The Good Girl (15 page)

“I don’t really care to have anal,” I said crisply. “The group sex and threesome just goes against everything in me.” I stared at the list that we had marked the heck out of over the past week. Biting my lip I considered what remained. “So what? What is there that I just have to try?” Asked, challenging him.

“Married sex,” he murmured. “We should totally try it.”

Inhaling sharply, I studied his face. The man wasn’t joking. “You want to get married?”

Sighing, he looked me in the eye as he spoke. “I never planned to marry…ever. That was one thing my parents couldn’t make me do. Then…I met you, my walking disaster, the good girl, the best girl, and everything changed. You changed me, Willow.” Frowning at me, he added, “You are everything my parents always wanted for me. I really thought that after dating you, I could prove to them that they were wrong, so wrong about what I needed.” Reaching out with his hand, he cupped the side of my face and pulled my lips to his. “Only this time, they were really right.” He chuckled, but it sounded so hollow. “Now I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I want to rush into marriage, but I’m supposed to be leaving and I can’t imagine leaving without you. If it means getting married now, so be it.”

“So be it?” The twinkle faded. This was shaping up to be one hell of a marriage proposal. “So be it.” Frowning, I gazed at him. “While I admire your sincerity, I somehow imagined that when a man finally asked me to marry him, he’d be…oh, I don’t know…happier about it!” Shaking my head, I backed out of reach. “I’m pretty sure I love you, Wyatt, but I can’t get engaged to you like this.” Swallowing hard, I added, “Safe journey.” Then I kissed him on the cheek and walked out of the apartment, down the stairs, and to my vehicle. There was nothing there that I couldn’t live without. Then I realized that Wyatt was there. At the moment, despite what I’d said, I wasn’t entirely sure I could live without him.

The drive back to my place was the longest most painful drive I’ve ever endured. Tears streamed relentlessly down my face. Before I had made it to the door of my apartment, my phone was ringing. Without even glancing at the Caller ID, I answered. Some part of me was not so secretly hoping that it was him, that Wyatt had regrets, that he just needed a moment to collect himself before he begged me to come back.

Instead, I was greeted with Molina’s voice. “So, Willow, it looks like you won,” she announced.

She sounded entirely too happy for that to be true. “Then why do you sound so…perky? Why are you okay with it?” I asked suspiciously.

“Why wouldn’t I be happy for you? You were awesome competition. The game was so much fun!” She laughed as she responded.

“Was it? Then why am I miserable?” I asked, punctuating my response with a sniffle.

“Oh, girl, what happened?” She asked. “Did Mr. Wonderful blow it? Do I need to get him?”

A sob escaped my throat as I tried to explain. “He asked me to marry him!” Somehow, I knew that wasn’t going to be explanation enough.

“That bastard!” She was silent a moment. “Okay, seriously, I’m going to need more than that.”

“Why are you being nice to me?” I whimpered. “Nothing is right today. The world has completely stopped making sense! You are being nice when you should be mad. Wyatt…said so be it when he should have said he loves me.”

“So be it?” Confusion was evident in her voice.

“Yeah. When he asked me. He said ‘so be it’ like he was just resigned to his fate, like marrying me was a life sentence, like he had no choice.” The tears started again as I recalled the details of his lame proposal.

“Willow,” Molina said sternly. “He’s a bit of a bad boy. What did you expect? If you wanted hearts and flowers and eloquent words, you should have chosen a poet. For someone like Wyatt, marriage would feel like a life sentence. For him, it probably does feel inevitable. He’s doing what he has to in order to keep you. He loves you
and
he wants a life with you.” Recognizing her tone, I could completely picture the look on her face. Her brow would be furrowed, hands on hips, staring me down from her super high heels.

The worst part…was that she was right. She really was. What had I done but make him feel like he wasn’t good enough, like his proposal wasn’t good enough? Didn’t he have a family who had made him feel that way his entire life? Crap. Then I came along and just crushed him under my boot. There was a special place in hell for me.

“Oh hell! You’re right. Now what do I do?” Sighing, I began pacing just inside my front door. “And what good does it do me to change my mind. Can you see me traveling the world?”

“Traveling the world?” She asked.

“Yeah. He’s leaving town, has an idea of places he’s going to visit and projects that he’s going to complete in order to spread happiness and do good. Some bad boy!” Drying my eyes, I smiled some imagining Wyatt in these foreign countries…the best bad boy around. “He’s been saving for this for four years! What twenty-two year old does that?” Sighing, I added, “I couldn’t go if I wanted. I need a job. My family would cut me off for sure.”

“Don’t rule it out, Willow,” Molina said in a tone that inspired hope where there had been none before. “Give me some time. I’ll call you back as quick as I can.”

