Strawberry Wine (28 page)

She was screaming - loudly - as he continued to thrust into her depths. She could feel his liquid heat pouring into her and hear him mumbling hard-to-make-out words. She thought she heard him repeating “mine” but she was too sex-addled to form a cohesive thought.

When at last he stilled, they lay quietly, the only sound their labored breathing. He pressed his forehead to hers and looked into her eyes. Neither of them spoke. They just stayed like that, still joined, for several minutes.

Jason shifted his weight, leaning down to kiss her tenderly. It was a sweet, loving kiss, very different from the animalistic intensity of moments before. Alli returned the kiss, sighing into his mouth. To her surprise she could feel him growing hard again. He was still inside of her, buried to the hilt. She thought she must be mistaken, but as if in answer to her doubts, Jason began to move again. This time he was much slower. He set an unhurried, almost frustrating pace.

She moaned, raising her hips to meet each thrust. “Jason...” She sighed.

“Alli...” He answered. And once again they journeyed together to climax, this one being slower to build, yet somehow even more powerful than the last.

Alli lay in the crook of Jason’s arm. They were still on the cold, unforgiving floor of the studio. A numb stiffness was settling into their bones. Alli took stock of their surroundings and giggled. The immediate area was an epic mess. The tarp was covered with bright swirled colors, as were their naked bodies.

Jason had an arm thrown over his eyes. Alli’s giggles caused a grin to split his lips. “What?” He asked without moving his arm.

“Look at this place.” She said. “Look at
us
. We look like psychedelic porn.”

That made Jason snort with laughter and join in her giggling. He moved his arm from his eyes and raised up on his elbow, keeping Alli nestled up against his side. “Nonsense.” He chided, bringing his free hand up to cup her breast, and delighting when her nipple hardened in response. “We don’t look like psychedelic
porn
.”

“Oh no?” She smiled and he kissed her briefly, but with longing.

“No. We look like psychedelic
art
.” He corrected. That started Alli giggling again.

“Mmmhmm. Look at you.” Jason reached across Alli and grabbed at the debris behind her. When he brought his hand back she saw what he had been after. It was a small detail brush. Jason swirled the brush in a puddle of chartreuse paint and brought it to Alli’s Iliac crest. Alli had always been rather thin, and her hip bone jutted out just a bit. It was feminine, but not so noticeable as to make her look undernourished. It was a ticklish area and she squirmed as Jason signed his name to her skin. “There we go,” He said with a satisfied nod. “You’re a J. Ogden original.”

Alli smiled and rose up to kiss him. “One of many, I hope.” She teased.

“No.” He answered. “This is a very limited edition. Any future masterpieces will require a much softer studio.”

“And warmer.” She kissed him again.

“Yes. Warmer too, but most definitely softer. I nearly broke a hip.”

Mary was surprised to find Jason in the paint shop. Much to her dismay, he hadn’t worked on anything since school had started and he’d found out Alli was a student.

He wasn’t painting. He was stretching canvas over a wooden frame. Mary blinked each time the staple gun made a popping sound as he secured the final side.

Satisfied with his work, he leaned the newly stretched canvass against the four he had stretched before it. He had been busy.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked, pulling a chair over and motioning for him to sit down.

Jason slumped down into the proffered chair and rubbed his hands over his face while taking a deep breath. “Is it that obvious?”

Mary ran her hand through the top of his mussed hair like she used to do when he was a boy. “Well, I have enough canvasses to last me well into the new year thanks to you. It must be something.”

Jason was conflicted about telling his mother of the newest development between Alli and him. He wanted it to be happy news instead of a burden. It was killing him not knowing how Alli’s parents would react. Obviously they wouldn’t be thrilled with the situation, but would they be upset enough to press charges? As it was, it was taking every ounce of self control he possessed not to march over there and tell her mother himself.

Jason heaved a sigh and gave his mother a weak smile. “I may be in a bit of trouble, Mom.” he said wearily.

Mary’s brow furrowed and she ran her hand over her son’s scratchy cheek. “What is it, Jason? Should I be worried?”

Jason reached up and took her hand, sandwiching it between his own. “This isn’t how I envisioned this conversation taking place, Mom, but it’s a little late for me to worry about such details...”

“Jason, you’re scaring me. Stop being so cryptic.”

“Alli’s pregnant, Mom.”

Mary gasped, her hands shooting up to cover her racing heart. “Pregnant! Alli? My God, Jason, what does this mean? What does Linda think about all this? What does
Alli
think about all this?”

Jason stood and took Mary by the shoulders to calm her down. “Mom. Calm down. This is why I hesitated to tell you. Linda doesn’t know yet, and Alli is insisting we keep things quiet until she’s a little further along.”

“That’s ridiculous! She needs to tell her parents.”

Jason grimaced. “I know, Mom. I’ve tried to convince her to tell them, but she is adamant that we not say anything until she’s too far along for her father to force an abortion.”

Mary gasped again. “My God. He would
do
that? Surely not. That’s not even legal. Do I need to call our lawyer?”

“No, Mom. Please. Let’s not worry about lawyers just yet. I’m hoping it doesn’t need to go that far. Once Alli is comfortable with telling her parents, I plan to go with her and explain everything. I want them to know I intend to take full responsibility for both Alli and the baby.”

Mary nodded silently, her mind racing at all the implications. “Jason, what does this mean for you? You’ll lose your teaching license. You could serve jail time.” Her voice cracked on the last words and tears flooded her eyes. Jason scooped her into a tight hug.

“We can’t think like that Mom. I need to keep as optimistic an outlook as possible. Believe me, this is killing Alli. She’s a guilt ridden wreck right now. All of this stress can’t be good for the baby...”

