Once Upon a Love Story

by Beth D. Carter

  The men hugged and then Jake introduced his two women friends as Bunny and Trella. They reminded Delilah of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends, long blonde hair and blue eyes with identical fake, simpering smiles. They both sidled up next to Jake as he held out his hand to Delilah.

  “So nice to meet you,” he said to Delilah. As he held her hand, he gave her a measured, narrowed up and down glance. She pulled her hand away and had to restrain herself from wiping the feel of him off on her shorts.

  Jake gave her a knowing smile that had Delilah looking away toward the ocean.

  “Want to join us for a round of volleyball?” Jake asked.

  “Sounds good,” Caleb replied.

  He squeezed her hand. When Delilah looked at him, he raised his eyebrows in a silent question of acquiescence. Caleb looked so excited that she didn’t know how to say she didn’t want to, so she nodded.

  Bunny and Trella didn’t say a word as they moved back to their side of the net. Jake joined them, allowing her and Caleb on the other side.

  “You know, I’ve never played beach volleyball before,” Caleb called out, grinning.

  “Then prepare to be stomped!” Jake yelled back.

  “But I’m very proficient in snow volleyball!”

  Jake doubled over laughing. “Dude, you’re hilarious!”

  For the next hour, they played until Delilah lost some of her initial trepidation. She and Caleb were a good team and managed to win a few games. As the sun began to set and twilight covered the ground, they all mutually called a halt to the game and walked over to the blue cooler to grab cold water bottles.

  “Great game, my man,” Jake said to Caleb, holding his fist out.

  Caleb bumped it with his. “Sand is a little different than snow, but I think I held my own.”

  “Hey,” Jake said. “You two want to have dinner with us?”

  Caleb glanced over at Delilah. “You know, it’s Delilah’s birthday so I’m going to treat her to a very nice romantic dinner.”

  Delilah smiled, feeling relieved. She didn’t know why but she felt very uneasy around Jake Coolidge, and it had nothing to do with his celebrity status. As Jake packed up his cooler and his two girls slipped some skimpy clothes over their bikinis while she folded their towels, Caleb spotted a child who had fallen in the sand and started to cry. He rushed over to help the little tyke clean the sand out of his mouth. Delilah watched him talk to the mother and sooth the crying child, realizing he would make a wonderful father.

  It broke her heart a little because she wouldn’t be the woman sharing a life with him. Caleb deserved a good woman, a virtuous partner in life, and that was something she was definitely not.

  “Hey, Delilah,” Jake said as he walked over to her. She tensed and gave him a cautious look. “Look, Caleb is a great guy.”

  “Yes,” she agreed. “He is.”

  “I’ve never met a man quite like him,” Jake continued. “Trustworthiness is a rare commodity now-a-days but especially here in L.A.”

  Delilah was sure where this conversation was going.

  Jake looked at Caleb, who began to walk back toward them.

  “Listen,” he said. “He borrows my car every night to see you so I can guess what your profession is and I want you to make him happy the rest of the time that he’s here.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”

  “Money is not an option,” he told her. “You name your price and I’ll write you a check.”

  “A check?” she questioned stupidly as she tried to process what he was saying. It didn’t take her brain long to put the pieces together.

  “I’m good for it,” he defended.

  “You think I’m a hooker?”

  He held up a hand. “I don’t mean to insult you--”

  “You just offered me money to ‘make Caleb happy’?” she asked, using her fingers as quotation marks. “How is that not insulting?”

  He blinked, looking confused. “But he says you work at night.”

  “I’m a dancer, not a prostitute!” she snapped.

  “There’s a difference?” he asked.

  The sad thing was he honestly believed both were one and the same. She had no words to argue back, she was beyond angry. Without another word she turned and stomped across the sand, heading away from Jake Coolidge toward the parking lot that led to the street that wound up to Caleb’s vacation house.

  Stupid! She was so stupid! Of course Caleb’s friend would think that of her because what, she looked like a whore? Was there a huge dollar sign tattoo across her forehead? Did everyone look at her and immediately think she was for sale? Oh god, what if Jake said something to Caleb? What if Caleb starts putting two and two together?

  What if he figures out…Jake was partially right?

  A sob tore through her as it all came crashing down on her head. She’d never be able to hold Caleb long term, they were from two different worlds. But she didn’t want him to remember her as something other than a woman who had loved him.

  “Delilah!” Caleb called out.

  She stopped walking as the realization hit her between the eyes like a sledgehammer. She loved him. Holy hell, how did that happen? When did it happen? It’s only been a week. People can’t fall in love in a week! They were completely different, more than just the color of their skin. Ideas, values, morals. Caleb needed a woman who was Claire 2.0.

  Caleb grabbed her arm, his smiling face immediately turning into concern. “What’s wrong, Delilah?”

  “I…I have a migraine,” she managed to say, trying hard to contain the shock running rampant through her body.

  “Oh. Okay,” he said, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her into a tight hug. “Let me get you to the house. I’ve got ibuprofen and you can lie down.”

