Fireside Love

by S. L. Sterling

  With that thought in mind, I went into the kitchenette and filled the kettle and set it to boil. I rooted through the box of food Addie had sent with me and finally found the coffee buried in the bottom of the box. I would have thought she would have set it at the top.

  I busied myself making coffee and then opened the fridge and pulled out the eggs and bacon I had put in there last night and began heating a pan I'd found in the cupboard.

  While the bacon sizzled away in the pan, I flipped the eggs in the other pan before pouring two mugs of hot coffee and carrying them into the bedroom. Kristy was now relaxed against the pillows she had propped up behind her back and was watching TV.

  "Here you go, just the way you like it." I smiled, handing her the mug. "Careful, it's hot."

  "What took you so long? I feared maybe you didn't know how to make coffee." She gave a cute giggle.

  "Please." I let out a laugh and returned to the kitchen where I plated the food onto two plates and carried them into the bedroom. The second I rounded the corner carrying the plates, her eyes lit up at the sight of food.

  "Breakfast in bed? How did you know?"

  "I knew. Besides, I was hungry, so I figured you might be as well," I said, handing her her plate and sitting down on the edge of the bed with mine so I could face her.

  "You've got to be the best…" She paused for a second and looked at me and smiled. "The best not-my-boyfriend boyfriend ever."

  I couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks I think," I said, biting into a piece of the crisp bacon. "Speaking of boyfriends. How’s Tom?"

  Immediately, she looked down at her plate and a look came across her face I wasn't sure I'd seen before. She took a sip of her coffee, set the mug down, and looked at me. "Things ended with Tom when I caught him with his face between the legs of his assistant… in his office," she said matter of fact.

  I almost choked on my eggs as the words fell from her lips. "Hell, Kristy, I didn't know. I'm sorry." I didn't want her to think I was being an insensitive prick.

  "No, it’s okay. I know you didn't know. I'd told Addie, but I asked her not to say anything to anyone. It was embarrassing enough to have my entire office know before I did."

  "Oh, trust me, I get it."

  "It's just now he thinks because he is the boss he can hold all kinds of things over my head. I guess I should have reported him when I had the chance."

  "Honestly, I never liked the guy. He always struck me as being a power-hungry little ass," I bit out.

  Kristy laughed. "Yes, that he is. I'd forgotten you'd met him."

  "Well, between you and I, I always thought you could do better," I said absentmindedly while dipping my toast into my egg yolk.

  Kristy was bringing her toast to her mouth when she stopped and looked at me. "You did?"

  "Yep, to be honest, I've never liked any of the guys you've dated. I'll tell you I only tolerated Tom because Addie had begged me to. There were plenty of times I should have taken him out back and taught him a lesson."

  "Oh," she said, biting into her toast.

  We both grew quiet. I wasn't sure if I wanted to divulge why or not, because it would only bring up memories I didn't want to revisit this weekend. However, she sat there looking at me, and I knew she was wondering why, so once I had swallowed what was in my mouth, I decided not to hold back.

  "Do you remember when you brought him to Addie's Fourth of July party?"

  "Yeah."

  "Did you know that he hit on Laura when she was coming back from the bathroom?" I asked.

  "Addie never told me that!"

  "She wouldn't have because she didn't know. I never told her, but you can be rest assured I knew about it, and the only thing keeping me from dragging his ass outside was the fact that Laura begged me not to make a scene."

  "Was that right before dinner?"

  "Yep."

  "What did you say? I remember he came to me just as Addie and I were pulling stuff from the kitchen and demanded to go home."

  Kristy sat there wide-eyed waiting for me to say something. I finished chewing what was in my mouth, took a sip of coffee, and smiled to myself. "Let's put it this way, what I said to him was not meant for a lady’s ears."

  Kristy met my eyes. I could tell she didn't know what to say. Then she smiled. "I'm sorry about him."