Mary snuffled a few times and stepped back, composing herself. “You’re right. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions. I’m sure we can work everything out amicably like civilized adults. We all need to focus on what’s best for you two. And the baby, of course.”

Mary was quiet again for a moment. Jason watched her emotions war across her face. After a few beats of silence he smiled a genuine smile at her and said softly, “It’s ok, Mom. You’re allowed to be happy about the baby. You’re going to be a grandma.”

Mary returned his smile, her eyes filling with fresh tears, this time of joy. “I guess I am. Oh, Jason! You’re going to be a father!” She hugged him tightly again, sending up a silent prayer that everything would work out.

* * * * *

In light of Alli’s pregnancy, Jason had lifted her ban on his property. She became a regular fixture at his place every day after school. Alli still went to extremes to avoid being seen by anyone anywhere near him, but once she was safely past the main house, and inside the carriage house, she relaxed and made herself at home. She knew Mary knew about her pregnancy, but she was mortified at the thought of running into the woman. She wouldn’t know what to say.
Hi Mrs. Taylor. Sorry about ruining your son’s life...

There was a light rain falling against the fall foliage outside, and the warmth of the room was causing condensation to form on the windows. Jason and Alli sat lounging together on the couch, hot cups of tea just an arms length away on the coffee table.

“Alli?”

Alli raised her face to meet his gaze.

“How would you feel about enrolling at Bridges? They have a program there for teen mothers, and the students and staff would certainly be more understanding of what you’re going through.” Jason hoped fervently that she would be open to the idea. He couldn’t handle the thought of having to stand idly by and watch Alli get harassed at school.

Alli was slow to answer. She had been thinking about maybe transferring to Bridges, but was hoping to finish out the current semester at Roosevelt.

“I think it’s definitely something to consider for next semester.”

Jason tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I can’t convince you to go sooner? Or what about graduating early? That’s what I did, and with your grades, passing the GED would be cake.” He hated seeing Alli suffer the ridicule and abuse of the other students, unable to step in on her behalf. If they were already this bad at just the rumors, how ugly would they be when Alli’s pregnancy started showing?

Alli’s eyes darkened. “Would it make you any less weird about
this
if I were no longer your student?” She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. She could feel his entire body respond to her instantly, which only served to heighten her own response in turn. She melted into him, her pulse racing as he deepened the kiss. He stopped suddenly and pulled back, panting. Alli stared at him longingly, not hiding her disappointment.

“Do you think me a monster?”

Alli frowned in confusion. What on earth was he talking about? “What? Why would I think you a monster?”

“For wanting you. Even knowing the truth about your age, God help me I don’t want you any less than the first day I laid eyes on you. Does that make me sick? Am I some kind of pervert?”

“Jason?” She said, calmly. “How old were you when you lost your virginity?”

He shook his head as if to argue with her before he knew what she was getting at. “Sixteen, but-”

“Sixteen. A year younger than I am now. And the girl you lost it to - was
she
a pervert?”

“She was only seventeen.”

Alli cocked a brow. “That’s not the point. Regardless of her age, she had sex with a sixteen year old. If she’s not a pervert, then neither are you.”

Jason sighed in exasperation. “Your logic is flawed. She was a teenager having sex with another teenager. I am a grown man.”

“Forget my logic, then. The simple fact of the matter is that teenagers have sex. Not
all
teenagers, but some. I am seventeen years old. That’s the age of consent in our state. If the law says I’m old enough to have sex, then how are you a pervert?” Alli was pleased with her argument. She had done her homework and was both surprised and thrilled to learn that the age of consent in her state was seventeen. Sadly, no matter how often she reminded Jason of that fact, he still refused to touch her the way she longed for him to.

Jason let her little speech sink in for a minute. Surprisingly, he felt a little better. He had been a year younger than Alli was now when he had first had sex. It was a bit of a mind-bender, that. “Hmm.” He said matter of factly, “I can’t argue with that.”

Alli smiled and stretched herself against him. She ran her nose along the bridge of his, then skimmed her lips across his jawline before taking his earlobe between her teeth. Jason let out a hiss before grabbing her face and pulling it back to his for a hungry kiss.

Alli moaned at the feel of his lips on hers, and opened her mouth to invite him in. He delved past her lips, sliding his tongue against her own and reveling in the taste of her. She could feel an uncomfortable hardness pressing against her hip and shifted so she could grasp the top button of his jeans. His abdominal muscles jumped under her touch and he broke away, breathing heavily. “Alli. Alli, you’re killing me.” He sat up, taking her with him and depositing her beside him on the couch.

She looked disgruntled to say the least. “I thought you couldn’t argue my logic.” she huffed.

Jason chuckled at how grumpy she sounded. He felt a small bit of satisfaction in knowing he wasn’t the only one that would be thoroughly frustrated by his show of restraint. “I’m not arguing your logic. I’m also not going down this path again until I have your parents’ blessings.”

Alli’s eyes bulged in disbelief. “Seriously? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He pinched his lips into a thin line and shook his head. “Nope.”

“Why?” She whined. “What’s the point in denying ourselves? I can’t get more pregnant than I already am.”

Jason let his head fall back to rest on the top of the couch. “No, I don’t suppose you can.”

Alli dropped her gaze to the very noticeable bulge in Jason’s pants. “I know you want to...” She cajoled.

Jason laughed at her blatant tactics to get him to give in. “Alli, it’s called ‘integrity’, and I may not have a lot going for me in the character department these days, but I have that. Now, would you please behave? It’s hard enough keeping my hands off you when you’re
not
begging for attention.

Alli deflated and sulked against his side. She leaned across him to grab the remote.