Staying True - A Contemporary Romance Novel (18 page)

Nadia kissed my neck and lingered a
moment. “You smell so pretty.”

“What are you doing?” I leaned into
her.

Nadia pulled away and lay back on the
grass, stretching her arms overhead, exposing her belly again. “Tell me the
reason why you left this place.”

I lay down too and extended my hands
overhead so one would lie close to hers. I swaddled my hair to my neck, to the
same spot she had just been kissing, and curled up my lashes to her. “Let’s
just enjoy this moment. We’ll talk about that some other time.”

“You’re just going to leave me
hanging?” She tapped her finger to my nose.

“Yup.” I propped up on my knees and
plucked an apple up from the basket and handed it to her. She bit into it and
offered me a bite. We crunched into the juicy Macintosh until we bore down to
its core. “I want more.”

I reached in and plucked up another.
We took turns feeding each other the apple, enjoying the warm sun and the
romance of leaves blowing around. The leaves were just starting to peak with
their shades of burnt orange and red. The air smelled like an old fashioned
penny candy store, earthy and delicious. I fed her another bite. She crunched
down hard. Juices squirted every which way. I started to wipe them away with
the tip of my finger when her cell rang.

Nadia ignored it. “It’s probably
Jessica.”

“Get it. I’ll give you some privacy.”

“She’s not ruining this moment.”

It stopped ringing.

We continued chomping and then it
rang again. “I know you want to answer it. So go ahead.”

She glanced at her cell. “It’s not
Jessica. Not sure who it is.” She answered with a sigh. “Nadia Chase.”

“Nadia. This is Robby,” he said.

I could hear him, clear as day.

“Robby?” Nadia asked.

“I know. This is awkward.”

“Yeah. A little.”

“Listen, I’m calling about Jessica.
She fell and twisted her ankle. She’s at the hospital getting x-rays.”

Nadia’s face turned white. “How do
you know?”

“They tried to call you, but you
didn’t pick up so they called me.”

“Why would they call you?”

“I’m the next one listed as her
emergency contact.”

Nadia arched her face in pain. This
tore at me too. My tongue swelled, and a series of prickles surfaced on my
skin.

She paced in wide circles. “Have you
been visiting her this whole time?”

“Yes. Of course I thought she
might’ve told you by now.”

I cringed for Nadia. I bowed my head
pretending I couldn’t hear a thing.

Nadia stood with her hand on her hip.
“Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine. I’ll have her call
you when she knows for sure it’s just a twisted ankle.”

She hung up and held the cell to her
chin. She turned to me. “She’s totally having an affair on me with her ex.”

“Well how do you know for sure?”

“Jessica never once mentioned that he
visited or that he is her emergency contact after me. Who puts an ex as an
emergency contact? And, I didn’t even know she still spoke with him. What a
fool I am. This whole time I stayed true to her. Meanwhile her ex-boyfriend
steps in like a freaking superhero for her. Her ex is the one who calls me to
tell me my wife is hurt?”

I walked over to her. “Do you want to
head back to Connecticut tonight?”

She tossed her half-eaten apple into
the nearby woods. “She just twisted her ankle. Robby can ice it for her.”

We walked back to the checkout
station carrying our baskets of apples. I should’ve consoled her by advising
her not to jump to conclusions. Instead I joined the silence, seemingly
consenting to the sentiment that her wife turned into a no-good cheater and she
could do so much better without her.

“Don’t mention this to anyone. I just
want to enjoy the peace of this paradise before I have to deal with my future.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

* *

We returned to The Rafters with
several large bottles of wine. Shawna took them from me and raised her eyebrow
in question. I rolled my eyes. “I was a perfect lady.”

“Me too,” Nadia said, winking and
tilting her head over towards Eloise who stood before the big wash basin sink
and scrubbed dishes.

“She’s shy,” Shawna said, “However,
I’m getting her to open up a little.”

“Oh really?” Nadia nudged her.

Shawna flushed red and headed over to
her.