  "Don't be, it’s in the past. Truth be known, she probably instigated the entire thing herself, and I tore a strip off an innocent guy who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."

  "Don't say that," Kristy said, reaching out and touching my hand. "She loved you."

  I grew quiet. I didn't know what to think of those words, especially coming from Kristy. I wasn't sure that Laura had ever loved me at all.

  "Yep, perhaps at one time she might have, but that, too, is in the past now." Kristy knew all about what had transpired at the funeral home. She had been the one who had taken me outside while the guys from the fire department had asked Scott to leave. She had been the one who stayed with me while I lost my shit out in the back alley, and she had also been the one whose arms held me while I'd cried my heart out. She'd seen it all, and because of that, we had grown closer in a much different way.

  "You finished?" I said, nodding at her empty plate and winking at her, trying to change the subject.

  "Yes," she said, handing me the plate. "It was really good."

  "I'm glad you enjoyed it." I took the plates and dropped them into the sink in the kitchen, then wandered back into the bedroom and sat back down, propping my pillow up behind my back and sitting beside Kristie.

  "What do you want to do today?" I asked.

  "Well, honestly, I could just relax in bed all day, cuddle, and watch TV. Although, I think perhaps we could go for a hike instead, get some fresh air. Maybe grab some groceries before that so we have something good for dinner."

  "That sounds like a plan."

  We took our time getting ready, both of us taking a hot shower, and then we piled into his truck.

  7

  Kristy

  On our way back from the grocery store, we stopped in at a little local snowshoe rental shack. Austin hopped out and grabbed us both a pair and got a trail map of the area. We stopped back into the cottage to put away the groceries and get changed into something a little warmer.

  It had only taken us a couple of hours, but we had hiked the entire trail around the lake. Neither of us had been here in years—basically since we were kids. I remembered coming up here in the summer with Addie's family and going to the lake with her and Austin. We'd swim and fish, but as I got older, I developed a crush on Austin. Once I had hit sixteen, I would find myself coming up with excuses as to why I could no longer go with them on family vacations.

  We had just returned from returning the snowshoes to the little rental hut and parked the truck next to the cabin.

  "Did you want to head down to the lake?" Austin questioned, coming around from the driver’s side and walking beside me.

  I looked out at the lake. There were families out there building snowmen and snow forts. "Sure, that sounds great." I smiled.

  We headed off in the direction of the lake and soon were out on the familiar dock that still housed the colorful Adirondack chairs for people to sit on.

  "I'm surprised the lake hasn't frozen over yet," I said, brushing the snow off one of the chairs and sitting down.

  "Even though it's colder than normal this year, it hasn't been cold enough to freeze the water just yet," Austin said, picking up a rock and skipping it across the water.

  I sat there and watched in amazement as the rock went flying across the water’s surface. "I still have no idea how you do that."

  "What? Skip rocks? It's easy."

  "Sure it is. You are telling that to someone who can't do it."

  "It is easy! First, the stone should be mostly flat and about the size of the palm of your hand. If you can, try and find a triangular stone as those ones skip the best, but stay away from circular stones," A
ustin said, bending over and picking up another stone. He looked over at me and cocked his head. "Come over here."

  "Why?"

  "Just come over here. I'm gonna teach you how to do this."

  I knew there was no fighting him. He would just walk over and force me out of this chair. Instead, I got up and walked over to him. He held the stone out for me to see. I peeked into his hand, but instead of showing me, he grabbed my hand and dropped the stone into mine. I examined it then held it out for him to take.

  "No, no, no, you are going to do it," he said, refusing to take the stone back.

  I looked at him like he was crazy. "Austin, you know I can't do this. It's only going to sink on me."

  He chuckled. "How about you trust me. Now you said you wanted to learn, so let’s learn."

  "No, what I said was that I have no idea how you do that. I never said I wanted to learn," I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

  He chucked again and then came around behind me and positioned the stone in my hand the correct way.

