Panic
raced through their minds, then peace hit her. A strange sort of peace. For
some reason, she knew this would be okay.
She
reached up and took his face in her hands, wrapping one leg around him, pulling
him dangerously close to her entrance. “Do you trust me?”
Breathlessly,
he answered. “Always.”
“Then
to hell with it. It’s okay.”
“Are
you sure? I mean…”
“Yep.
Please, Nick. Trust me. We’re good, okay? We’re good.”
The
whole time she spoke, he was kissing and licking her neck and shoulders, making
her more and more desiring of him and more and more convinced that this would
be fine. And it would. Whether he understood why or not. “Mmmkay,
we’re good.”
Kissing
her breasts and spending a few moments on each nipple, he slid his hand between
her thighs, pushing a finger deep inside her folds before she even realized he
was there. “Nick…Oh, Jesus.”
“You’re
so wet, baby…”
“That’s
because I want you…now.”
He
was scared, but didn’t care. He knew the consequences, but right now? The
thought of feeling Ci. All of her? No barrier?
No…nothing but her and him…it was too much. After a few more strokes of his
fingers deep inside her, he hiked up and hovered over her again, spreading her
legs further apart with his thigh. Looking in her eyes once again just to be
sure, he stopped.
“Yes,
Nick. Please.” She touched his face amazed at the depth of blue they’d become
in their passion. “Be inside me.”
That
did it. Without one more thought, he rested his tip on her wetness and bore his
eyes into her, wanting to feel everything that was to happen. Bending down for
one more quick kiss, he slowly slid into her amazed at the sound that came from
his mouth as he totally and completely felt her and nothing but her wrapped
around him, caressing him, squeezing him as he moved inside of her.
She
wrapped both legs around his hips, bringing him in closer, loving how he
stretched her, making her tighten around him even more. He wouldn’t last long,
especially at this new sensation between them, and frankly, neither would she.
She’d been waiting all day for him to come home working herself up rather
nicely. Once he touched her, she could have climaxed right then and there. But
now…feeling him inside her, she too was near the edge.
As
their pace increased, Ciara pushed on his shoulders,
flipping him on his back and bringing herself up on top, never completely
removing their connection. “Give me your hand.”
He
brought a hand up her thigh and she took hold of his thumb, slowly sliding it
to her clit. “Yeah…there…like that…kinda soft.” She smiled down at him and
picked up her pace, matching thrust to thrust, stroke to stroke.
She
reached back to find that sensitive spot between his thighs and his balls,
stroking in the same rhythm bringing him closer to the edge. “Oh God, Ci…yes, yes baby…I’m gonna….”
She
felt his balls tighten and slammed one last time down on him as he exploded
inside of her, never once quitting what he was doing to her. His dance on her
clit was perfect and when she felt him throb one final time inside of her, she
gasped and groaned, riding the orgasm that swept through her body.
Laying
down on his chest, they stayed connected, as best as they could, unable to
move. Unwilling to try. She kissed the sweat off of his neck and finally slid
to his side, moaning as she felt him slide out of her. “I hate that part.”
“Me
too.” Looking down at her mop of auburn curls, he ran a hand through them, “Ciara…my god…that was incredible.”
“Yeah.
I know.” Twirling her finger through the hair on his chest, she moaned as her
walls continued to contract, causing a small leak of warm, thick fluid. Now
that part, she loved. That was him inside of her. Totally. Completely. She
never wanted to move.
“It’s
too late now, but you’re sure that was okay?”
“Yep.
Totally.”
“God,
I don’t ever wanna go back.”
“Well…”
“I
know. I know. But, Jesus.”
“Mmm…was
nice, huh? You hungry?” Let’s get out of this subject, please. I’m out of
control.
“Always.”
Sitting
up and running her fingers through his sweaty hair, she bent down and kissed
him softly. No way could she tell him why this was safe. And really, although,
she probably should, she had no idea of his habits and she didn’t care. The
other worry was not there and dammit, she wanted him.
All of him. If he didn’t ask, she wouldn’t tell. It was just the way it’d have
to be right now.
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~
AJ
jumped up from the sound board feeling his phone vibrating in his pants. The
rule for this trip to the
“What
the hell, J?”
Digging
deep into his capri’s, he finally found the phone and
held it up for Brian to see. “It’s a phone. And it’s buzzing! I forgot how
thrilling that was.”