Grampa then walked into the room.
“Let’s take a walk you and I,” he said.

Nadia brushed us off. “Go ahead. I’ll
be fine. I’ll do some reading.”

So, Grampa and I went for a walk to
the top of our favorite hill. We sat together and picked at the dandelions.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked.

“Whatever you’d like, Grampa.”

“Something’s been bugging me since
before we left on the trip. Something you said about your mother.”

I don’t want to talk about my mother
right now.” I would not ruin this trip by talking about her.

“You’re angry with her, and I want to
understand why.”

I shifted and tore at a patch of
weeds. I pulled out the roots and flung them down the hill. “There’s no reason
to bring that up.”

“I’m bringing it up because I’ve never
seen you so wound-up about her before. What happened?”

“Grampa, you loved her. I don’t want
to tarnish that with my opinion of her.”

“You never talk to me about her.
Never. Not even when you were little. Why? Why are you so hesitant to talk
about her to me? Maybe I need to talk about her sometimes.”

I stared into his eyes and saw hurt
and sadness. “Your opinion and mine are far different. You think of her as
sunshine and happiness.” I hesitated. I figured I owed Grampa this conversation
at some point. “I see rain and clouds. She feared her husband and allowed him
to rule our world. She walked around with that spatula of hers singing folk
songs, and then in the next breath, I’d catch her crying in the corner of the
pantry. I could never understand why she didn’t just pack our bags and leave.
She was so weak. So pathetically weak. This pissed me off. Then I came to you,
and you always spoke so highly of her. How could I ruin that impression now
that she’s dead?”

“Your mother was a wonderful person
who ended up loving the wrong person.” His voice shook.

“My mother lived as a desperate,
scared, weak fool.” I couldn’t help snapping. “You always painted this picture
of her as a martyr. I never wanted to ruin that for you, but maybe it’s time I
do. Maybe it’s time you learn the truth that she kept us imprisoned in that
house with a man who abused her. She allowed this like we deserved nothing
better. She clung to this stupid love, and for what?”

“Do you think I never knew that?”

“Did you?” How could he just sit idle?

“Ruby, dear, you’ve got it wrong
about your mother. She didn’t cling like a desperate fool. She didn’t settle.
She fought. She planned. She strategized.”

The air short-circuited between us.
“How can you say that?”

“Your mother was just waiting for the
right moment to safely exit. She planned your escape to The Rafters. She told
me you were all excited about coming.”

“She never told me we were going.”

“She told me, ‘Ruby can’t wait to get
there.’” The pockets under his eyes drooped.

“Well, she lied.”

Grampa searched the horizon as if
answers would come calling to him from the trees. “She must have been
protecting you. Maybe she feared that you’d slip to your stepfather.” Tears
rolled down his cheeks.

My whole reality distorted. “She
planned to take us here?”

“Yes. She just needed some time to
figure it all out. She even mailed me your polka dotted bedspread and matching
curtains and asked me to set it all up before you arrived.”

A jolt surged through me with the
image of my bare bed and windows. She had told me she was getting them cleaned.

I took it all in and let it marinate
with all of the other memories I stored of her. We sat in silence, plucking
blades of grass.

“I hated her. I thought she had
settled and dragged me along with her.”

“Your mother loved you. She was
waiting on the right time to make her mark on life. You know, he threatened to
kill her if she ever arrived home with divorce papers.”

“Kill her?”

“Yes. Kill her.”

This new information poked at my
heart and sent me clamoring to understand more. “Did he push her down the
stairs?”

“No, dear.”

The man tortured her. “She must’ve
been so scared.”

He placed his hand on my arm. “She
feared the situation. She wanted to plan everything carefully, to keep you both
safe. She could’ve just ran away with you to The Rafters, but her mind clouded
with fears about child abduction laws and truancy and her financial
responsibilities. Things that didn’t matter. But, when life is holding a knife
to your throat, you can’t think as straight. So, she freaked out a bit. I told
her to just come, and we’d handle everything from here. She wasn’t weak, dear.
She was scared. Not weak. None of us knows how we would react under that
pressure. The day he threatened her life about the divorce papers, though, her
mind cleared. That very day she called me and told me you both would be
arriving on the first day of spring.”

