Weak for Him (14 page)

"I think I'm about to…" I forced
out between pants, and then he dipped his finger inside of me and I
touched myself more slowly. Allowing the orgasm to build until it
was almost painful, until I felt like I couldn't breathe. Then I
was bucking and moaning his name. I wrapped my arms around his neck
while I lost myself in the water. Deep breaths and rapid heartbeats
followed along with hard longing kisses. When I finally opened my
eyes, Finn watched me, hungrily.

"I love it when you scream my
name," he whispered.

I wanted to talk, but he placed a
finger over my mouth, moved the damp hair from my forehead. This
was no time to talk. No words could describe the feeling of him
kissing me or being so close and intimate in the pool.

"Don't ruin this with stupid
words," he said, and then kissed me like tomorrow would never
come.

Fifteen

T
he morning came quick,
almost as fast as I did the night before, and I woke with a start.
As I received my itinerary and curfew, Mr. Felton couldn't stop
talking about how I would make one of his clients very
happy.

Stupid ass client talk.

Jesse met me at the door with my
morning vitamins and mumbled something about how she was glad I was
on the birth control shot and complained about how I should learn
to be more punctual like her. Ignoring her bitchiness, I walked out
of the door as I saw the Volvo pull into the drive.

Luke opened my car door with a
smile and loaded my suitcases. I had no clue where we were going.
Not an idea, no hint, nothing. Surprises, weren't they
lovely?

"Do you want to know where we're
going?"

"Yes, please. Pretty, please?
Pretty, pretty please?"

He wouldn't tell me. He dropped
hints like "it's not the beach, but it's close." Okay, so we were
going somewhere warm.

Once we checked our bags, Luke
handed me a ticket to Hobby Airport.

Houston.
My heart
dropped.

"Where are you taking
me?"

"To the home of Janis Joplin," he
replied.

The color on my face drained. I
turned my head so he wouldn't see as he continued to talk about
it.

"There's this new bed and
breakfast that was voted one of the best new places to visit in the
U.S. I really think you'll enjoy it, and it's country living. You
said you loved that."

The brochure was tucked inside of
his laptop bag, and he pulled it out and handed it to me. I thought
I would be sick when the
Welcome to Port Arthur
sign covered
the brochure.

"I've got a project, and I need to
visit for research."

On the front was my childhood
home, but instead of gray, the house was painted stark white, the
shudders were perfectly straight, and professional landscaping had
been done. A waterfall was installed in the front yard, and the
shell drive was now pavement and circular.

I opened the rest of the brochure
and saw a big, red barn in the backyard, and a pasture dotted with
horses. Along with a man-made pond and floating deck. My parents
would have been happy with what was done with the place, and the
attention it was getting, but we couldn't go there. Not Luke and I.
Not in a town where everyone knew everyone. I left to get away and
returning would only make leaving again hard.

We made our way to the waiting
area. My nerves were on edge, and I couldn't help but feel this
way. If I told him why we couldn't go, he would know more than he
needed, but if we went, he would find out anyway. I supposed the
visit home, literally, would be an experience if nothing
else.

Luke told me about his parents,
his brother, and opened himself up to me while we were in the
waiting area. On the plane, he interlaced his fingers with mine and
whispered sweet things in my ears. I liked them. I liked the little
compliments.

The plane landed in Houston, and
we rented a car. Two grueling hours passed on the way to Port
Arthur, and I dreaded every second. Texas living fascinated Luke.
He loved the rolling hills, green grass, and even liked how I-10
stretched across the Lone Star State.

"Where are you from again? Which
part?"

I turned to him and decided it was
time to tell him the truth. Now or never.

"Port Arthur."

He pulled over on the side of the
highway. Cars passed us going eighty miles per hour, and the wind
whipped around the car.

"You should have told me at the
airport. I could have changed our plans. Texas is huge. We could
have gone anywhere."

"I know, but you seemed excited
about going. I didn't want to ruin that for you. It's fine.
Seriously, we're only thirty minutes away from Winnie. You'll have
a good time. I'll show you around."

Dread should have been my first
name, and Liar, my middle.

"You don't have to lie, you know.
We can change our plans. I want you to be happy."

"It's perfect. I've been meaning
to come back anyway."

When we entered Port Arthur, I
thought I might be sick. The closer we inched toward my street, the
quicker I wanted to run away. Once we turned onto the driveway, I
knew there was no turning back. I was committed.

The pavement felt smooth under the
tires. I took a deep breath before we walked inside. The porch was
lined with rocking chairs, all the paint chips were scraped away
and covered, and the rotten boards replaced. I slid my hand up the
railing to the porch and opened the front door.

Inside, the living room had been
arranged like a hotel. I peeked into the kitchen and saw new
countertops and paint. A few walls were removed, and others added.
The house wasn't the same. It wasn't the one that I grew up in and
that fact alone would make the stay easier. It was only two nights,
after all. I could handle a weekend.

The woman's face brightened when
she caught sight of me over the counter. "Oh, Jennifer. We are so
darn excited to see you here. We didn't know you were
coming."

I faked a smile. "Yes, ma'am. I
just had to come visit the place after hearing about all those good
reviews. Congratulations, Mrs. Becky."

The people that bought the house
also operated the place. How could I have been so stupid to think
they wouldn't be here, or recognize me?

"I really think your parents would
be proud with what we've done to the place. Mrs. Shirley told us
about their plans and things, and well, we wanted to keep the
spirit of what might have been, ya know?"

