Blind Side Of Love (14 page)

“Ah shit, I told Ashton and a couple of the other guys that I’d hang out with them tonight.”

I tried my hardest to hide my disappointment. “Oh, okay.”

“Don’t make any plans for tomorrow. I’ve got something special planned.”

I couldn’t hold back my smile. “What is it?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Oh, I like surprises!” I said as I threw my cover up on over my bathing suit. I stood up and slipped on my flip flops, grabbing my beach bag.

“Why are you leaving so soon?”

“Because I
need
to get in the shower; I’m sweaty, sandy, and covered in sun block.”

“Sounds pretty sexy, if you ask me.” He raised his eyebrow, standing up and pressing his forehead against mine.

“Mr. Bryant, I do believe we already had our lesson this morning.”

I couldn’t resist grazing his salty lips. His hands moved down my back, pulling me into him and kissing me harder before taking my hand and leading me off the beach and into his house. His lips were on mine the minute we walked inside. He pushed me up against the wall and immediately removed my bathing suit bottoms. He eased his fingers inside of me as our tongues moved in unison.  My insides began to throb for him once again.

“Becca, you fuckin’ make me crazy. I never wanted anyone as much as I want you.”

He pulled down his swim trunks, wrapping my leg around his waist and bracing my back against the wall. I immediately felt the fullness of him inside of me. It was so perfect and so familiar now. We were becoming more and more comfortable with each other’s bodies, learning each other’s likes and needs, making each time better than the last. He moved in and out of me as I ran my hands through his hair.

I screamed out his name, feeling all of my emotions coming to the surface. He bit his lip, smiled, and began to move quicker and harder. I could feel his erection growing inside of me just before he let out a loud groan, releasing himself into me. He removed my leg from around his waist and was trying to catch his breath. I caressed his face and looked up at him and smiled.

"I can't get enough of you," he whispered in my ear.

His voice had that sexy smoothness once again, making my entire body tingle. He bent down and kissed me, taking my breath away. I pressed my forehead against his as our hearts pounded in unison.

"I'll see ya tomorrow.” He nodded and placed another gentle kiss on my lips.

My stomach was doing cartwheels the entire drive home as I thought about what had just happened. I knew that I didn't have anyone else to compare to, but I didn't think that it could get any more intense than what Drew and I had shared. My body was still feeling like it was having aftershocks.

I arrived home and jumped in the shower. I was planning on spending the rest of the afternoon on the couch with a good book, until I got out of the shower and saw that Mrs. Barrett was calling. I rolled my eyes while trying to decide if I wanted to answer her and finally picking it up on the last ring.

"Hey, Mrs. Barrett," I answered.

"Hi Becca. I really hate to ask you this on such short notice, but Carlos Simms has more paperwork that I need by tomorrow morning." She caught me totally off guard as I tried to think of an excuse. "I would go pick it up myself, but Edward and I have a benefit that we need to attend tonight. If I don't have this paperwork by tomorrow, we will lose out on applying for a grant that can be used to fund more scholarships." I thought about the last time I was at Mr. Simms’ house and how uncomfortable he made me feel and that was with Drew there. My stomach dropped, thinking about going by myself. "You'll be in and out. He's away on business and left the papers with his housekeeper."

"Okay," I finally relented. I wasn't looking forward to the long drive, but I could handle it as long as I knew that I wouldn't have to be dealing with Mr. Simms. I threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top, pulling my wet hair back into a ponytail and was on my way.

The warm sun and light breeze as I drove with the top down allowed me some much needed time to clear my head. I had so much on my mind this past week between Krista, my dad, and most of all, what was going to become of Drew and me once we went back to school. I tried my best to convince myself that I would be okay and I could handle it if our relationship had to end, but each time I was with him, I was starting to doubt that. I pulled into the horseshoe driveway of Mr. Simms’ mansion, feeling a lot less tense this time, knowing that he wouldn't be there.

A tall woman dressed in a traditional maid's uniform answered the door with Mr. Simms’ intimidating security guard standing right behind her. "Hi, Mr. Simms has an envelope that I'm picking up for Lynn Barrett," I said.

"Oh yes, please come in." She opened the door further and I hesitantly stepped inside as the security guard remained stone face. She led me into the living room and my stomach dropped when I saw Mr. Simms and two other men seated on the couch. My legs immediately began to tremble and I wanted to just run out.

"Oh Miss Keeton, such a pleasure to see you again," Mr. Simms said. "Gentlemen, this is the beautiful Miss Keeton." The two men got up from the couch and looked me over before each shaking my hand and introducing themselves.

"Please have a seat," Mr. Simms said, motioning toward the couch.

"Umm, no thank you. I really have to run. My boyfriend is waiting for me," I lied.

"Oh, is he in the car?"

I wanted to say yes so badly but I was fairly certain that he had security cameras all over and would know that I was lying. "No, he's at home."

“Well, please just have a seat while I go get the papers.”