  "So you're going to hold it with your thumb and middle finger." He positioned my fingers the way they needed to be. "Then you’re going to firmly hook your index finger along the edge of the stone, your thumb on top of the stone, not around the edge."

  "All right, so now what?"

  He stepped up behind me and placed his hand on my lower abdomen, pulling me back against him. The second my body hit his it was like I could barely breathe. I was glad he was behind me supporting me because my knees felt a little weak.

  "Okay, so now you are going to stand up straight," his deep, sexy voice echoed in my ear. With his chest pressing against my back, he turned me until I was at a slight angle to the water. "Now you're going to stay in this position during the windup and release. The lower your hand is at the release, the better. You’re going to throw out and down at the same time. It needs plenty of downward force, faster not harder, and you're going to spin it hard with a quick snap of your wrist."

  I was afraid to move. Every nerve in my body was going off at the fact his body was pressed against mine. I felt hot and shaky and a lot anxious, but I did the only thing I knew to do, and that was let him have full control over my movements. Next thing I knew, I was watching the stone skip across the water.

  Austin stood there, his arms still wrapped around me, taking in my expression. We locked eyes and stood there in silence staring at one another. His hand went to my cheeks, his eyes moving from my eyes to my lips. I was sure he was going to kiss me, but voices in the distance caused us both to part.

  "See, it's not that hard," Austin said, stepping away from me and sitting down on one of the other chairs. "Try it again. I know you can do it."

  I searched through the rocks, finally finding one that was similarly shaped, repeating everything that Austin had shown me, round up and let the rock go, only to have it drop right into the water and sink. Austin let out a laugh behind me, and I turned, pouting at him. "I told you that was what would happen."

  "Come on, just give it another shot. Rome wasn't built in a day. You’ll get it."

  "I will never learn to do that," I said, sitting down in the chair beside him and looking out over the lake. "Do you remember how your parents used to sit here and watch us while we all swam out to the platform in the middle of lake?" I asked.

  "Yep, they sat here sipping on mimosas and wine while we all went crazy cannonballing into the water."

  "You were the only one who cannonballed. Addie and I just wanted to sun out on the platform. Instead, all you did was splash us."

  "Yep, and I swear I only did the cannonballs to make you girls angry." Austin laughed. "It was so fun to get the two of you going."

  "Do you remember that summer that Addie had a crush on that guy that was here, and he had swum out to the platform and was making small talk with her?"

  "Yep."

  "You remember climbing out of the water, seeing it, and running towards her, grabbing her, and jumping into the water? She was so angry with you."

  "Yeah, it was hilarious. The guy was a dog though. I'd caught him down at the beach earlier that morning before you girls were up. He had walked up behind this woman who was setting out her blanket and he pulled the tie on the back of her bikini. I'll admit, she had nice ones, but it was a shitty thing to do. I didn't want my sister hanging around with that ass, so as mad as she got, it was worth it. I probably saved her from a relationship of regret."

  "I had no idea Addie was so angry at you. She went on about that for weeks you know. If I probably brought it up today, she would still go on about it."

  "Yeah, I know. I got it from Dad later that night." Austin chuckled at the memory.

  "By this time then, your parents would have been well into the booze. It's clearly not too early to start is it?"

  "Nope. I'll be right back." Austin stood, picking up another rock and making it look completely effortless as he sent it skipping across the lake again.

  "You suck!" I giggled. Austin turned and smiled at me and started walking up towards the cabin. "Where are you going?"

  "You'll see."

  I wrapped my coat around me a little tighter as a cold breeze came off the lake. I relaxed back against the chair and watched the birds float through the trees and listened to the sounds of nature. All the memories from when we were kids ran through my mind so vividly. It was almost as if I were sitting here watching them all play out in front of me. I was so deeply focused on my thoughts that I hadn't heard Austin return. Instead, I opened my eyes and saw a champagne glass floating in front of me. I looked up and saw Austin smiling down at me. "Mimosa?"

