The Heart of Tomorrow (Book Two) (The Tomorrow Series 2) (4 page)

“That outfit is ridiculous.  Every time I see it I wonder what in the hell my mom was thinking.”

“I think it’s sweet.”

“It must be a chick thing then, because I’m telling you right now, we will never,” he said and then quickly corrected himself before continuing, “I will never dress my son in anything like that.”  I slowly turned to look at him to see if he would acknowledge his slip of the tongue.  He didn’t.  He just kept staring at the picture and I wondered if it had meant something more or if it had been just that…a simple slip of the tongue that I was reading into. 

“And these are your sisters?” I asked, turning our attention to another picture of an adolescent Drew surrounded by three girls. 

“Yes.  You already know Christina,” he said pointing to the girl to his left.  I was surprised to see she was actually smiling. She looked happy and so unlike when I’d had the displeasure of meeting her at Thanksgiving.  The other two girls, a few years older than Drew looked nice though.  They all had the same black hair and there was no denying they were all pretty. “This is Ella, she’s my oldest sister and lives in Seattle and this is Kayla.  She’s a lawyer here in Danbury.  You’ll meet her tomorrow at the party.”

“What about Christina?  Will she be there?” I asked, afraid to hear his answer.

“I’m sure she will be,” he said and I felt my heart sink.  The last thing I wanted was to deal with her because she’d been a total bitch to me the one and only time I’d met her. “But,” he said, reaching up and turning my head so I was looking at him. “You don’t need to worry about her.”

“I’m not worried about her.”

“You’re lying.” He leaned in, kissing me softly on the lips before pulling back.

“I’ll be fine.  She just caught me off guard at Thanksgiving.”

“I know you’ll be fine, but she won’t bother you.”

“Does she know about us?”

“No.  I don’t make it a habit of talking to Christina on a regular basis.”

“Why?”

“I have my reasons.”

“Any you care to share?” I asked, wondering if I was pushing him too far.

“It’s in the past,” he said, but he didn’t offer up any details and I opened my mouth to ask him what the problems had been, but I could tell it was a subject he didn’t want to discuss and so I kept my mouth shut.

He took my hand, finishing the climb to the second floor and leading me to the spare room.

“Here is where you’ll be staying,” he said begrudgingly, closing the door behind us.

“You seem annoyed.”

“I am,” he said, placing my bag on the double bed. “I had every intention of sleeping with you tonight and I mean sleeping in more ways than one.”

“Just think how good it’ll be when we finally get back to New York.”

“But that’s not for two days.” He sat on the edge of the bed and then pulled me onto his lap. “I can’t wait two days.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Mr. Saben, but you’ll have to since your mom insisted we stay here.”

“I had a great room picked out for us too.  I don’t even get the deposit back since I canceled so late.”

“Is that what you’re worried about?  I think you can spare the money,” I laughed.

“No.  That’s not what I’m worried about,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me along with him as he fell back onto the bed so I was on top of him, my hair hanging down in his face.  He pushed it back and stared up at me. “What I’m worried about is not having you beside me tonight.” His hand reached to the back of my head, pushing me towards him until his lips were on mine, kissing me deeply before suddenly stopping. “Now get off me before I can’t stop.” His playful smile made me laugh and I climbed off of him, holding out my hand and pulling him up.

“You started that, so don’t blame me for your blue balls.”

“Did you just say blue balls?” he said with a laugh and I grinned. “That is not something I ever want to hear leave your mouth again.” I laughed and he turned to the door. “I’m going to bed now before I can get myself into anymore trouble.  Bathroom’s down the hall, last door on the right.  See you in the morning.” He winked at me and then left.

I stood for a moment, looking around the room.  There was nothing extraordinary about it.  A simple bed covered in a white duvet and a few oversized pillows.  I quickly changed into my pajamas.  I hadn’t thought we were staying at his parents’ house.  Had I known, I would’ve brought something other than my sweat pants and t-shirt.  There wasn’t anything I could do about it now and once I was dressed, I grabbed my toothbrush and made my way into the dark hallway.  I found the bathroom and after brushing my teeth, I turned back to the hallway, noticing a light coming from beneath a door.  I assumed it was Drew’s room and I went over to it, knocking lightly.

“Come in.”

I opened the door, just in time to see him slide on his undershirt.

“So,” I said, walking in. “This is your old room.”