I hesitantly sat down in the only open area on the couch, inching as far away as possible from the man sitting next to me. "I don't bite." He chuckled. I could feel my face heating up. I began to break out in an instant sweat, wishing that Drew was there with me, wishing that I had never agreed to come. A strange sense of relief washed over me when Mr. Simms walked back in the room with the envelope in his hand. As much as he freaked me out, these two other men were even creepier.

"Miss Keeton, my friend Kenneth here is the one that has the modeling connections," Mr. Simms said, gesturing to the older man sitting beside me. "She's a natural. Don't you agree, Kenneth?"

The man moved closer to me, choking me out with his strong cologne. "She certainly is, but she needs to relax a little bit more." I cringed and immediately stood up when I felt his warm breath on my neck and his hand moving up my bare thigh. Panic began to set in as a million scenarios began to play over in my head. My heart began to race. The only person that knew I was here was Mrs. Barrett. I should have told Drew but I didn't want him feeling like he had to cancel his plans to come with me. "Easy, beautiful, I didn't mean to scare you."

I looked away.

"Miss Keeton, please excuse Mr. Dainbridge. He sometimes forgets his manners around beautiful women," Mr. Simms said, placing the envelope in my hand.

I swallowed hard, not saying a word, walking out of that house as fast as my legs would allow. I controlled my trembling body long enough to pull out of the driveway and get far enough away from the house before pulling off on the side of the road to pull it together. How could I have been so stupid to go there today, especially by myself? I felt like such a fool. I wanted to call Drew so badly and just hear his voice to help put me at ease but I stopped myself. I needed to stop being so dependent on him. I calmed myself down as best as I could, trying not to think about what could have happened. I turned up the radio and let the warm breeze blow through my hair as I headed home, vowing to never return to that place again.

My nerves were finally settling down, hours after arriving home from Mr. Simms’ as I stood on the patio putting the last details on my painting. I stood back and admired it sitting on the easel. Just the feel of the paint brush in my hand and the smell of the paints put my mind at total ease. This was where my heart was and I scolded myself for not allowing myself to do it more often. The beautiful star filled sky and glowing half-moon was the perfect canvas. I wondered what Drew was doing and if he was thinking about me the same way I was thinking about him. My thoughts began to drift once again to what was going to become of our relationship once we both became wrapped up again with school. I sighed deeply, trying to think positive. I knew that I was willing to make it work no matter what. We would only be an hour away and I could come home as much as possible on the weekends and Drew could come and visit me in the city whenever he had free time. I knew that if we both wanted it badly enough it was definitely doable. I only hoped that he was feeling the same way that I was. The sweet smell of honeysuckle wafted through the warm summer breeze while the crickets sang their familiar lullaby. I closed my eyes, taking it all in and wishing that Drew was with me right now and wondering if he was noticing just how beautiful the stars were tonight as well. As I opened my eyes, an idea struck me. I carefully took my painting off the easel and laid it out to dry before getting to work on my next masterpiece.

My eyes shot open to the sound of my ringing phone. Seeing Drew's name on my caller ID first thing in the morning was a nice way to start the day.

"Hey," I answered, feeling the smile instantly stretch across my face.

"Morning, gorgeous girl. Are you ready for your surprise?"

I lifted my head from my pillow to look at the time. "It's only seven a.m.," I laughed.

"The earlier the better."

"Okay, I just need to take a quick shower and get some caffeine," I replied, sitting up in my bed and stretching my body.

"No need to take a shower; you're going to be getting pretty dirty and we can stop for coffee. Just get dressed and I'll be there to get you in twenty…..oh, and wear jeans."

I hung up the phone, not liking the sound of that. What the heck could he possibly have planned that was going to get us dirty? Still, I was up for any adventure as long as it was with him. I had just finished dressing when I heard the doorbell ringing. I ran down the stairs two at a time, feeling that familiar yearning in my body when I opened the door and saw Drew standing in the doorway with his overgrown stubble on his face, and his rock hard chest molding to his tee shirt. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him with vigor.

"Wow, that's a nice greeting!" he teased.

"Why thank you, Mr. Bryant," I teased back. I took his hand and he led me out to his car. "So where are we going?" I asked.

"To get you some coffee."

"After that, silly."

"I don't give away my surprises," he said, wrapping his seatbelt around him.

The euphoria I was feeling quickly washed away when I saw Mrs. Barrett's name on my caller ID. Being with Drew had totally erased my memory of yesterday. I took a deep breath before answering. Drew looked over at me, seemingly sensing my uneasiness.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Barrett," I answered.

"Good Morning, Becca. Thank you so much for dropping off that envelope to my house yesterday. I really appreciate it. I'm going to need you to deliver some more forms to Mr. Simms sometime next week."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Barrett, but you're going to have to find someone else to do it. I was put in a very uncomfortable situation yesterday while I was there and I will not be making anymore deliveries or pickups to his house."  I could feel Drew's eyes burning into me.

"Oh I'm sorry, Becca. What happened?”