“I became a fan from taking him to the shows since I didn’t want him out hitchhiking at night and he was so determined to go.” Elena thumbed through the pages of photos, not expecting any response from Lizzie. “Your Daddy got him on the ring crew when he was sixteen. I guess he got tired of Vlad pestering him all the time. He told Vlad that if he would stay in school he’d help him get trained when he graduated.”
“Daddy can be awful nice when he wants to be.” Lizzie guessed her new car was proof of that.
“That’s not the half of it. The week after Vlad finished high school, Paul got him a bus ticket up to Minnesota and set it up for him to train with Vic George, even gave him some spending money to get started off with.”
Paul’s act of kindness only made Lizzie fear the worst. She should have been proud of him for being so nice. Instead it only made her lean more towards thinking he could be telling her the truth about Billy not coming back.
“I’m happy Vlad finally got to start wrestling. He’s been up there for almost three years and I miss him so much. Our parents put in so many hours at that plant that I practically raised him.”
“You sure don’t look old enough to be his mother.”
“I’ll be twenty-seven in a couple of months so I’m only six years older than him. I guess I just grew up fast. My parents kicked me out when I got pregnant at seventeen.”
Elena carefully unwrapped a small photo frame from a worn piece of blue fleece. She ran a finger over the glass like she was caressing the face of a lover. “That’s us the day they took him away.” She cupped the photo in her hand leaning over to show the photo to Lizzie. “I hadn’t planned on holding him, but I gave in at the last minute. He has the same photo, so someday he’ll know how much I love him.”
Elean swiped at her eye with the sleeve of her shirt. “I gave him up for adoption to a real nice couple up in Virginia. The man is a lawyer and the woman said she was going to stay home and take care of him. They couldn’t have any kids of their own.”
“Oh, Elena, I’m so sorry.” Lizzie hugged her. “That was so brave of you.”
“He’ll be ten this summer and I think about him all the time. Wondering what he looks like, how he’s doing. Hoping he’s happy and loved.”
Elena's tears opened up Lizzie’s floodgate of emotions to where she told her everything about losing her baby and how no one knew but Carol Ann and what Hannah had told her before she passed.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Elena said. “I think it means that someday you’ll take in a child the way the Edwards gave my son a better life.”
“It feels good to talk about it with someone who understands. I mean Carol Ann was so nice and all, but in a way it was like she seemed relieved that Billy and I didn’t have a healthy baby.”
“She was just worried about you. It’s a huge responsibility. I don’t know what I would have done without Carol Ann. She took me in until I had a place to stay and helped me with all the adoption stuff.”
“I’m not knocking her at all. I guess it’s like she’s Daddy’s girlfriend first and my friend second. Of course that’s how it’s supposed to be. I think I would have hated any woman other than Carol Ann coming into my life the way she did.”
“She adores your Daddy, there’s no doubting that.”
“I don’t know how she stood being his mistress all those years. I just can’t imagine her as the type of woman who would sleep with someone else’s husband.”
“I don’t think she ever saw him that way. It’s so easy for the wrestlers to cheat on their wives and girlfriends. I’ll admit I’ve messed around with some of them, but I try to stay away from the married ones.”
“Am I crazy to love Billy like I do?”
“Love is crazy. It’s the nature of the beast.” Elena laughed. “You know what we need?”
“What?”
“Some adult beverages to go with dessert.” Elena opened the refrigerator. “I’ve got a bottle of wine I won at the Christmas raffle at work.”
“I don’t know. I’ve only had champagne on New Year’s Eve and weddings and such.”
Elena held up a bottle of Merlot. “I wonder if this goes well with chocolate ice cream.”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
“Right you are.” She poured the wine into two juice glasses. “Here’s to new friendships and true love.”
“I’ll drink to that.”
Since neither of them were drinkers, both girls were little tipsy by the time they changed into their PJs and finished off the bottle along with scraping the crumbs up on the last of the brownies.
“If it wasn’t for Billy, I’d set you up with Vlad,” Elena said laughing, “You would make a great little sister.”
“Nothing personal, but I don’t want any more surprise siblings.”
“I didn’t say Paul Bryson was the father.”
“In that case, we’re good,” Lizzie said. “I feel sorry for Paul Junior having Daddy all of a sudden trying to redo his entire life.”
“Carol Ann won’t let that happen.”
“Daddy needs someone to stand up to him every now and then. If mom had done that I think their marriage would have worked a lot better.”
“I know. It seems like there are all these people together, but at the same time so disconnected. I’d rather stay single and not settle than be married just for the sake of it.”
“I was so sure Billy was the one.”
“He is,” Elena said. “Don’t believe anything until you hear it straight from the horse’s mouth and you had better get on the pill until you guys get settled.”
“Carol Ann has already given me the lecture and I have the first pack in my purse.”
“Good, don’t stop taking them. Just trust me on this Lizzie, a baby is the last thing you need right now.”
“What happened to your baby’s father?”
“He’s still with his wife and still at the shows almost every week. The only thing different is now we act like nothing ever happened, like we’ve never ever said more than hello.”
“How do you stand being around him?”
“At first it hurt,” she leaned back on the pillows propped against the headboard. “Now I laugh at how fast he goes through girls. He’s their problem, not mine.”
“I don’t think I could ever get over Billy, especially not if I had to see him all the time.”
“He changed when he met you.”
“Really?”
“I’ll tell you something if you promise not to get mad at me.”
Now that scared her, but Lizzie said, “Okay, go ahead and spill it.”
“Before he met you I kinda messed around with Billy a little bit. I swear it was before you guys were together. Later he even told me about you and said he wasn’t going to cheat on you and I respected the hell out of him for being honest like that.”