“Great,” I said morosely. “What do I do in the meantime?”

“Pack. And beg Wyatt for forgiveness.” She squealed then hung up.

It was easy for Molina to say. She had nothing to lose, while I had everything on the line...the only thing I had ever valued: my heart. Over the course of the past week, Wyatt had wormed his way into it one generous meaningful act at a time. Much of what he had said had hit home. We did have an undeniable chemistry. Though I lacked experience, how much did I need to have to
know
that he was it? My hand shot up to cover my mouth. It wasn’t that I might be in love with him…
I really am in love with him.
Now what?

This went against everything I was, everything I had been trained for my entire life. Stones were planners. We followed the path laid out for us. There were no deviations. There was no room for failure. Choosing Wyatt meant throwing that all away.

Love wasn’t for the feint of heart.
Love wasn’t just about taking risks. Instead, it was the greatest risk of all. At the moment, I didn’t want to be alone. Heading back to my vehicle, I hopped in and headed to the one place I never thought I’d go to seek comfort and understanding. I was about to seek out the one person I could have sworn didn’t know me at all. I needed my mommy.

When I reached my parents circular drive in front of the big stucco fortress we called a home, I parked and sat in the driveway for a few minutes before I even considered moving. Soon, there was a knock on the window.

“Willow, are you coming in?” My mother looked concerned. As well she should be I never ever came to this house voluntarily. Some kids only came when they needed something. I made sure I never needed anything. It was all home for the holidays for me.

There she was. Already in my face and I hadn’t even made it in the door. “No, mother. I was on the way to go get pizza, but I was tired and decided to stop here and rest.” Crap. Why did I do that? Stupid move, Willow. Old habits dies hard.

“Oh,” she said as she backed away from the car. She looked like I had kicked her in the teeth.

Without thinking, I threw open the car door and rushed to her. “Mom, I’m sorry!” I shouted as I reached her side. She turned toward me and I rushed into her arms, just about knocking the breath out of her.

After she held me for several seconds, she pulled back. We Stones are not a hugging bunch. This was probably overwhelming for her. “Can you stay a while?” She asked quietly. “You see, your father won’t be home until very late tonight, unless he sleeps over at the office. So, I thought we could order in Chinese food? We can rent movies on TV? We could talk?”

“Mom,” I teased, “have you been watching reruns of
The Gilmore Girls
again?”

“Well, they have a really great relationship. I may have been taking notes.” She smiled at me weakly.

Looping my arm through hers, we walked to the front door. “Sounds pretty wonderful. Let’s do it.”

For the first time ever, we managed to get all caught up in mother-daughter time.
It was good for my soul, not thinking, healing what was broken between us. Around midnight, my mother had looked at me and suggested that I just stay over in my room rather than drive back to my apartment. While I had agreed to do so, it didn’t happen. It was like neither of us could stand to break the spell, so we slept together snuggled up on the couch. Even though my father never came home, the night was pretty perfect and wonderful.

Friday morning was just as bright as the rest of the days had been, all full of Carolina blue skies and sunshine. By noon it would be sweltering hot and after a reasonably mild winter, we would still have the nerve to complain about the temperatures. To my surprise, when I opened my eyes, my mother was lying beside me just waking up and smiling.

“Morning,” I said, happily. “I don’t have anywhere to be until noon today. Wanna hang out together?”

“I would really like that, Willow,” my mother said. The twinkle in her eyes told me that she meant it.

So we did things she didn’t normally do, starting with breakfast at Waffle House where she had her hash browns smothered and covered. Then it was on to Target where the working class replenished their wardrobes when they left everything at their boyfriends’ house. Or maybe that’s just what I did.

By 11am, my mother began to get suspicious. “There is more going on here than you are letting on, Willow,” my mother commented. “Why did you really come see me?”

For a moment, I was really quiet. “Listen, I really have enjoyed our time together. I don’t want anything to take away from that, but yeah…I was upset last night when I came over and I turned to you. Doesn’t that count for anything?” I asked, so afraid to hurt her feelings.

Brightening considerably, she nodded. “It means everything to me. So, how can I help? I can tell you are hurting even though you have done a fine job of hiding it.”

“You know the guy from brunch?” I asked.

“That nice Evans boy?” She asked happily. “He seemed to really like you. You two would be a lovely match. How is that going?”

Sighing, I admitted, “That’s the problem. I love him, Mom. And I really messed up.”

Shrugging, she said, “At my age, I’ve learned that pretty much anything you want to fix can be fixed, darling.” She gave me a reassuring hug and finished with, “Tell me everything.”