“Indeed.  Welcome to my lair.”

“Your lair?”

“Oh yeah.  I used to sneak girls in here all the time.”

“Liar,” I said, but when he looked over to me with a raised eyebrow and cocky grin, I had a feeling he was telling the truth.

“Believe what you will, Natalie.”

“And I actually believe you, Drew, even though I don’t like the thought of you as a womanizing teenager.”

“I wouldn’t say I was a womanizer.”

“I knew guys like you in high school,” I said, folding my arms and glaring playfully at him.

“Guys like me?”

“Too good looking for your own good.  The kind of guy who could get any girl to do anything he wants and then doesn’t ever call her again.”

“You sound like you’re talking from experience.”

“No, not personally, but I know your type.”

“Well, you love me, so that type must be something you like.”

I walked over to him, sliding my arms around his waist, looking up at him as he stared down at me, his typical smug grin on his face.

“You seem reformed though.”

“All for you, Natalie,” he said, brushing his lips against mine before whispering. “All for you.”

“I love you.” I heard the wavering in my voice. Sometimes when I was in his arms, he still didn’t seem real.  Why he loved me, I still didn’t understand.

“And I love you. Now, please get outta here,” he whispered, taking me by the elbow and opening the door. “And I don’t want to see you till morning because if I see you before then, I will not be able to behave myself.” He cupped my ass hard with his hand and the way he bit his lip when he looked at me told me he meant what he said.

“Good night, Drew.”

“Good night, Natalie.”

He kissed me again and then shut the door.  I couldn’t help but smile as I made my way back down the hall. 

Four

I don’t know why I was so nervous the next evening.  Maybe it was because I felt I was being debuted in a way.  Drew and I had our private life back in New York, but now I was being introduced to his family and their friends and that meant we were official.  I was afraid of what people would think of me.  If I was being truthful, the fear stemmed mostly from the thought of seeing Christina again.  I shouldn’t be worried about her.  Drew had assured me of that, but it didn’t really help.  I hated confrontation and I wanted his family to like me.  The few minutes I’d spent with her at Thanksgiving had proven she hated me already and that was only when she’d suspected me of being a gold-digger. I feared her reaction when she learned her brother and I were together. 

I finished straightening the black dress I’d chosen and added one last bobby pin to the loose bun I’d put my hair in before making my way downstairs.  I found Drew in the kitchen, grabbing a drink.  It was an amber colored liquid with a few ice cubes and I wondered if he was nervous too if he’d already started drinking.

“Hey,” he said when he saw me, taking a quick drink and setting the glass on the counter before walking over to me. “You look anxious.”

“I could say the same for you.”  I gestured to the drink and he grinned.

“I always need a drink before family gatherings.”

“I guess I should have one too then,” I said, walking over to the counter, grabbing his glass and taking a long swig.  It burned going down my throat and I shook my head as it shot immediately to my head. “That’s awful,” I gagged.

“But it’s strong and that’s the point.”

“Is it gonna be that bad?”

“No,” he said, taking my hand and leading me into the privacy of the hallway. “It will be perfectly fine.” He smiled at me and then his eyes traveled the length of my body. “You look stunning.  I can’t wait to show you off.” His fingertips slowly started grazing my neck, a trail of goose bumps following and he smiled that same grin that always betrayed his thoughts. “I love your hair like this.  You have the sexiest neck.”

“I didn’t think necks could be sexy.” I laughed, but my laughter quickly subsided when his finger ran slowly up the base of my throat, over my chin, landing on my lips.

“Necks are incredibly sexy and I’ve never seen one as enticing as yours.”

His lips were on mine then, moving slowly as he backed me into the wall. 

“Drew,” I whispered, trying to push him away. “You have to stop.  Your parents could see us.”

“Who cares?” he grunted softly as he moved his kisses from my neck to my earlobe, the sound of his breath swirling like a hurricane and when I felt his hand on my thigh, inching under my skirt, I thought for sure I was going to lose all control of myself just as we heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.  I pushed Drew away and he smiled at me with that same confidence he always had.  Nothing ever seemed to faze him, not even the prospect of his parents catching us making out like a couple of high school kids. “You’re such a bore,” he grinned.

I smirked at him before kissing him quickly, taking his hand and leading him back into the kitchen.  His parents were there, gathering their things to head out. 