  She nodded. “That sounds exactly what I need right now.”

  He waved at Jake over her shoulder but didn’t look back. She couldn’t. She couldn’t face his friend again.

  He kept his arm around her as they walked back to his place. She wanted to pull away for self-preservation, but there was a deeper sense of selfishness that made her snuggle closer and hold onto him more tightly.

  Because soon, she would have to shred her heart into pieces.

  Chapter Eleven

  As soon as Delilah entered the house, she went to the bedroom to hastily repack the overnight bag she’d thrown together not that long ago. After a moment, Caleb walked in behind her holding a glass of water in one hand and two little brown pills in the other.

  “What’re you doing?” he asked.

  Oh god, she was going to have to do this now.

  “I’m leaving.”

  “Why? Because of your migraine? You can rest here--”

  “Not because of that,” she interrupted as she zipped the bag closed. She didn’t have very much to begin with.

  “Stop, Delilah,” he said as he sat the glass and tablets on the nightstand. When she went to move around him to go into the bathroom, he grabbed her arm. “Talk to me.”

  “What do you want from me, Caleb?”

  “I want you to talk to me!”

  “I don’t want to talk. This is over.”

  He reeled back as if she’d struck him, but his fingers tightened on her upper arm when she tried to pull away. “What do you mean, this is over?”

  “You and me. It was ridiculous to start something that couldn’t go anywhere.”

  “I didn’t start this thinking it wasn’t going to go anywhere, Delilah.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t tell me you thought of anything else then having a great vacation fuck.”

  “Don’t you dare call this that,” he said, shaking her a little. “What the hell is wrong? Everything was going great until…”

  He trailed off as comprehension flared to life in his blue eyes.

  “You and I both know saying good-bye was inevitable,” she said, softening her tone.

  “What did Jake say to you?” he demanded.

>   “Nothing I didn’t already realize.”

  “Stop being so damned cryptic! Whatever he said proves he’s just a dumb son-of-a-bitch.”

  She bent her head wearily. There was no chance in hell she’d repeat anything Jake said. She had to stick to her guns, otherwise Caleb would be looking at her through different eyes and call her selfish, but she didn’t want him staring at her with disgust. Better he just gets angry. Anger she could handle.

  “I ask again, Caleb. What do you want from me?”

  “I want you,” he said a bit desperately. “I want you to trust me. I want to hold you, comfort you. I want to make love to you.”

  She blinked. “You mean fuck.”

  He shook his head. “No, I didn’t say fuck. We did not fuck.”

  “What’s the difference between fucking and making love? It’s the same concept.”

  “It’s about the emotion behind it,” he explained. “We can be as dirty as we want to be, can do all types of wicked delights to each other, but with love behind it all.”

  She froze. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m falling for you, Delilah.”

  She yanked her arm away and took a few steps back. He watched her with narrowed eyes. “Ridiculous,” she admonished. “We’ve known each other for a week. People don’t develop feelings in such a short amount of time.”

  “Not true,” he argued back. “I know what I feel. And it’s just not fucking.”

  She hugged her arms around herself. “Don’t do this, Caleb,” she pleaded quietly.

  “Do what, Delilah? Tell the truth?”

  “Don’t…Please,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be overwhelmed with this.”

  An angry frown bracketed his mouth. “You mean you don’t want to be burdened with my pesky emotions.”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “What are you so afraid of? Saying the word love?”

  “You don’t love me!”

  “Don’t tell me what I do or don’t feel!” he yelled. He raked a hand through his hair. “You’re always on my mind. You’re the first person I think of when I wake up and the last name on my lips when I go to bed. When I’m around you I’m in a permanent state of arousal and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve jacked off to thoughts of how beautiful you look when you come.”

  “That’s lust, Caleb. Don’t you see--”

  “I live for your smile,” he continued, as if she hadn’t said a word. “I hang onto every word you say to me. In the night I’m reaching out for you and feel so empty when I touch cold sheets. I love our dates, when I finally have you in my arms, when I can finally reach out and be with you. It’s love, Delilah.”

  “Don’t say that. You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  “I’ve been in love. I know what it is, I know how it feels.”

  They stared at each other. Hurt darkened every line on his face and it made her heart ache a little in return.

  “You need to find another Claire,” she said.

  “I had Claire and I loved her. But I don’t want a replacement. I could never replace her and that’s not what you are to me.” He took hold her upper arms. “You’re completely different than her, and I’m not just talking about skin color. Claire was gentle and passive and gracious. She was my best friend. But you’re vibrant and fiery and you drive me insane with need. I needed Claire in my youth, but I need you in my future.”

  “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  He pulled her into his arms. She closed her eyes and savored his warmth and the beat of his heart.

  “It’s okay,” he murmured into her hair. “We’ll figure this out together.”

  No, they wouldn’t, she thought. But she didn’t voice her opinion. Because to do so would mean she’d have to reveal more of herself and that she wasn’t prepared to do so. She leaned back to look into his beautiful cerulean eyes.