I wanted to melt into the floor,
or wiggle my nose and disappear. Luke, as handsome as ever, stood
with his hand on the small of my back.

"And who's this handsome young
man?"

"Oh this is Luketon, my
boyfriend," I added, just so no more questions would be
asked.

Mrs. Becky Hanley, obviously
thinking she was being cute, whispered loud enough for him to hear,
"Oh he's miggghhtttyyyy fine. A keeper if I don't say so myself. So
when y'all gettin' married? You're moving back home to raise those
beautiful kids you're gonna make, right?"

I smiled at her, thinking up my
next lie before Luke said, "Honey, I know you're tired, but want to
help me grab the bags and bring them upstairs?"

Mrs. Hanley told us on our way out
that our room was upstairs, the second on the right. What were the
odds that I would be sleeping in my old bedroom?

Outside, Luke removed the bags
from the car and leaned up against the trunk with his arms crossed.
He waited for me to tell him what was going on, but I didn't feel
like talking.

"Are you ok?" he finally asked me.
"You look a little ill."

"Yes. No. I mean, yes I'm fine,
and no I'm not sick."

"Are you going to tell me the
truth now? You looked like you were drowning inside. I had to save
you and give you mouth to mouth before that woman swallowed you
whole. Who is she?"

"I don't want to lie to you. But I
don't want to talk about it right now."

I grabbed my suitcase and wheeled
it up the steps. Before we entered, he placed his hand on my
shoulder and then opened the door. A fake smile spread across my
face, and Mr. Hanley gave me a warm welcome.

Other visitors checked-in, and
together Luke and I climbed the stairs. Although downstairs was
unrecognizable, the layout of the top floor had barely changed.
Only updated light fixtures, paint, and a new wooden floor made it
different.

Every inch of my room had changed.
The window was larger, the floor new, and a chandelier hung from
the tall ceiling. An antique wrought iron bed sat against the long
wall, and had a homemade quilt draped across it. My bathroom had
been updated as well. Bright Tejas tiles lined the stand-up shower
and little State of Texas decorations lined the walls, sink, and
even the toilet cover. The Hanley's did an amazing job. Impressive
to say the least. If I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine that
I was somewhere else.

Luke dropped the suitcases on the
floor and plopped down on the bed. He lifted himself up on one
elbow and motioned for me to come to him, I did.

Opening his arms, I crawled into
them, and we lay together. Nothing sexual, nothing out of bounds,
just a simple gesture that I desperately needed. I wanted to feel
safe, and he made me feel that way.

"I'm not sure what's going on with
you right now. But I want you to know that I'm here for you,
okay?"

I wrapped my arm around his
stomach and scooted as close as I could to him.

"So I'm your boyfriend for the
weekend?"

I looked into his eyes. "Yep. Just
wait until tonight, when we go into to town."

"You called it town," he said.
"That's so cute."

***

Sprinkles hit the window, causing
us both to stir. Riding on the plane, and on my emotional roller
coaster, seemed to have worn us both out, but it didn't stop us
from taking showers and going out on the town. I laughed at the
thought.

Luke wore a teal polo and a pair
of vintage cut jeans. He smiled at me when I stepped out in a
black, high-waist button-up dress and a red belt. Two-inch high
heels, I wasn't trying to get crazy.

"You're ready?
Already?"

"I'm not high
maintenance."

He led me down the stairs. The
boards that used to creak no longer did. Every imperfection in the
house had been fixed. I never thought it would look so well
preserved. We smiled at the other guests in the living room area
and were out the door.

Crickets and cicadas buzzed in a
harmonic symphony of sounds. They usually did that after a light
rain. Luke opened the car door for me, and I shut it before
climbing in, and adjusted the collar on his polo. Then I gently
wrapped my arms around his neck and thanked him. His arms fit
around my waist, and he lifted me slightly from the ground. Once he
set me down, I leaned in and whispered in his ear, "I appreciate
the gesture to drive, but really, let me."

The keys found their way to my
palm. I slid into the driver's side and zoomed down the driveway,
again. Watching the house fade away to nothingness reminded me of
the day I left for Vegas. But the house, along with myself, had
transformed into something I didn't know. If it could talk, I
imagined it would say it didn't recognize me either, but changing
was inevitable.

Living in an oil town meant there
were several restaurants open all hours of the night. Although
there was nothing high-class like in Vegas, I had the perfect
place.
Tuscany: where there were unlimited
pastabilities.

The setting, cute and
old-fashioned, would be perfect. We parked on the side of the
street and walked inside. The bell above the door let everyone know
we entered. Little candles decorated the checkered table clothes,
and for that moment as I studied Luke perusing the menu, I thought
that he possibly could fit in, in a place like this, my home. Where
expensive cars, corporate offices, and Elite members-only clubs
didn't exist. Only the two of us mattered here while enjoying one
another's company with no interruptions or worries.

"Thank you," I said over the menu
that I wasn't really looking at because I practically had it
memorized.

"For?"

"Planning this. None of the things
back in Vegas really matter while we're here. You know? It feels
different."

Luke grabbed my hands and a girl I
went to high school with took our order. I ordered my favorite
spaghetti and meatballs and Luke had the same and ordered a bottle
of Bruno's Cranberry Wine.

"How did you know that cranberry
was my favorite?"

"Lucky guess, I
suppose."

Minutes passed, and the waitress
arrived with a bottle and no cork, and poured the wine into the
empty glasses.

"Oh, hey, Jennifer. What have you
been up to? Heard you were engaged and living in Vegas."