“If only she had planned our escape
for winter break instead.”

“Life is full of what-ifs, dear.” He
squeezed my wrist, and tears dripped from his puffy eyes.

Chapter Fourteen

Nadia

When Ruby returned from outside with
her grampa, she tapped my shoulder. “We should freshen up before dinner.”

“Sounds like a great idea.”

Ruby took my hand and led the way. We
passed Grampa, who was already in the living room telling stories to a few
guests. Their laughter bounced off of the walls and filled the house with the
kind of joy big families produced at holidays.

We climbed the stairs to the third
story landing. Our rooms sat opposite each other connected at the back by a
shared bathroom. She directed me to the green bedroom. “This used to be my old
room. It can be yours.”

A soft light filtered in from the
open shade, illuminating a path to a queen-sized bed. A chaise lounge holding a
bathrobe and fluffy slippers sat under the window, which overlooked a
beautiful, rolling, green field.

Ruby strolled up behind and wrapped
her arms around me. “Are you going to be okay?”

I reached up for her hand. “I
actually feel freer than ever.”

She kissed my shoulder. “I love hearing
that.”

Ruby’s breath tickled my skin.
Mind-altering quivers shot through me.

“Make yourself at home,” she said.
“I’m going to jump in the shower.”

She disappeared leaving me
breathless.

I sat on the recliner’s arm and
scanned her old bedroom. Sage sticks, landscape books, essential oil bottles,
and photos of The Rafters sat on the table beside me.

The shower started.

I sat back and took in the moment,
picturing the hot, steamy water pouring down over her naked body.

“Nadia?” She called out from the
steam.

I stared at the half-opened door.
“Yes?”

“Would you mind grabbing a towel out
of the closet in the hallway for me? They should hopefully still be in there.”

I studied the moment. We were alone
with an entire floor sandwiched between us and the rest of them.

“Did you hear me?”

“I heard you.” I walked to the
hallway closet and stared at a sea of fluffy towels. I chose the top one with
tiny roses. I walked back in the bedroom and locked the door.

I tiptoed into the bathroom and
planned to place it on the sink and walk out, then call out to her to tell her
I had delivered it. As I entered the steam and saw Ruby’s naked silhouette
behind the clear shower curtain, my knees buckled, and my mind lost all sense
of reason. Her long hair clung to her back, and she stood under the stream of
water with her arms raised and her hands massaging her scalp. Her waist, taut
and firm curved like a flower petal. I just stood there and stared, mesmerized
by her beauty and elegance and complete innocence to the power she possessed.

Ruby opened the curtain and hid
behind it. Speckles of water danced on her smooth cheeks. Her eyes glowed, and
suds dripped from her golden hair. “You know, hot water does wonders for
warming up the muscles prior to a massage.”

I jumped at the opportunity. “I could
use a massage.”

Her eyes twinkled. We stood staring
at each other with that line of reason between us. I wanted her. I needed her.
This moment belonged to us. We deserved this moment.

My shirt and pants flew off before I
could blink. I couldn’t pass this up. I’d deal with the consequences after. I
wanted to dig into this moment and live it in its full glory, in its beauty, in
its truth of being perfect and necessary and point on with what the universe
pushed to have happen.

I slid in under the water next to
her.

Ruby squirted some strawberry twist
bath gel on a loofa. “Turn around.”

She rubbed the loofa around my back
in tiny slow circles, steady over my shoulder blades. She cradled my naked hip
with her other hand, pulling me closer to her. Soon we rocked our hips in the
same sweet, sultry melody as she circled that loofa around my skin. Ruby dared
on and traveled the outskirts of my back and over to my front. She cradled me
even closer now, resting her chin on the crook of my neck, bathing my skin with
her long wet hair. She circled around my tummy. I balanced against the shower
wall, bracing against the breezes of ecstasy as she dared even lower and aptly
tossed the loofa to the tub. She continued pampering me with her soft touch, her
circular motions, and her soft kisses on my neck.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
I whispered.