Rolling
his eyes, Brian put his headphones back on and turned his attention to Nick in
the sound booth. They’d all had their share of personal calls, but at least
everyone waited until they were done working.
“Whaddup?”
“AJ,
thank God you’re there.”
“Cici!? Honey, what the hell are you calling me here for?”
“Do
you know why ‘Bose’ is written on my goddamned speakers?”
“Huh?
Ciara, what are you talking about?” AJ looked to
Brian who had since pulled the headphones off again, concern overflowing for
what apparently was a friend in need. Ciara didn’t
call like this.
“The
word ‘Bose’. It’s on my new speakers and I don’t know why. It’s pissing me
off!”
“Okay,
okay…um, honey, they put the brand name of the speaker on there. Like an
advertisement.” Eyes bugging out, AJ pointed to Nick in the sound booth and
mouthed to Brian. “Go get him…something’s wrong.”
“Well,
that’s stupid. I just don’t understand why the word is there. Who put it
there?”
“Hang
on, Cici…hang on. Do not hang up.”
“God
dammit, AJ, don’t you…”
Nick
came out from the booth almost frantic. “Gimme the phone. Is she okay?”
“No,
man. She is totally whack. What the fuck is up with her speakers?”
“Her
speakers? I gave her my old ones she’d been storing. We set ‘em up before I
left…what the…”
“She’s
wiggin’, man. ‘Why is ‘Bose’ written on my
speakers!?’ I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”
“Okay…”
Taking AJ’s cell out into the hall, Nick tentatively put the phone up to his
ear.
“…I’m
trying to explain to you that this stupid word is on these speakers and I don’t
know why! AJ! God damn you for not listening to me.”
“Cici…Cici…baby.”
“Where’s
AJ? Who’s this?”
“Ci…it’s Nick. What’s got you so upset?” He made his way
outside and started walking around the building. She never called while he was
working and definitely not on this trip. Hell, even Mandy knew better. What had
gotten into her?
“These
goddamned speakers you gave me, Nick. Why is ‘Bose’ written on ‘em? It’s…I’m
not happy with it.”
“Okay,
Cici…they’re Bose speakers. Company’s do that. Why
does it matter?”
“Because
it does, okay!? Jesus! Why can’t you see the problem?”
The
light bulb went off in Nick’s head. Finally. “Ciara,
when did you eat last?”
“What!?
Who the hell cares about food at a time like this?”
Now
it was almost comical. If he wasn’t so worried about her, he’d be laughing.
Probably a good thing he was worried. The last thing he needed was for her to
hang up on him. “I do. When did you eat?”
“You
don’t even CARE!?”
“Yes,
Cici…I care. You know that. I care that you need to
eat. What’s your blood sugar been like today?”
“I
have no fucking idea, Nick. I don’t appreciate you challenging my care of
myself. I just want these speakers fixed!”
Oh,
this was going to be fun. “They’re not broken. When did you eat?” Finding a
large rock, he sat down, kicking off his sandals to dangle his feet in the
small tide pool that had formed under the rock’s lip.
“Breakfast…I
think?”
“You
think you ate breakfast!? Cici…go eat.” Good,
she was calming down. Problem was, that means she’d check out soon. He had to
get food in her somehow. Now.
“No.
I want these speakers taken care of.”
“I
can’t do that right now. I’m not home. You have to eat.”
“No.”
“Cici, baby. It’s Nicky here. Please. Go to your
refrigerator.”
“I
want you to fix these, Nick. I don’t like it.”
“Okay,
I’ll fix it when I get home. You at the frig?”
“Yep.”
“Open
it and see if you have any fruit in there.”
“Mmmkay.” She opened the door and looked inside, suddenly
forgetting why she was there. “What do I want in here?”
“Fruit.
Is your bowl full?”
“Yeah,
look. There’s some kiwi in here.”
“Good.
Get one out.”
“Mmmkay.” She pulled out a kiwi and closed the door, walking
to her sink. “Got one. Nick, I want you to fix these things.”
“I
will. Promise. Now get a knife and cut it in half.”
“Okay…”
She glanced around the kitchen feeling like she’d never been there before.
“Um…where are my knives?”
“Um…Where
are you facing?”
“The
sink.”
“The
small drawer to your right.”
“There
they are. Okay.” She cut the fruit in half and tossed the knife into the sink.
“You’re gonna fix my speakers, Nick?”
“Yep.
