Deception (13 page)

Those words seem to spark his desire for me even more. He pushes me up against the wall, while running his hands through my hair, down my back, and down the back of my thighs pulling my legs up around his waist. We get lost in each other.

Quite a while later, he slowly pulls his mouth away, taking in deep breaths and releasing them. He looks at me for a moment, and then he closes his eyes, appearing to attempt to find his composure. We stand in silence as we both try to come back down from our complete rapture.

"Damn, Sweets, I've missed you. I've waited so many years to hear those words from you. You are incredible," he says, through exhaled breaths.

"You and I were always meant to be, baby," I say, quoting him from the other day.

He nods slowly. "Forever."

He kisses me on the corner of my mouth, and then leisurely lowers me back down to the floor. "I guess we like this bathroom," I say, grinning.

"I can imagine how we end up liking this bedroom once I'm moved in," he says, wide-eyed.

"And…when I move in," I add confidently, without a second thought.

Chapter Fourteen

Sunday

May 5, 2013

7:32 a.m.

I wake to the sound of my mom moving around. Sitting up on the cot, I see her struggling to get up from the bed so I rush to her side. "Do you need to go to the bathroom?" I ask, panicked. She nods.

Her ability to speak has diminished the past few days. She tries to speak, but ends up in tears instead. She's also pale and weak, barely able to sit up on her own, let alone stand and walk. It's becoming more difficult for us to care for her. Drew arranged for a visiting nurse to come to the house, but she won't be starting until tomorrow.

I stand by her side, put one arm around her waist, and she grabs my hand as I pull her up off of the bed. Taking slow, cautious steps, we make our way to the bathroom.

I return her to the bed after she's finished. She lies down and exhaustion sets in. After closing her eyes, she drifts back to sleep as soon as I hear the front door close. What time is it? Drew is early. He's not supposed to be here until eight o’clock to stay with her while I go to church. I haven't been to church for a few weeks, and this will be the first time going without my mom. You'd think it wouldn't bother me as much as it is―it's only church after all. But this was our Sunday tradition―me and my mom―and going without her doesn't feel right. I know that she'd be happy if I did, so I will.

Travis appears in the doorway. He's wearing a black suit, a white button down dress shirt, and a beautiful burgundy tie. He looks delicious. I narrow my eyes. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugs and winks. "Going to church," he says, walking over to me. A huge sense of relief rushes over me.

I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him. “Thank you."

"I could sense you were struggling with the thought of going without mom when you told me about it yesterday. I couldn't let my girl go it alone," he says, planting a kiss in my hair.

"You have no idea what that means to me," I say, cradling his face in my hands and kissing him.

"How's mom?" he whispers.

I shrug with a saddened expression. "Weak. I had to take her to the bathroom, and she could barely walk."

He looks over at her with concern. "I'll sit here with her while you get ready."

"Thank you. Drew should be here soon."

• • • •

We sit in church, listening to the sermon. Travis holds my hand the entire time and rubs my arm. This wasn't as bad as I envisioned. I'm sure having him here with me has helped.

The service ends, and we get back in the car just as Travis' phone rings. "It's Amanda," he says, answering it. He talks for a bit and then hangs up.

"Is everything all right?"

"She’s fine. She and a couple of friends want to go hiking today. They have to do a nature walk for school. She was asking if I could bring her. Are you up for a hike today?"

"Yeah, sure," I respond, excited. I haven't been hiking in a long time. I once really enjoyed it. Rich wasn't into nature―actually he wasn't into the outdoors, at all―and my friends are more of the beach babes. "I need to change my clothes first, though.”

"I agree. I don't think I'd be able to hike much with you in that dress. That would be a recipe for trouble, considering Amanda will be with us."
Shit
, that's right, Amanda’s going to be there. This is the first time I’ll meet her. Not that I don't want to meet her, I really do. But now that the time has come, I'm a bit nervous about it. I hope she likes me. I know that would mean the world to Travis.

He puts his finger under my chin, tilting my head in his direction. "I know what you’re thinking, and I can see the worry on your face. You girls will hit it off."

