Waiting for Love ((Waiting) Book 2) (15 page)

“You just made me the happiest guy in the world, Shelby.” There’s a sheen of tears in his eyes as he says this.

“I hope I’ll always make you happy.”

    I still need to give him his final gift. I pick the bag up, handing it to him while I remain in his lap. He reaches in and pulls out a New England Patriots keychain with a shiny new key hanging from it. He looks at me with his eyebrow quirked.

“Is this what I think it is?” He asks. I smirk and nod my head before answering.

“Great minds think alike.” We share a laugh. “I know you don’t come over to my place as much because I have Hailey as a roommate, but I want you to be able to any time you want.”

“I love it. It means a lot to me that you want me to have my own key to your place. I hate that I won’t be with you for Christmas. I wish I didn’t have to go to my brother’s house. I want to stay here and make sweet love to you, all night long.”

“Don’t tease me.” I groan. “I want that too.” He glances at his watch and removes me from his lap, before standing up. I have to get going, doll. Walk me out.” He holds his hand out and as I take it an overwhelming sense of sadness hits me at the thought of him leaving. He says goodbye to my family and I walk outside with him so our goodbye can be private. He holds me close and caresses my hair before kissing me on the top of my head. His hands slide to my cheeks and he tilts my chin up, kissing my lips, one last time.

“I love you, Shelby.” I’m unable to hold in the big goofy smile when I hear his sweet words.

“I love you, too. Please drive safe and call me when you get there.” He nods before lightly brushing my lips, one final time before walking away.

Chapter Twelve

New Year’s Eve 2012

     I’m at Garrett’s condo waiting for him to arrive. He was already supposed to be back from visiting his family, but he got a late start and now he’s behind schedule. I’m sitting here on his couch, reading on my kindle and trying not to wrinkle the sexy little black dress I’m wearing. This is a switch; me waiting on him. I’m just so excited to see him. I tried to keep myself busy by getting ready early. I took my time putting on my makeup and now my eyes really stand out with their shades of purple. I don’t usually wear much makeup on a daily basis because putting it on is too time-consuming. I’m wearing my hair down and I straightened it with the flat iron. Talk about time consuming...an hour of my life I’ll never get back. It now falls in a thick, shiny, golden sheet to my mid-back and I know that Garrett loves it like this. I want him to be floored by my appearance.

    I’m in the kitchen pouring myself a glass of white wine when Garrett comes home. He places his suitcase down with a thunk and walks toward me, his stride purposeful. I’m leaning my back against the edge of the counter, poised to take a sip from my glass. I have an unobstructed view of him across the open concept floor plan and his heated gaze is repeatedly roaming up and down my form, before settling on my eyes. I’m tempted to smile because I’m happy to see him but we seem to be unknowingly locked in some sort of stare off and it’s impossible for me to look away. The desire I see reflected in his hazel eyes is keeping me frozen in place, my wine glass holding steady as it remains where I paused with it halfway toward my lips. My whole body is paralyzed, anticipating his touch. The depth of my love for him is both, intimidating and frightening. Loving him as much as I do, makes me vulnerable and I’m not used to feeling this emotion. I’ve never wanted to be in this position; I’ve done everything I could to avoid it. However, some things have a way of being so all-encompassing you’re never prepared for them and yet they’re the best thing that ever happened to you.

    As Garrett reaches me, he casually takes the glass of wine from my hand, placing it down on the countertop, before sweeping me up in his arms. I gasp in surprise as he deftly maneuvers us toward his bedroom. He throws me down on his bed and I shriek out as I bounce up and down. He sheds his leather jacket that he never took the time to remove when he came in the door. He rips his shirt off, over his head and immediately moves his hands to the button at the waist of his jeans. I lay back, reclining on my elbows, and watch him slowly lower his zipper. He pushes his pants and boxers down over his hips and as they fall to the floor, my gaze remains on his tempting cock. He steps out of his pants and hastily kicks them out of the way before kneeling at the end of the bed. He grabs my ankles, pulling me toward him until my ass is pressed against his thighs. He slowly pushes my dress upwards, never taking his eyes off of each inch of skin he’s revealing.  As the skirt climbs toward my waist, my thigh high stockings and garter belt are revealed. He inhales sharply when he realizes I’m not wearing any panties. His hands slowly caress my legs as he stares at me.

“You spread out before me like this, is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. I need to have you now. I’m not waiting any longer. I’ve missed this pussy way too much.” He holds my hips still as he thrusts inside me for the first time, without a condom. We both had blood tests to make sure we were all set and I went on the pill over a month ago.