Now get out a spoon. That’s how you like to eat them, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…what
about my speakers?”
“I’ll
be home in a few days, Ci. I’ll get ‘em then. You
have a spoon?”
“Yep.
And I’m putting it in…”
He
heard her stop talking as she slid the first morsel of fruit in her mouth.
“Good. Keep eating, baby. I’ll stay with you, okay?”
Nick
stood back up, picking up his shoes and smiling sheepishly as Brian and AJ
walked toward him, worry written all over their faces.
“She
okay?”
Covering
the mouthpiece of the phone, he whispered, “She will be. She needed to eat.”
“Does
she always do that!?” AJ was still hyperventilating. He’d never seen Ciara that out of control before.
Nick
shook his head ‘no’ and went back to her on the phone. “You still eating?”
“Huh?
Oh…” She looked down at the fruit in her hand and stuck the spoon in again.
“No, I forgot.”
“It’s
okay. Eat some more.” The three men made their way into the building with Brian
and AJ in utter shock to see Nick treating her so tenderly. They didn’t think
he had it in him.
“This
is good kiwi.”
That
finally made him laugh, the tension of the moments past draining away with each
chuckle. “Yeah, I bet it is. You know how to pick good fruit.”
“Yesh…mmmm…yesh I do.”
He
missed her anyway, but knowing she’d been in need like this and he couldn’t be
there to help just about killed him. Although, imagining her sitting, probably
in the middle of her kitchen floor, slurping up a kiwi just busted him up,
making the bizarre situation much more bearable. “You feeling better now?”
“Yeah…still
confused.”
“Okay,
do you want me to sit with you a bit longer?”
“Could
you?”
“Yep.
I’m here.” Nick motioned for the others to go back inside the studio, wanting
to make sure she was totally back to normal before he hung up with her.
They
waited in silence as she finished her fruit and cleaned up. “Mmm…that was good.
Okay, now what?”
“Um,
why don’t you drink a little juice to be sure and then check your sugar.”
“Good
idea.” He listened as she poured herself a glass of juice and drank it, neither
saying anything, both wanting to reach out and hold the other. “That was good
too.”
“Yep.
Do you know where your monitor is?”
“It’s
over there on the counter. I think I’m okay now, Nick.”
“Nope.
I’ll wait. Go check it.”
“Did
I embarrass myself this time?”
“Nope.
You’re good.” Like he’d admit that she had. He’d tell her later and they’d
laugh. Right now, it wasn’t funny.
She
started the routine of sticking her finger, dropping the blood on a test strip
and sticking it into her machine when realization of where Nick was finally hit
her. “Oh shit, Nick!”
“What,
babe?”
“You’re
in the
“It’s
okay. I’m glad you called AJ. God knows what would have happened.”
“AJ!?
I called AJ?”
“Yeah.
I’m on his cell.”
“Oh
for God’s…59. I’m 59.”
“That’s
still awful low. Have you had any breakfast?”
“I
might have puked it back up this morning, come to think of it. Wonder if I fell
back asleep before I ate again.”
“You’re
still doing that?”
“Now
and then, yeah…I’ll eat some cereal here. I have to go get your mutts anyway.”
“Yep,
don’t leave ‘em with her. She’ll starve the things.”
“Yeah,
already had a fight with her once. She’s a piece of work, Nick.”
“Mmm…everything
okay with her now?”
“We’ve
agreed to hate each other. It’s a decision I can live with.”
Why
he found that funny he didn’t know, but he did. Kinda sorry he’d missed the
fight. Might have been entertaining. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah,
I can tell….I hear the laugh in your voice.”
“Sorry.”
Giggle.
“Just
get rid of her, Nick. You don’t need her.” It wasn’t that he needed Ciara either, but Cici knew that
this relationship with Mandy was incredibly unhealthy. Problem was, she was in
one of those herself with Dennis. What right did she have?
“I’m
workin’ on it, Ci. I’m workin’ on it.”
“Yeah,
yeah.”
“Hey,
it looks like Kevin’s patience has worn out. He’s pacing. You okay now?”
“I’m
good. Yeah. Thank you.”
“Anytime.
I’ll see you in a few days, okay?”
“I
can’t wait.”
There
was his girl. “I can’t either. B’bye!”
Ciara slid the phone out of her hand and
lazily hung it up on its cradle. “B’bye. I miss you,
Nicky.”