“You look beautiful, Mom.” Drew walked over, hugging her and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you, Andrew,” she said and then looked over to me. “You look lovely, Natalie.  Your hair looks so elegant up like that.  It makes your neck look so long.”

“Thank you,” I said, hoping I wasn’t blushing as I thought back to Drew’s lips on my neck only minutes before.

“We’d better get going.  You can’t be late for your own party,” Drew’s father said.

“That would be rather tacky, wouldn’t it?” She grinned at both of us and gathered her purse. “We’ll meet you at the church.”

“We’re right behind you,” Drew said and then his parents were gone. 

He turned to me, the wanting smile from earlier reappearing and as he crossed the room, I knew what was on his mind.  He always had a way of looking at me, like there was fire in his eyes and that fire wanted me.  He was inches away a second later and all I could focus on was him the and the way he hovered over me, making me feel so small. His hand slid around my waist then, pulling me to him forcefully so I was pressed firmly against him.

“I wasn’t done with you.” The way his voice sounded, so deep and throaty, told me he had business to finish.  I expected him to smash his mouth against mine, the way he did when he had that look in his eyes, but he didn’t.  He leaned into me, but instead of his lips crushing against mine as I expected, he brushed them gently, lingering there for a few moments, our soft breath flowing between us, and he pulled back slowly. “And if we weren’t expected at that party, I’d take you right now.  I’ll get to that later though.”