“Oh Shelby,” he says as he thrusts in and out of me again. “You are squeezing my cock so tightly,” He says huskily. “I’m never going to have enough of you, doll.” His pace quickens as he slams into me. He circles his hips as he moves inside me, providing the perfect amount of friction. We finish together and he collapses on my chest, his breathing labored.

“I love you, Shelby.” He brushes my lips with his, softly caressing my cheek with his fingers.

“I love you too, Garrett.”

Chapter Thirteen

Late May 2013

     It’s difficult to believe another school year is over already and that I’m going to be a senior in college next fall. I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun. The past eight months have been the best of my life and it’s all due to Garrett. Our relationship is stronger than ever and he asked me to move in with him. Tomorrow, I’m going home to my father’s house for a week to break the news to my family and pack up some of my belongings that I left there when I moved away for college. I think my brothers may have an issue with me living with my boyfriend, but I know my father will be fine with it. He thinks the world of Garrett and he knows that he’s been good for me. My father likes anyone who puts a permanent smile on my face and that’s what Garrett has done for me. He’s shown me what being showered in love feels like. He proves to me every day that I’m the most important thing to him and I try to do the same. It took some time for me to be comfortable laying it all on the line for him. I haven’t let myself be vulnerable for a guy since I was dating Austin. I was young and naive back then and I gave my heart to someone that wasn’t worthy of it. Garrett understands this and he was patient with me and he let me take baby steps forward until I felt confident enough to take that next step into an exclusive relationship with him. Now I’m about to take another one that’s equally as scary. Moving in with him is a huge deal for me. He’s brought it up numerous times in conversation over the past couple of months and I always downplayed it. It’s only in the past week that I’ve come to grips with the fact that I want to move in with him. I want to be with him every moment that I’m able to. Hailey’s going to stay in our condo for now. I told her I’d still pay my share until she’s able to find a roommate. I don’t want my moving out to negatively affect her in any way.

    Things are also going great with Jeff and I. He hasn’t tried to pressure me into anything more than friendship. We still spend a lot of time together at school, going to lunch when possible and having study dates. He still doesn’t know who I’m going out with, we don’t talk about it at all. I don’t know if he wants to stay in denial or if he just doesn’t care? Either way, it works out great because Hailey and my family are the only ones who know. If we manage to keep things under wraps for one more year, then we’ll no longer have to hide our relationship. I’ll get my master’s degree at another university or college.

    Garrett and I had one close call about a month ago when we were in his office at school.  During my lunch break, I stopped in to say hello and we ended up having a quickie on his desk. I was still getting my clothes in order when a female student of his knocked on the door. It took him a minute to answer because he was still breathing heavily. She looked at me suspiciously, at least, it seemed like she did. We haven’t heard anything about it to this point; hopefully, she didn’t complain to admin. or tell anyone else. I really dislike that we aren’t able to be open about being a couple. Having girls ogle him and flirt with him on a daily basis isn’t easy. I want to be able to kiss him and stake my claim. As difficult as that part of our relationship is, if that’s the tradeoff for being with him, I’ll take it.

***

     It’s later that night and Garrett and I are cuddled together in bed. I’m lying on his chest and he’s stroking his fingers slowly through my hair. We just made love and it was slow and sweet. A lot of the time we’re in a frenzy, tearing each other’s clothes off, but, this time was gentle. It made me feel so loved and cherished. I know he took his time because we won’t see each other for a whole week and when that seven days are up, I’ll be moving in. I’m looking forward to falling asleep in his arms every single night.

     Garrett, rubs his palm back and forth, along the curve of my hip as we lay there, basking in our afterglow.

“I’m going to miss you so much, doll. I hate that you have to go, but I’m consoling myself with the fact that you’ll be living with me twenty-four seven, as soon as you come back.” I rest my chin on his chest and gaze up into his beautiful eyes. Tonight, in the dim light of our bedroom, they look more golden than hazel, like they could belong to a jungle cat.

“I know. I hate that we’ll be apart all this week. Hopefully, it’ll pass by quickly and we’ll be right back here in your bed.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him and giggle.

“Who’s bed will you be back in?” He asks me. I look at him, confused at his question. He shakes his head before answering.
“Shelby, I was trying to get you to say that this is
our
bed now, not just mine.” We share a smile, both of us excited about how promising our future together looks.