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~
After
the writing/recording session in the
Ciara and Dennis were casual at best,
although she was feeling a need for a break with that as well. He drank. Too
much. And when he drank, he got violent. Never hit Ciara,
but he’d start swinging, punching holes in walls, knocking lamps off tables and
generally creating a mess. He scared her, but yet, when he was sober, he was
fine. Unhappily married, not willing to leave the wife, not wanting to stay and
ready to bring some affection into Ciara’s life when
Nick was too busy with his own romantic mess.
What
a mess it was. He wanted Mandy out. He’d kick her out, she’d threaten spilling
the truth about his behavior on tour and he’d take her back. He’d kick her out,
she’d pout and he’d take her back in. AJ had said earlier that she had Nick by
the balls and he wasn’t kidding. But, he kept it all together somehow by making
visits to Ciara’s. Sometimes they’d end up in bed,
sometimes they wouldn’t. They never used protection again, and selfishly
enough, Nick never asked. It was too good without. And it was only with Cici that he was so ‘careless’. She was the one he really
cared about anyway, so….well, it just made sense. Even if it did seem stupid.
Now,
Mandy was gone for a few weeks laying down more tracks for her record. So, they
had free reign to be together. Nick had little to no obligations for work right
now, and they took full advantage. Tonight? A real date. Dinner by candlelight,
swimming, maybe even a moonlit stroll.
“Hey,
Nick…come on in. I’m almost ready.”
Nick
let himself in when he heard her calling from her bedroom. He loved getting
there before she was ready to go someplace. Something about watching her finish
up her routine made him feel more connected to her. Maybe because it was
something she left private for so long, as had he, but now…now almost nothing
was private between them. And he loved it.
“Mmm…you
look nice.”
“You
don’t look so bad yourself.” She pulled her curls up in a pony tail and wrapped
a band around it, pulling it out just enough to be a rough bun. A few loose
curls hung to each side of her face that she kept trying to capture and clip
with bobby pins. “Damned things.”
“Leave
‘em down. I like that.”
Looking
at his reflection in the mirror, she was taken with the way he was looking at
her. She blushed. Not something she did easily. “Thanks.”
With
one more quick make-up check, she led him out of the bathroom by the hand.
“Okay, Romeo. Take me away.”
“You
got your swimsuit?”
“Yep.
My bag’s by the door. Lemme check my sugar before we go, huh?”
“Mmmkay.” As they made their way back downstairs, Nick
noticed something in the wall surrounding the stairwell. “Ciara…what’s
this?”
“Hmmm?”
Turning back around to see what he was looking at, she quickly jaunted down the
remainder of the stairs and made her way into the kitchen hoping to convince
him she’d not heard him.
He
studied the ding further and said nothing more. She was either pre-occupied or
hiding something. Either way, he’d learned from his own experiences lately that
sometimes you hid things for a reason. So he didn’t pry. Until he landed on the
bottom step and saw another ding. And another. And the frame of her pantry door
looking askew.
“Ciara…what the hell happened in here? Looks like someone
took a club to your walls.”
Looking
up from her monitor, she casually glanced at the wall his eye had never left.
“Oh yeah…that.” Dammit.
“Yeah,
that. What happened?”
“Nothing,
really.”
Raising
his eyebrows, he joined her in the kitchen, glancing at the monitor himself.
“140. Not bad.”
“Nope,
you ready to sweep me off my feet?”
“Oh
definitely.”
Smiling
at his playful expression, she slid her hand through his arm and headed toward
the front door. Grabbing her bag before leaving, she stopped and pulled him in
for a hug.
“Woah…what was that for?”
“Can’t
a girl just give you a hug?”
“Well,
yeah…”
“Just
thanks. Thanks for um…for courting me. I need this.”
“Good.
Let’s go.”
The
drive to his home was brief and quiet, Ciara grateful
for being able to elude any more questions about the condition of her walls,
and Nick spinning different scenarios as to how they got that way. Could it
have been from a high blood sugar fit? Maybe a low one and she got confused or
was bumping into walls? But, if that was the case, she wouldn’t be hiding it
from him, would she?
Pulling
his truck into the garage, he looked over at her and smiled. Her auburn curls
seemed to brighten up in the summer, and they played off her green eyes
perfectly. He’d never get used to the way she looked at him lately. It was like
they had a secret between them. And they did. They had a secret even from each
other, yet somehow they shared in its treasure. It was a love no one could
explain. And no one dared.