The way his eyes pierced mine, I knew it was a promise he intended to keep and I simply nodded.  We gathered our things and he took my hand, leading me outside as I prayed he’d follow through on his threat. 

~~~

Drew held my hand as we entered the banquet hall of the church.  There was already a sizeable crowd and I glanced over to him.

“Your mom’s a popular lady,” I said and he nodded.

“Yes, she is.”

“I probably won’t have this many people at my funeral,” I said and Drew chuckled. 

“C’mon.  My sister Kayla is over there.  I want you to meet her.” 

He was staring off across the room to an attractive woman with black hair similar to his in a pretty blue dress. She was waving to him and we walked over to meet her.  The woman enveloped Drew in a bear hug even though he dwarfed her.

“It’s been too long, Andrew,” I heard her say to him as they hugged.

“It has,” he agreed.

“You need to come home more.”

“You need to make it into the city more,” he countered and when they pulled back, Kayla was looking at me, but not in the suspicious, openly hostile way Christina had looked at me at Thanksgiving.  Kayla looked curious, but when she smiled at me, I felt at ease.  There was nothing but kindness in her eyes as our gazes met.

“You must be Natalie,” she said and I nodded.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kayla,” I said and then she leaned in, welcoming me with a hug.

“Likewise,” she said, pulling back and then glancing at Drew and then back to me. “My brother’s been keeping you such a secret, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

“I’ve not been keeping her a secret,” he said and Kayla playfully slapped him on the arm.

“Of course you have.  It’s best you’ve kept her away from us as long as you have.  You didn’t want to scare her off.” There was sarcasm in his sister’s voice, but I wondered if she had any idea how truthful her words actually were.

“Is Christina here yet?” Drew asked, looking around, but I noticed Kayla shrugged her shoulders.

“I haven’t seen her,” she said, and then turned her eyes to me. “Have you had anything to eat yet, Natalie?”

“No.  We just got here.”

“Well, come with me then.  It looks like my dad went all out on the catering.  There are these little shrimp numbers you’ve gotta try before they’re all gone.”

Before I knew what she was doing, she’d linked her arm with mine and was leading me away.  I glanced quickly back at Drew, but he just smiled, obviously pleased his sister was being so nice to me. I was relieved too and decided to follow Kayla’s lead. 

We were at the buffet table a few moments later.  Kayla handed me a plate and I started filling it with the various appetizers.

“So,” she began as we moved around the table. “How’d you meet my brother?” Her tone wasn’t accusatory.  It seemed curious.

“Work,” I said, deciding to keep my answer brief and concise.  She didn’t need to know any of the sordid details. 

“How long have you been seeing each other?”

“A few months.”

“He must really like you,” she said and I glanced over to her. “My brother,” she said pausing for a moment to laugh a little. “He keeps a tight lid on his personal life.  I can’t remember the last time I’ve met one of his girlfriends.  To be honest, I was starting to think he might be gay.” She laughed again and I couldn’t help but joining her.

“I can assure you, Drew is not gay.” I gave her a knowing grin, wondering if maybe I was overstepping, but Kayla just laughed, harder this time, and I knew she was fine with my insinuation.

“My mom will be happy to know that.  She’s bursting for one of us to finally give her grandkids,” she said and her comment caused me to stumble.

“Drew and I…we’ve only been together a little while…I’m only twenty-three,” I stammered and Kayla rested her hand on my arm.

“I know that.  I didn’t mean to freak you out.  I think having you here will give her a little hope though…that he’s not shutting us out anymore.”

We continued to work our way around the table in silence, and as we were finishing, I decided I needed to be up front with his sister.  I didn’t want her to think about me the way Christina did and the best way to do that was to be honest with her.

“Kayla,” I said and she stopped what she was doing and looked at me. “I want you to know I care about your brother.”

“I can tell you do.”

“I just want to be clear that I care about him for who he is, not what he can give me.”

“I don’t think you’re a gold digger if that’s what you’re afraid of.” She was looking at me with kind eyes and then she smiled a supportive grin and I smiled back.

“I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings or any worry in that department.”

“I have no worries.  I just met you, Natalie,” she said, resting her hand on my arm. “But, I know my brother.  He looks happy and I can see you’re the reason for that and Drew deserves to be happy.  You have my full support if that’s what you’re asking for.”

“Thank you, Kayla,” I said softly. “That means a lot.”

She patted my arm, smiling again and the nerves from earlier were gone.  I’d only just met Kayla, but I liked her already.  I knew I didn’t need it, but her words and acceptance offered me the validation I’d been looking for and as we walked to find Drew, I did so with a confidence that had not been there since we stepped foot in Connecticut.

I felt that confidence waver though when I spotted Drew and the woman talking to him.  Her black hair was a dead giveaway.  Christina was here and she’d found her brother.  Drew must’ve noticed us because he looked up and made eye contact with me as we got closer.  Christina turned around to see what he was looking at and then her green eyes pierced into mine.  A smile curled up on her face, but it was cold and I knew her opinion of me hadn’t changed since our first encounter at Thanksgiving. 

I looked back to Drew and I knew he could sense my nerves.

“Have you tried the food yet, Chris?  It’s delicious,” Kayla said when we’d approached them. I hesitated beside Drew until I felt his arm slide around my waist as he pulled me to his side.

“Not yet,” Christina answered as she turned her attention to me.  The smile was still on her face, but it was a cold smile and if she thought I was buying her act, she was crazy. “I just got here.  I had to come over and say hi to our brother since he’s never around.” She shot Drew a playful glare and he returned it with a forced smile.

“Hi, Christina,” I said, my talk with Kayla earlier giving me the courage to take the lead and be the bigger person. I was a grown woman and I wasn’t going to let Drew’s little sister intimidate me. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Likewise, Natalie,” she said, her face softening in an obvious attempt to hide her contempt, but I could still see the venom in her eyes as she looked at me. “Now, I’m going to go check out that food Kayla seems so excited about.”

She turned and left, Kayla following as uncomfortable silence settled in. We all knew it was from Christina’s coldness towards me although I doubted Drew would acknowledge it. Before anyone could say anything, the lights went out and a glow of candles lit up the room.  Drew’s father was walking in holding a cake and leading the crowd in
Happy Birthday
.  Drew took my hand and led me towards where his mother stood.  Kayla and Christina were there too, and Drew took his place by his sisters.  I felt a little uncomfortable standing beside him, amongst his family, but he wouldn’t let go of my hand.  When the song was over, his mom blew out the candles and everyone clapped.  Drew finally let go of my hand, but only to hug his mom.  I stood back and watched him.  It was interesting seeing this side of him, a side I hadn’t seen before.  I could tell he loved his family, but he seemed apprehensive as well.  I wondered why he never shared his personal life with them, but what made me even more curious was why he’d chosen to tell them about me.

“Would you like a piece?” His voice tore through my thoughts and I turned to see him holding out a piece of cake for me.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the plate.

“It’s not chocolate.  I hope that’s okay with you.”

“I think I’ll survive.  Cake is cake.  I’ve never met a kind I don’t like.”

I dipped my finger in the frosting and I wasn’t sure if I did it intentionally or not, but I licked it off, pulling my finger slowly out.  He was staring at my mouth and I grinned up at him, raising a playful eyebrow.