  "Thank you," I said, grabbing the glass from him. "Where did you get this from?"

  "Cheers." He held up his glass, clinking it together with mine and we both took a sip. "I picked up a bottle of cheap champagne and some orange juice when I ran into that little store before coming back from getting groceries. Figured that you might like one for breakfast, but hell, now works." He grinned, drinking some more.

  We spent the rest of the afternoon drinking mimosas down on the dock and talking about the past, then moving onto our adult lives. The words flowed easier than they ever had, and I felt more comfortable with him as the afternoon went on. The sun was beginning to set by the time we noticed we had been out there all afternoon. It was as if no time had passed at all between us.

  Looking around, we noticed that all the families had disappeared inside their cabins, and we were the only ones left out on the lake. The twinkle lights that had been strung through the trees from other cabin owners suddenly came on, bathing everything in a soft glow.

  "Guess we should probably head back and get some dinner," Austin said, sitting forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

  I nodded in agreement while my stomach started to grumble. Neither of us had realized how much time had passed. "I think that is a great idea. I'm starving. I haven't had a liquid lunch in a long while either." I giggled, letting out a hiccup as I stood, quickly loosing my balance.

  "Easy there," he said, taking the glass from me and holding out his hand for me to take. I slid my and into his and together we made our way through the snow back to the cabin.

  8

  Austin

  We returned to the cabin, and Kristy headed into the bedroom to change, while I turned on the fireplace and got the oven heating. Once she reappeared, I then went into the bedroom and changed as well. Now we stood in the kitchen where Kristy was busy making the Caesar salad, while I pulled the frozen lasagna from the freezer and placed it into the hot oven. Then I grabbed the baguette and began making garlic bread to go along with our meal. I had just spread the butter when Kristy turned to me.

  "I don't want you to get angry when I say this." Kristy's voice shook as she spoke, and she took a sip of her water before she continued.

  "Okay."

  "I really don't understand why Laura, God rest her soul, went after another guy."

  I got quiet. I knew th
e reason all too well, and that reason had been haunting me a lot over the past twenty-four hours. "What do you mean?"

  "Well, it's just… you’re so awesome. I mean, you made me coffee and breakfast in bed. You taught me how to skip rocks." She let out this cute giggle. "You kept me fed with mimosas all day. I meant it when I said you were the best non-boyfriend boyfriend I've ever had."

  I reached for the garlic without saying anything and then stopped when I felt her hand on my shoulder. "Austin."

  I closed my eyes and stood there, allowing the memories of Laura to rush through my mind once again. I could remember the arguments, the fighting, the yelling that happened every single time we were in a room together. These were the things that no one knew, the things that happened every single damn day, and it was impossible to stop. It didn't matter what I said or did, they happened.

  "You can talk to me, Austin."

  I blew out a breath. "Our marriage wasn't like this, Kristy. It was nothing like this. We fought all the time, we never agreed on anything. If I said I wanted lasagna, she suddenly didn't like lasagna. Whenever we were in the kitchen together, we always ended up in a fight instead of knowing exactly what to do without being told. If I went to make the salad, she was going to do it. We fought all the damn time, and that got old really fast. It got so bad that I would prefer to spend my days at work, even when I wasn't working, just so I didn't have to fight with her."

  "Well, surely you knew that about her before you married her?"

  "I did and I didn't. Sure, we fought, but who doesn't fight. She was the one who wanted to get married. She was convinced we were perfect for one another, and that once we worked everything out, we would be fine. That is until we weren't perfect for one another and we couldn't fix it."

  "But if you knew that..."

  "I knew it deep down inside I guess. However, on the outside, we made sense. It was almost like it was expected of us really. Her parents, my parents, Addie, you, everyone thought we were the perfect couple, when in fact, they couldn't have been more wrong."

  "Can I be honest with you?"