“Wait
here, let me get your door.”
“Oh
wow…a total gentleman.”
And
so their evening went. He’d had food catered in, probably paying for the
atmosphere as well with candles and flowers sprinkled throughout his dining
room, kitchen and she hoped, his bedroom.
Even
though the dining room table was set for romance, they took their meal outside
by the pool. The evening couldn’t have been more perfect. Just humid enough to
remind you where you were, but not so stifling you couldn’t breathe. She looked
over to him just as he stuffed a huge forkful of pasta in his mouth and giggled
as a strand of angel hair hung from his lips.
“Mmm…**slurp**…nicsh timing, Shee…”
“Sorry…you
were supposed to look sexy and dashing.”
“Ah,
but see,” he swallowed and took a huge swig of water, “you know the real
truth.”
“Yes,
I do. You’re still sexy and dashing. Even with pasta hangin’ from your mouth.”
Putting
his fork down, he finally asked what he’d been dying to since he picked her up.
“So, tell me…now that my mouth’s not full…what happened at your house?”
Hrm. No getting out of it this time.
Putting her own fork down and getting up from the table to stand by the
railing, she heaved a sigh before confessing. Maybe in confession, she’d find
strength to do something about it. “It’s from Dennis.”
“Dennis!?
How in the hell…”
“Well,
he tends to drink too much sometimes and then he comes over, and…”
“Does
he hit you?” Damn, that sounded too familiar.
“No.
He gets violent though and just starts swinging. I’m not the easiest person to
live with, you know.”
“There
is nothing you could do to justify that, Cici. You
know it.”
“Maybe,
maybe not.”
“Okay,
so what pissed him off so much he punched in a wall…numerous times?”
“You
know, Nick? I care about you a lot and I can share a lot of things with you,
but this…this just isn’t one of them.”
Walking
over to her, he leaned back on the railing and brought her to stand between his
legs. She rested her head on “her spot” on his chest, wrapping her arms around
him, wondering how she could want this thing that was right there, but yet was
so far out of reach. It made no sense.
He
said nothing, and in his silence he said so much to her. That these things
didn’t matter to him. He knew her as he knew her and that was all that mattered
to him. The truth was, she’d mentioned Nick one too many times to Dennis.
Always as a friend in her life, but after a time, and after a few too many
drinks, Dennis’ jealousy got out of control. Perfectly pointless being that he
kept a wife at home, but there it was. There was no way in hell Ciara was going to tell Nick that he was the reason for the
holes in her walls. Nope. No way.
“You
know, I understand that you don’t want to talk about it. I totally get it, but Ci…believe me. You need to get away from that.”
“You’re
one to talk.”
“Yeah,
I am. Because she doesn’t do that shit anymore, Ci.
If that had continued, she’d definitely be out.”
“Then
I wish she’d slug you a good one, Nick. You need her out of your life. And not
for me to replace her. I can’t do that, but…she needs to be gone.”
“So
does Dennis.”
“We’ve
made a mess of things, haven’t we?”
“In
some ways, yeah. But…”
“But
right now this just feels perfect.”
“Totally
perfect.”
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~
“Okay,
so I’m later than hell anyway, right?”
“Right.
Hand me the spackle knife.” Time to fix the holes in the walls. Neither Nick or
Ciara quite knew what they were doing, but between
some internet searching and memories of her daddy fixing a hole she had
put in a wall during a conniption at age 9, she felt like they could do this.
And he insisted on helping. How could a girl refuse? “Wait! Before you go on,
let’s add some music, huh?”
“Oh
yeah…use those Bose speakers…good idea.”
“Oh
shut the fuck up. I’m horrified I did that.”
“Don’t
be…it was a riot. So, anyway, I get there, still dressed in shorts and shit and
I finally get to my limo. Guy gets out, looks me over, ‘You goin’ to a wedding,
dude’?”
“Nice,
a smart assed driver.”
“Of
course, so I just look at him and hand him my bags. Pull the whole celebrity ‘tude cuz I’m not in the mood for this damned wedding
anyway, and I’ve had nothing but shit trying to get there. Does that look
right?” He leaned back and inspected the screening job he’d done on their first
hole.
“Yeah,
looks great…this is ready to go.” She handed him the cement-like mixture and
watched him slather it on the spot. “So does he,” singing the rest of her
question, “get you to the church on time!?”