"I know," I say, but not sure I'm even convincing myself of it.

"I promise," he says, taking my hand in his and kissing it.

We drive back to my mom's house. While he visits with my mom and Drew, I get changed into shorts and a tank top, and put my hair up into a bun.

I go back downstairs to tell him I'm ready. I see Drew in the kitchen, so I go to my mom's room and I’m frozen in place. Travis is sitting on the edge of the bed and my mom is leaning into him, while resting her head on his shoulder. Travis has both arms around her and he's swaying her to the music, both of them with their eyes closed. The love that this man has to give is simply breathtaking to witness. I can't help but watch from the doorway. The song ends and my mom raises her head, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Travis hugs her. He peeps in my direction, and I put one hand over my heart and blow a kiss to him with the other. He smiles.

Propping pillows behind her, he tells her that Drew will be in shortly with some lunch. She grabs his hand and kisses it. “
Thank you
,” she mouths.

I go over and hug her, reassuring her that we'll be back later. Before heading out, I tell Drew to call us if he should need anything. Travis pulls me to him and whispers. "I'm not sure those shorts are much better than the dress." I smile. He looks at me with raised eyes. "Maybe this hiking thing isn't a good idea after all."

I tug his arm and pull him into me, kissing him. "We could always explore other things if you'd prefer," I murmur.

He shakes his head and closes his eyes for a brief moment. "It's a good thing that Amanda needs to do this for school because that sounds so appealing. Can I take a rain check?" he whispers in my ear. The feel of his breath makes me shudder. I nod, and lean in to kiss his neck.

• • • •

An hour later, we’re in Pescadero picking up Amanda and her two friends. Travis introduces me to them as they pile into the car. I'm struck with how beautiful Amanda is. I recognize so many features of her mom. I notice that her face, arms, and hands have scarring, but, regardless, she's really quite stunning.

"Hi, Amy," she says, reaching her hand out. Wow, and so polite too.

"It is so nice to meet you, Amanda," I say, taking her hand.

Travis tells her and her friends that we need to make a stop at his house so he can change. He grabs my hand in his, resting it on his leg as he drives off. The girls giggle in the backseat. Travis glances in the rear view mirror and winks at Amanda. It's like they have their own secret language that doesn’t need to be spoken. I squeeze his hand, sending my heart aflutter. He looks at me and smiles. The girls giggle even louder, and he grins.

When we pause at a red light, they’re easily distracted by a boy in the car next to us, quickly bringing them back to their teenage girl ways. "Are they always like this?" I whisper.

He chuckles. "No. But they've also never seen me with a girl, so I really wouldn't know."

"Amanda has never seen you with anyone? Like, no one from your past relationships?" I ask, shocked.

He shakes his head. "Nope. No one's been worthy of bringing around." Amazed by his words, I sit in silence. All these years and he's never brought any woman to his house or around Amanda, but he's been so anxious for us to meet.

We arrive at his house and the girls run in, announcing they need to use the restroom and want something to drink. "I'll only be a minute," he says, kissing my cheek.

Moments later, he emerges from the bedroom in a fitted t-shirt and cargo shorts, and he looks damn hot. I cock an eyebrow and grin. He bites down on his lower lip, knowing what I'm thinking. The girls come out of the kitchen with bottles of water and snacks.

"Would you like a bottle of water?" Amanda asks.

"That would be great. Thanks," Travis replies.

She returns to the kitchen and brings back two bottles, handing one to each of us.

"Thank you," I say, taking it. She smiles in return.

After piling back into the car, we drive for a bit. "Remember this place?" he asks, pulling up to a hiking trail in San Mateo.

"Yes, of course," I say, enthusiastic. This was one of our favorite hiking spots, and the one where Travis gave me my promise ring. Taking my hand in his, he pulls it up to his mouth, kissing my ring. The girls snicker in the back seat.

When we get out of the car, Amanda laces her arm in mine. "Come with us," she says to me. My mouth forms a smile, but my heart smiles bigger. I glance over at Travis who is, by far, smiling the widest.