  “Make love to me,” she ordered in a subdued voice.

  ****

  He almost went up in flames right then and there. His dick instantly hardened, tenting his board shorts. She reached for the string and quickly untied them, and they pooled to his feet. She fell to her knees and engulfed him with her hot mouth while her hand encircled the base of his cock to begin pumping him up and down.

  God, she was beautiful. And as much as he loved getting head he wanted her even more. Her words had scared him and for a moment he thought he just might have lost her. That lingering fear had him reaching for her, pulling her off his cock and stripping her quickly. Off went her top, along with her bra. He spent a moment on her breasts, gently biting each turgid nipple before soothing them with his tongue. Delilah moaned and arched her back, so he figured she liked the soft bite of pain. Then he kneeled to help her take off her shorts and panties. She stood before him like some African Goddess, her coco skin gleaming in the twilight.

  He urged her to part her legs then used two fingers to part her pussy as his tongue found her clit to play with. She gave a gasp and grabbed his hair, holding on as well as keeping him in place. He pushed a finger into her, finger fucking her until her hips got into a rhythm. It didn’t take long until her body tightened around his fingers. He worked her G-spot until she cried and splintered apart, her cream ran over his fingers and flowed into his mouth.

  Only then did he retreat from her body to guide her onto the bed. He quickly found a condom and rolled it onto his dick. The frenzied need for release wiped out all coherent thought. They moved against one another. Seeking. Claiming. Pleasure built. Exploded. Pushing them both over the threshold.

  When he woke up early the next morning, Delilah was in his arms. He closed his eyes and sniffed her hair, feeling as if everything was right in his world. What he’d said to her yesterday, the emotions he’d admitted to her were real. That didn’t mean they didn’t terrify the devil out of him.

  He’d fallen in love with a woman who probably would do everything in her power to run away from him. He never would have suspected Delilah was a skittish woman, but yesterday showed him that she was ready to bolt at the first sign of something deeper.

  It didn’t bode well.

  Delilah stirred beside him, and he glanced down at her. She eased out of his arms and turned to face him.

  “I have to show you something,” she said softly.

  “Okay.”

  “Not here.”

  “Where?” he asked.

  “At my apartment.”

  “All right.”

  She took a deep breath. “I’ve…not told you something about me. But now I want to tell you.”

  “You didn’t want to tell me earlier?”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Because once you know you’ll…”

  She trailed off.

  He raised a brow. “I’ll what?”

  “You’ll look at me differently.”

  “Nothing will make me look at you differently.”

  “We’ll see,” she said a bit cryptically but didn’t give him a chance to say anything back because she was already rising from the bed to enter the bathroom.

  Damn. Her nervousness now edged him on, leading to a heavy sense of foreboding.

  Chapter Twelve

  She drove in silence, and he didn’t pressure her to talk. He couldn’t imagine what other secret she held but knew whatever it was his number one priority was making sure she knew it wouldn’t change how he felt about her. Delilah was a contradiction. Half of her was this fierce tough woman who didn’t seem to take shit from anyone. The other half was a very insecure woman. Perhaps she let down her guard with him and if so, he was humbled by the thought that she trusted him enough to open up.

  They pulled into her apartment complex and she cut the engine, but she didn’t move. He looked at her and decided to take her cue and follow when she was ready. After a moment she took a deep breath and opened her door.

  As he followed her, he re
ached for her hand and held it. Startled, she glanced at him and gave a tentative smile and then marched resolutely up the stairs to her apartment. As he entered, he immediately took in the sparse décor. A patched black leather loveseat rested in front of a scuffed coffee table. The small flatscreen had a small crack in one corner. What caught his attention were the bookshelves and the hundreds and hundreds of workbooks stuck in them. Curious, he walked over to them to see what they were exactly and was shocked to realize they were school study guides. They were the type bought in bookstores to help a child learn or to help him or her to grasp information. He pulled one that stated sixth grade and flipped through it. It was a math primer, teaching the basics about graphs and percentages.

  As he replaced it, he noticed they ranged from kindergarten all the way up to high school, with a few SAT study guides scattered about. School textbooks, history books and social studies were present. Poetry books rounded out the end. A few by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

  He turned to face her. “What are these?”

  “One of my deep secrets. I haven’t told anyone about this.”

  “About what?”

  “I never went to school.”

  He lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Ever?”

  She shook her head. “My mother…she kept me home, so I could help her and work. When I finally ran away and got here, I decided I needed to become educated so I wouldn’t be stuck in the position of life she was in.”

  Tenderness washed through him. It took guts to begin such a quest, and to have to start at ground zero was nothing short of astonishing.

  “I bought the first workbook with my first legit paycheck,” she continued. “It was a preschool book that taught parents how to teach the ABC’s and 123’s. I couldn’t read the instructions but after a few weeks I got the gist of most of it, along with help from children’s television programs. The books with cd’s were the best because I could read along as the words were sounded out.”