He
stopped spreading the compound on the wall and glared at her. “You’re a riot.
And yeah. Sorta. Ciara…you’ve heard Kevin say he got
married in the mountains, right?”
“Yep…missed
a spot.”
“Oh,
yeah…” Smoothing out his work, he stuck the blade into the spackle and handed
it to her. “That looks okay, huh?”
“Yep,
perfect. So, the mountains.”
“Yeah…he’s
not kidding, Ci. Miles and miles in and out of these
damned things. This place was his dad’s camp. But this town, the whole
place…total
“Oh
yeah? How’s that?” She got up from her position on the floor groaning at the
pain that shot through her hip. “Damn, I can’t do that. This one look ready?”
“Yep.
I’ll get it. You sit down for a minute.” Getting down on his knees, he worked
spackle into the second hole and continued his story. “Anyway, Kevin…I mean,
this place is totally depressed, Ci. Brian, man. He
came from money. But Kev…he was the poor part of the family, you could tell
just from where he grew up. Gorgeous guy, out of the hills. Always on top of
the game in school, in the community, at church. And here he comes to show biz
and he’s just any other dude. No wonder he’s such a control freak. Always
having to be on top. It’s all he’s known.”
“Probably
explains his hidden resentment of you, too.”
“You
think?”
“Hell,
yeah. You stole his thunder. Young, gorgeous, all the girls want you. I mean,
he has his fans, but…”
“Mmm…never
thought of it that way. Not sure he does either, but it’s something to think
about.”
“So
how was the wedding? Or did you totally miss it?”
“Oh,
I made it…sorta. In my damned shorts lookin’ like an idiot.”
“I
can imagine…so was the bride bootiful and all that
jazz?”
“Yeah,
nice wedding…simple. But then we had to get down that stupid mountain.”
“Problem?”
“Right
now, yeah…where’s that other hole?”
“Up
in the stairwell…need a light?”
“Yep…come
up and talk to me.”
Up
she went, bringing their drinks and thoroughly enjoying this glimpse of
domestic bliss. She sat down on a stair a few steps away from him, rubbing his
calves as he worked. “So how’d Mohammed get down the mountain?”
“Um…with
lots of twists and turns and hills and valleys. It was awful. I rode with AJ
and I swear that limo driver was on speed or somethin’. We could barely sit up
he was whippin’ us around so much. I was curious, so
I asked him to clock how far down the mountain it was.”
“How
far?”
“Two
miles, Ciara. It’s not a two mile high mountain.
That’s how twisty those roads were. Can you imagine trying to get through there
in the winter? Kevin fuckin’ lived there!”
“Dear
God…did you get nauseaus?”
“Nauseaus? AJ and I couldn’t open the doors fast enough to
totally lose our stomachs. Both of us. Made the dude pull over as soon as we
hit
“Oh
no!” She couldn’t help but laugh. Poor guys. Nothing like barfing on a tux.
Although…”Good thing you didn’t have your tux on then, huh?”
“No
kidding. I don’t get car sick much, but…that…I have no idea how he lived with
that day in and day out.”
“He
obviously got used to it.”
“I
guess. Okay, this one’s done too. You said your dad’s gonna fix that framing?”
“Yep.
This weekend.”
“K,
let’s go out back, huh? I just wanna sit in the sun with you.”
He
sat on the chaise, spreading his legs and patting the seat between them.
Snuggling up against him, she had to sigh, again grateful for a nice afternoon
and great company. She could get real used to him being home all the
time. This was way too nice. Her view out back wasn’t as nice as his on the
bay, but it didn’t matter. The shrubs she’d planted for privacy were blooming
in full and it was nice enough. And they were alone, and at peace and together.
Nothing else mattered.
“Okay,
so you puked up a lung, and then the reception…”
“It
was a reception. Nothing special. I hate those things.”
“Yeah,
they can be weird. So tell me. Are they happy?”
“I
have no idea, Ciara. What makes a couple happy
anyway?”
“I’m
not sure either of us are equipped to answer that one right now.”
“No,
probably not. But, you know what?”
“What?”
“I
want that some day. Maybe not what they have cuz I find it strange, but
whatever it is that makes a wedding day work after the wedding day. I
want that.”
“Yeah,
me too.”
“Know
what else?”
“What?”
“When
I think of it, when I picture it in my mind, I only see it with you.”
***