We start climbing the trail while the girls pause to pick up leaves and rocks. Giggling and talking, they walk a bit in front of us, leaving Travis and I to ourselves. Travis slows down and tells the girls not to go too far ahead without us. Finding a large rock, he directs me to sit. Sitting by my side, he puts his feet up on the rock. The view from here is perfect. We can see into the city above all the trees.

I rest my head on his shoulder and he puts his arm around me. "She's beautiful," I remark, looking at Amanda with her friends.

"Yeah, she is. But she's even more beautiful on the inside. Her kindness amazes me sometimes."

"That's proof that she's been raised well. You should be proud of yourself for that. Her kindness is much like your own." He squeezes me.

"She may have taught me, instead of me teaching her."

"Not possible, you've always been this way.”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his phone. "We need a new picture for the wall at the bar," he says, smiling. He calls for Amanda to take a picture of us. She runs to us, smiling, and grabs his phone. He wraps both arms around me and kisses me while she takes the picture.

"Can you take a picture with my phone, too?" I ask her. She nods excitedly. I hand it to her and we reenact the first picture.

"Thanks," I say when she hands me back the phone.

"You're welcome," she responds, endearingly. "Can we go up to the top of the trail?" she asks Travis.

"Do you have your phone on you?" he asks. She nods. "All right, but be careful."

Deciding that I want our new picture to be my wallpaper on my phone, I attempt to figure out how to save it. In doing so, my finger slides over the screen accidentally and I immediately feel nauseated. "Oh no!" I exclaim.

"What's the matter?" Travis asks with concern.

"Can you delete a picture from my phone for me? I can't look at it enough to remove it."

Narrowing his eyes, he takes my phone. "Okay.”

"You'll know which one it is when you see it.”

He slides his finger on the screen, and the look of shock floods his face. He stares down at it and then over to me. "This is the picture you took when you caught them together?" I nod in disgust. "Um, is this the kind of stuff you’re into as well?"

I gasp. "Hell no. Oh goodness, no." I let out a snort.

"Good. I don't think I have it in me to do that."

"Please delete it. I don't want that on my phone. I don't even know why I took it in the first place."

He presses a few things and tells me that it's gone, passing the phone back to me. "Are you sure that's not what you like?" he asks hesitantly.

I slap his arm. "Trav, please. No. No way. I had no idea that he was even into that."

"All right. Good," he says, trying to sound convinced. "So why didn't you guys ever get married?"

"Hmm…well, neither one of us ever wanted to do the whole marriage and kid thing."

He shakes his head. "That's not really true. You can't say you never did. I remember you and I talking about getting married and having three kids someday. You know, the whole house and white picket fence thing." I think. Yeah, I guess I did want that at one point in my life, with Travis. I had forgotten about that until this moment.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But after going through what we did all those years ago, I had sworn off all guys. I wanted nothing to do with them because I convinced myself that they were all lying, cheating bastards. I never even dated for so many years. I had no interest. Then I met Rich at one of my dad's functions and I wasn't into him at first, I actually thought he was arrogant and annoying. He kept coming around, and he grew on me. We started spending more time together. I'm not sure how or when it came up, but he stressed that he wasn't the marrying type. I don't know if that’s what made me feel the same way, or maybe I felt he wasn't the right one, but either way I never wanted marriage and kids with him," I say, shrugging. "How about you? Did you ever find someone you wanted to marry?"

He presses his lips in a tight line and shakes his head. "No. I had a few relationships,but they never lasted long. I always held out hope that I'd find someone who I felt was the one for m
e—
someone I didn't get tired of or find flaws in after three or so month
s—
but I never did. I've had six short relationships―if you even want to call it that―over the years. None came close to making me feel fulfilled and satisfied. Not even close. I'm convinced that everyone has one true love―one soul mate―in life, and I met mine at the age of fifteen."

"I love you," I say, kissing him.

The girls return from their hike, announcing that they’re done gathering what they need. We walk back down to the car. I hold Travis' hand and Amanda hangs onto his other arm. The smile on his face couldn't be brighter.

We drive back to Pescadero and drop them off at Amanda's friend's house. "It was nice to finally meet you," Amanda says, getting out of the car.