Chapter Fourteen

Late May 2013

     I haven’t heard from Garrett at all for the past three days. I’ve tried calling, texting, emailing and nothing...total radio silence. I’m feeling really freaked out about it. This isn’t like him at all. In fact, he typically calls and texts me throughout the day. If his plans change for some reason, he always drops me a text if he doesn’t have a chance to call. With the lack of communication, I ended up coming home two days earlier than I originally planned to. I hope he’s not sick or hurt.

    My stomach is nauseous as I unlock the door to his condo using the key he gave me for Christmas. I guess I need to start referring to it as our condo, even though I’m uncomfortable doing so when he’s the one that purchased it. Once the lock clicks, I push the door open and walk in. What I find in front of me has me gasping out loud and bending at the waist to keep from passing out. There’s a buzzing in my ears that eclipses the ragged sounds of my breathing. I squeeze my eyes shut before I muster enough courage to take another glance. The entire condo is empty...there isn’t one piece of furniture left in the space. If it weren't for the two sealed boxes, just inside the front door, with my name written in Garrett’s handwriting, I would wonder if I was in the wrong place.
What the fuck is going on here?
My thoughts are an incomplete jumble of questions racing through my mind.
What happened? Where is he? Why didn’t he call me? Is he in trouble? Was it all an act? Maybe he never loved me at all.
It’s this last thought that brings on the tears. They fall freely and unhindered down my cheeks as I walk through the barren space. The heels of my ankle boots echo aloud each time I take a step. As I approach “our” bedroom, my limbs are weak and shaky from the realization of what I know I’ll see when I glance through the doorway. I pause for a moment, taking a few slow, deep breaths to gather some emotional strength before I find the courage to look inside. I know I shouldn’t be surprised at how bare the space is, but I am. There isn’t a single sign of occupancy, even the curtains he didn’t care for are gone. If he took the curtains he didn’t like with him, what does that say about how he feels about me? How little he must think of me, if he left me behind without a single word.

PART 2

Chapter Fifteen- Shelby

Three Years Later

     The rhythmic sound of our headboard repeatedly slamming the wall, reverberates through the otherwise quiet apartment as he forcefully pumps his cock into me. Listening to the unleased way he groans and growls out my name is one of my favorite things. He has both of my legs pushed up and my feet are resting on his shoulders, leaving my hands free to touch myself. I cup both of my breasts and squeeze my nipples and then slide my hands slowly down my stomach. His eyes are tracking their progress and as they creep closer toward the spot our bodies are connected; he picks up the pace. His hips are moving impossibly fast as I slide my hand down my slit, rubbing my fingertips over his wet cock as it slides in and out of me. The deep, growl he expels when he sees me move my fingers back to circle my clit, is so animalistic in nature, it sends me hurtling into my orgasm. His large hands strongly grip my thighs, as he releases deep inside of me. I get aroused all over again, thinking about how I’ll have bruises on my fair skin from our lovemaking. He releases my legs, allowing me to wrap them around his back as he collapses on my chest.

    “Damn, baby. That was amazing. No matter how much I have your pussy, I always want more. I’ll never have enough of being inside of you.” He smiles up at me from where he’s lying on my chest. In the darkness of our room, it’s not possible to make out the exact shade of blue that his eyes are, but I know they’re shining with his love for me. I run my fingers through his messy hair, moving the silky strands this way and that way before I start scratching his scalp like I know he wants me to.

“Mmm,” he moans. “If you keep that up you won’t be getting any sleep tonight.” I smile as I think of how much I enjoy our sleepless nights.

“Is that a promise, J? I ask as my fingernails lightly rake along his skin. He shivers from my touch, raising himself on his arms until his face is hovering over mine. He swoops down, taking my mouth in a heated kiss, gently nibbling on my lips before pulling away.

“As much as I want to stay here, buried in your pussy the entire night, I won’t. You have your first day of school tomorrow and I want you to get enough sleep. I’ll be right back here,” he rolls his hips against me…tomorrow night.

“You better be.” I teasingly pinch his ass, making him jump.

***

     My stomach is nauseous as I make the twenty-minute drive to my new job. Today is my first official day as an eleventh-grade English teacher at Bentley Academy, which is located in the town of Bentley, Massachusetts.
Shocking right?
I never planned on working at a private school, never mind one that’s so upscale, but one of my graduate school professors recommended me.

Sometimes, all it takes is for the right person to mention your name and suddenly, you have your dream position. I've been waiting for this day to come for the last two years. I knew if I continued my education and got my master's degree, it would pay off for me. Well, I was hoping it would, anyway. There are no guarantees in this life and that's a lesson I know I’ve learned better than most.
Don't think about him....