Ruby placed her lips on my ear. “Shh.
Just enjoy the moment. Imagine yourself floating. We’re flying high together,
soaring above everything in this world. Just you and me, darling.”

Ruby massaged me with increased
pressure. I leaned harder against the wall, gaining footing under the whirlwind
of this ride. My legs quivered against her hands. Water ran down my face. My
heart lifted. My head swirled. Then, I floated. I floated on her tailwind,
allowing her to guide me in her gentle wake as she steadied her massage and
held me tightly, releasing me from the burdens of this world and taking me to a
place where the steamy air encased us in a perpetual state of bliss and
caressed us in a beauty so natural, so raw, so enlivening, even my eyelids
tingled.

I wanted to please her too. I turned
around and kissed her hard under the water. Ruby responded with a deep moan. I
wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her in close so our navels danced
together under the spray of hot water.

I then soaped up the loofa and turned
Ruby around this time. I massaged the loofa around her gentle skin and her
beautiful tattoo of roots blooming into a tree of life on the back of her neck.
I leaned in and kissed the branches and leaves spread across her skin, tickling
it with my tongue, and enjoying her twitches as I licked her body. I turned her
around and traveled down to her chest. When I landed at her breasts, I stayed
for a while, flicking her nipples with the tip of my tongue and watching as she
bucked and rolled under my tongue’s caress. Ruby ran her fingers through her
hair like a supermodel, stretching her torso. I cupped her breast in my hands
and savored their softness, purity, fluidity. I knelt down against the tub’s
floor and went down on her. I pushed past the water and journeyed to the
recesses of her soul, tasting her sweetness, reveling on her swollen wetness.
She grabbed my hair and raked her hands through it as I fed a hunger too
powerful to ignore. Her legs trembled, and before long she groaned and called
out my name telling me to never stop. To never stop making her feel so fucking
good.

* *

We took a nap under the fluffy
comforter in her old bedroom. Our naked bodies entwined and became one, as we
drifted off into a restful sleep. I dreamt of purple and yellow flowers dancing
along a rolling green hill. We tumbled down the hill, giggling and kicking our
feet out in front of us, stopping only at the bottom of the hill. I looked up
and admired how fluffy the clouds hung against the brightest blue sky I’d ever
seen. The air smelled like fresh cucumbers and watermelon. The fresh day,
sprinkled in sunshine and bliss, bathed us in the kind of joy one could only
find when clearheaded and supremely fulfilled.

When I drifted back to reality and
stared at Ruby’s pretty profile breathing ever so lightly, my heart leapt. I
deserved this moment. We deserved this moment.

* *

Right before dinner, Robby called
again to tell me he had dropped off Jessica at our home. “She’s going to be
just fine,” he said.

“Well, I’m sure that thrills you.”

“It’s not like that,” he said.

“Thanks for the update.” I hung up
without a trickle of remorse for what I’d just done with my sweet Ruby.

She and I shared a glance and then
walked into the dining room to join the others. We ate dinner taking in the
laughter and the new friendships brewing, all the while holding hands under the
table.

Her grampa had us all in tears with
his stories. The man was a natural storyteller and transformed from a feeble
old man to a man of purpose. The more we laughed, the younger he looked.

By nine o’clock, his eyes were
fluttering. “Time to get some shut eye,” he said. He hugged us all. As soon as
he left, all of the other guests decided to retire to their rooms, too.

“I’m pretty tired, too.” I stood up
and stretched.

Ruby followed suit. Shawna and Eloise
remained seated on the couch. “Not interested in a game of Cribbage?” Shawna
asked us.

“God no.” Ruby yawned.

“I’ll play,” Eloise said.

Shawna lit up like a firecracker.

We left them alone and climbed to our
third floor oasis.