   
I give my head a quick shake, snapping me out of my thoughts which were about to take a painful turn into my past.
Stay in the present. Live in this moment.
I hear my therapist's voice calmly speaking these words as if I'm sitting on the beige, striped love seat in her office. It's the reminder I need to redirect my thinking to a more positive direction, like my new, killer career. Who would’ve thought that I’d be walking into my dream occupation fresh out of college and just barely twenty-four years old?
Not this girl
.

    There was a time a few years ago when I wasn’t sure if I would make it through a single day, never mind three more years of school. Thankfully, I had great friends surrounding me, supporting me and giving me a reason to keep moving forward. If it wasn’t for Hailey and Jeff, I might’ve been just another statistic. It’s humiliating for me to think back and contemplate my actions during the period of time after Garrett left. I don’t like to say he disappeared, even though that’s how it seemed at the time. This wasn’t a case of a missing person, this was a grown man that packed up and moved with no advance notice...no indication that anything was wrong...no goodbye...nothing. Well, I did find a single piece of paper in the box with my belongings. Just thinking about how I found it takes me right back to that moment and the emotional upheaval I was experiencing at the time. The page was jaggedly torn from a notebook as if he couldn’t have been bothered to put in the extra effort it takes to tear it straight. It was tucked just inside the top cover of the box. There were seven words written on it. Seven words were supposed to be an adequate goodbye for someone he professed to be so in love with.

Shelby, I’m sorry. I’ll always love you…
Empty words to go along with the empty heart he left me with.

    As I pull into one of the well-shaded parking slots reserved for teachers and shift my car into park, I glance around at what a gorgeous campus Bentley Academy has. The grass is well maintained and the shrubs are all manicured to perfection. Everywhere I look is a plethora of different shades of green. Being here reminds me of a mini-Harvard University campus, right down to the ivy-covered buildings. I can’t help but smile at how cliché it is, especially since many of the kids that attend this school will be moving on to Harvard and other Ivy League institutions. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I wonder how many of the students here actually get into those universities on their own merit and not based on their family’s lineage or sizeable bank accounts.

     I pull my Burberry tote bag from the passenger seat as I get out of my car. As I sling the strap over my shoulder, I run my thumb and fingers along the smooth leather and smile to myself, remembering how it was a surprise gift from Jeff. It was a congratulation present for my new job. He bought it for me to shuttle papers or whatever I need to, back and forth between home and work. The warm brown tone sets off the grainy nature of the leather and I just love how soft it feels to the touch. The leather almost looks distressed and the blemishes it gains from wear and tear, will only enhance its beauty. I love how there are flat handles on the top in addition to the shoulder strap. This is an extravagant gift and at first, I didn’t want to accept it, but Jeff put his foot down.
He can be plenty alpha when he wants to be.
Once I realized how much my accepting it meant to him, there really wasn’t any way for me to refuse. I have a difficult time receiving gifts, especially ones that I know cost hundreds of dollars. Jeff works hard for his money and I don’t want him to ever think that I need expensive things in my life to be happy.
He makes me happy.
It’s been a long journey to get to this point, but now that we’re here I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

    I walk up the freshly paved walkway glancing up toward the large, black double doors looming at the top of the stairs and a sense of foreboding washes over me. Hopefully, it’s just a bout of last-minute nerves and I won’t regret this job choice. It’s intimidating and daunting to think about all I’ll be responsible for as a brand new teacher. As I climb the stairs, I remind myself to focus on right now and let my first day be whatever it will be. I can only control my actions and I’m about to walk into a building that will soon be filled with hundreds of people I’ve never met before. My stomach twists and turns from the anxiety I’m suddenly experiencing. It’s like my first day of the new school year all over again
.
When I was a child, I used to get a severely sick stomach, on that fateful September day. It would happen without fail at the start of each new academic year and it didn’t stop as I got older. Thankfully, this bout of nausea I’m currently experiencing is rather mild in comparison. I take a few deep, slow breaths and walk slowly toward the back of the building, where I know my classroom is located. I’ve been in there a few times over the past week, making sure everything was ready for today.

    The first two periods of my day pass at a decent pace considering they’re twice as long as the typical high school classes usually are. Bentley Academy uses the European system of double period classes for half of the year's length and then a whole new schedule for the last two-quarters. It will be an adjustment to be in front of the same group of students for ninety minutes and keep them interested. On the upside, I’ll have to learn half the names, than I typically would. This work situation is much different than when I did my student teaching  at a public high school in one of the rougher parts of Boston. It was very intimidating at first and just like at any school, some of the students were tough to deal with, but I know that regardless of where I teach, there will always be a few bad apples mixed in.

   It’s time for my lunch break, so I grab my salad from the mini fridge in my classroom. It was a bit shocking the first time I stepped inside of my new work space and took in all the little extras that you normally don’t find in a public school. The brand new mini fridge is definitely an example of one of them. 

   I walk into the lunch room and the first thing I notice is the large number of people seated around a long, rectangular boardroom type table. I quickly scan the area looking for the closest open space. I make a beeline for the chair straight across the room and as I place my hand on the top of it, someone else does too. First, I notice it’s a man’s hand, although it’s very well-manicured. My eyes travel up to his thin, but muscular forearm and continue up to his developed bicep. I pause there and take a moment to appreciate his muscle definition before moving up to check out the face that goes along with this fine physique. He’s average in height, only four or five inches taller than my five-foot-five. His face is covered with a barely-there beard; it’s more like a three-day growth. It looks sexy against his olive complexion. His lips are full and almost feminine in appearance. Their pinkish hue stands out against the darkness of his facial hair and they part into a smile as I’m checking them out. It wakes me up from my slow perusal and I quickly move my gaze up to his. I don’t know if I’ve ever before seen anyone with such a dark eye color. They’re almost black in appearance and I’m unable to discern where his iris ends and his pupil begins.

     “Hi, I’m Max.” He holds out his hand for me to shake and my face flushes with heat as I place my palm in his. His skin is soft to the touch like a woman’s, but his grip is firm as he pumps my hand up and down.

“I’m Shelby, it’s nice to meet you.” I place my salad down on the table before I tuck my long bangs behind my ear. I tighten my ponytail as I tend to do when I’m feeling nervous or uncomfortable in a social situation.

“How’s your first day going so far?” He questions as he pulls the chair out and gestures for me to sit down. There’s now another vacant chair right beside the one I’m sitting in, so Max takes advantage of it before someone else does.

“Everything’s been great. Is it always so crowded in here at this time of day?” I ask as I glance around. I may prefer to eat lunch in my room.

“Most of the time it’s pretty busy in here. It’s a large school with a lot of staff. As you see, sometimes it’s a bit of a battle to get a seat.” He smiles as he says this and it makes him, even more attractive.

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to take your chair. It was just so awkward walking in here and not knowing anyone. When I saw the open seat, I just headed toward it and I wasn’t really paying attention to anything else.” I gnaw on the right side of my bottom lip as I glance over at him. He probably thinks I’m hot for him with the way I was looking him over.
Oh God, how humiliating
. I duck my head and focus on cutting up my salad. As I drizzle some ranch dressing along the top of my greens, he opens up his brown lunch bag and pulls out a sandwich in a Ziploc baggie. I smile to myself and wonder if he’s single. Somehow the brown paper bag screams bachelor to me. He takes a bite of his sandwich and I catch a whiff of peanut butter. I take a quick peek to see if there’s grape jelly on that sucker and sure enough, there is. Yep, he has to be single, I think as I take in his narrow, well-defined nose and thick dark brows. His black hair is shaved tight to his head on the back and sides, but the top is longer and slicked up with product. It’s styled like a faux Mohawk, only longer.

    The rest of our lunch period passes quickly. Max and I make small talk and I learn that he teaches art here. This is his third year at Bentley so he promised to give me the low down on which teachers I should stay away from and which ones are nice. We didn’t get into any personal details about each other, which I like. I’m all about keeping it simple. I won’t get hurt that way and no one can disappoint me, but myself.

***

     When I enter our apartment, I immediately take off my heels and wiggle my toes around. I sigh with relief as I neatly place my shoes in the basket that stands just inside the door. I have a thing about clutter, it makes me crazy. I like everything in its place, where it belongs. In the past few years, I’ve become a bit of a neat-freak and keeping our home in order makes me feel in control.

    As I make my way to the kitchen, I notice a huge bouquet of purple roses on the dining room table. There’s also a purple envelope with my name on it. I pick it up and begin to tear it open, smiling to myself because Jeff is so thoughtful and sweet. He’s always making romantic gestures toward me and he pays attention to the smallest detail; like buying me purple roses because it’s my favorite color. The outside of the card says
Congratulations.
When you open it up, the inside says,
“On a job well done.”
Underneath that, he’s written me his own message.