We went to bed that night back in
Ruby’s old room, snuggled under that same soothing comforter with pretty
flowers and lace. We listened to a cat purr on the rocking chair and admired
the way the moon danced on the window.

* *

The next morning I woke to find Ruby
lying supine on her bed. Her beautiful breasts were resting on the edge of a
comforter softer than feathers and her long, curvy body was stretched and ready
for pleasure. Caught up in the moment, comfortable under her own caress, she
reached down to between her legs and gently massaged herself, climbing steadily
to heated passion as I stared into her eyes.

“Roll over,” Ruby commanded.

I rolled over and bore my back to
her. She straddled me, and her wetness turned hot against the curve in my lower
back. I stretched my arms above my head, and played with my hair as Ruby eased
my shoulders with a light, soothing touch. I moaned under her caress, as she
raised its intensity with each firm knead. Her skin, warm and tender, soothed
me.

Ruby leaned in closer to increase the
intensity of her touch. I moaned louder and swayed my hips, enjoying the feel
of her wetness against my lower back. She kissed my neck, traveling to my ear
and whispered, “This is so unprofessional of me right now.”

“Who cares? Who wants professional?
Did I say I wanted professional?”

“What do you want, darling?”

I moaned again, this time rolling
over to face her. Ruby twirled my hair as I said in the sexiest manner I’ve
ever talked to a woman before, “You. I want you.”

Ruby cupped her hands around my face
and placed her lips on mine, fervently kissing me. An intense heat pulsed
between us, setting us on fire.

We rolled over so I now straddled
Ruby and gazed into her eyes. She wrapped her legs around my waist and slipped
her hands onto my ass, gripping it, pushing herself closer to me, gasping as
she kissed me even harder.

Ruby rocked below me, and I responded
by grazing her neck with my tongue, traveling from one freckle to another as I
headed to her nipple. I opened up my lips and took it into my mouth, enjoying
as it grew larger against my tongue. She clawed at my ass, squeezing it, leaving
her mark. The more she clawed, the harder I sucked. Our movements turned symbiotic.
I fed on her lust, her boldness, and her desires like a starved animal. She
stroked me with the artistic touch of an artist, knowing when to feather, when
to increase the pressure of her touch, when to stop and take in all she had
created, a spent and relaxed woman with cheeks surely reddened and eyes hazed
over in lust.

Ruby commanded the scene, taking me
on a thrill ride that most anyone would envy. Her eyes only left mine to seek
me out. This tingled my skin and sent my heart fluttering.

“I can’t get enough of you,” Ruby
whispered.

I placed my finger over her lips.
“Shh.” Then, I slid off of her and pulled her up to her knees. I circled around
to her backside and massaged her shoulders. I leaned in and blew hot breath on
her neck. “I’ve wanted to massage you naked like this ever since that first
night you massaged me.” I guided her muscles to relax under my firm touch.

“I haven’t had a massage since
massage school.” Ruby bowed her head and let me unwind her some more. I reached
over to the bedside, poured massage oil into the palms of my hands and rubbed
them together. Then, I slid my hands up and down her shoulders, to her arms and
back up again. I guided her to lie back down and rest her head on the fluffy
pillow. I continued to massage. She melted below me. I traveled down her back,
reached around to her tummy, and traced her navel, breathing against her neck
with soft, yet commanding, breaths.

“You’re good at this,” she said,
rolling over to kiss me.

I moaned, kissed her back, and spread
my hands up and over her breasts, cupping them in my hands, playing with her
nipples. Hot moisture pooled between my legs. Ruby watched my fingers as I
tugged on each nipple, massaging them into a state of complete and utter
nirvana. I kept one hand on her left breast and reached down to her wetness
with my free hand. I placed my fingers inside of her, and she screamed out in
pleasure. I nibbled on her ear, and in less than ten seconds she melted in my
hands. Wet, quivering, and high on an orgasm, she twisted below me. I cradled
my body on top of hers and rocked her until our breathing paced down to quiet
whispers.