That was something Lizzie didn’t know how to take. It was good Elena told the truth, but still, “What do you mean by messing around?”
“It wasn’t anything major, I promise.” Elena held up a hand like she was making a solemn vow. “It was just a blow job and it only happened once.”
“Blow job?” Yes, Lizzie really was that naïve.
“You really don’t know what that is?”
Did she look like she knew what she was talking about?
Lizzie shook her head, no.
“Oral sex. I went down on him. Don’t tell me you’ve never given him head.”
“Oh.” A graphic light bulb went off in Lizzie’s mind and she wanted to pull the off switch on it real fast, except her curiosity got the better of her. “Billy’s the only guy I’ve ever even kissed. I mean I’ve touched him there, but not with my mouth.”
Elena actually laughed at Lizzie’s innocence. “It’s okay to say dick or penis or cock or whatever else you want to call it.”
“Okay then, since he’s the only guy I’ve ever seen naked and I have nothing to compare it to. Is h
is… dick…” there Lizzie said it, “a little on the large side?”
“Honey, he’s hung like a horse.”
“So it is really big then?”
“The biggest I’ve ever seen.” Elena gave her a once over. “As tiny as you are and as huge as he is, that had to hurt the first time y’all did it.”
“Yes, big time. I’m just really glad to know there’s not something wrong with me for not being all that crazy about this whole sex thing.”
“Nobody likes it the first time.”
“Well, I still don’t like it all that much.”
“Then Billy’s obviously not doing it right.”
“He’s gotta be doing something right to have all those girls throwing themselves at him and Gran told me if I don’t take care of him at home, he’s going to go looking for it on the road.”
“You could fuck his brains out and he would still get a piece in the next town. That’s just the way the wrestlers are.” Elena snorted with laughter. “I can’t believe Glenda told you to do him to keep him from getting it on the road. Did your mother follow that same advice?”
“No, and that’s why they had such a miserable marriage.”
“Maybe it was more your daddy being a womanizing prick than anything she did or didn’t do with him. No offense, but Glenda is full of shit feeding you that load of crap.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh Lizzie, don’t turn into the spoiled princess on me. You know just as well as I do that your daddy is no saint.”
“Well, none of Gran’s husbands cheated on her.”
“Husbands? How many did she have?”
“Four.”
“Then by all means, keep right on doing what you’re doing. Go ahead and wind up a frigid shrew.”
“Did you ever meet my mother?” Now Lizzie was the one giggling as much from the alcohol as the absurdity of their conversation. “Because that’s what Daddy thought she was.”
“Girl, you crack me up getting all defensive like that.”
“Gran has to be right.”
“Suit yourself." Elena laughed along with her. "Me? I’ll give a guy one or two freebies to sample the merchandise then after that he does his part or he ain’t getting it from me.”
Chapter 22
“Can I get you anything else, Billy?” The stewardess asked. “Last call before we prepare to land in Newark.”
“Where’s the closest place to grab a big juicy cheeseburger on my layover.” Billy held out his ticket with the information for his connecting flight to Raleigh.
“There’s a grill right at the end of concourse B. Just go all the way to the end of the hallway.”
“Thanks, Hon. I sure do appreciate you slipping me those extra sandwiches. It was the best eating I’ve had since I left the good old USA.”
Four turkey sandwiches and a couple of bags of pretzels had silenced his growling stomach for the first time in over a month.
“Not a fan of Japanese cuisine?”
“I wasn’t living high on the hog at that dojo they had me training at.”
The special treatment had ended the minute Billy went back to Japan without William there looking out for him. They had him sleeping on a pallet just about as hard as the dirt floor of their dungeon dorm. He and all the other trainees had to share one toilet and a shower that dripped out just enough stale water to keep them from stinking.
He couldn’t wait to check into a motel, take a long hot shower and cuddle up with Lizzie in a bed big enough to roll around in. Billy missed his woman more than any of those other amenities.
The beating Paul had given him was nothing compared to training with the Japanese boys every day and busting his ass in the ring every night. They worked him so hard he had been doing those horrible Hindu squats in his sleep. For the first few weeks he had hurt in places he didn’t even know it was possible to hurt.
It had been worth it to wiggle his toes and feel all the money stuffed in the bottom of his cowboy boots. William had told him to do that so he wouldn’t have to declare most of the cash when he went through customs. He had learned so much from that man it wasn’t even funny. Most important, he really felt he had done William proud with the Japanese office, making connections that were going to last a lifetime.
He whizzed through customs, gobbled down that burger and was the first one at the gate raring to get to Raleigh and his Lizzie. When they were in the air, he got out her last letter and reread that part where she told him they had a lot of talking to do when he got home. When a gal wants to talk like that, it’s usually not about anything good.
All those concerns vanished as soon as he got a glimpse of that beautiful red hair of hers, he grabbed hold of his suitcase and raced to where she was waiting for him just outside baggage claims. It was heaven to wrap his arms around her and all was right with the world when she gave him a kiss that about melted his heart right there on the spot.
“You look so pretty I can’t hardly take my eyes off you.” Lizzie had gotten all dolled up in a blue dress with her hair just the way he liked it, all loose in an explosion of curls surrounding her cute little face.
“Didn’t they feed you over there?”
“I ain’t any good with those chopsticks.” Billy laughed, grabbing her hand as they walked towards where she had parked his car.
He looked all over that lot and didn’t see his Riviera anywhere in sight.
“Did your Daddy give you your car back?”
“Nope.” She stopped in front of a shiny new blue Riviera and grinned. “He bought me a new car,” she said, handing him the keys.
“Does that mean he’s come to terms with us getting married?” Billy sure hoped that was the case.
Before he could start the engine, she turned to look at him all serious, “Don’t get mad at me.”
Oh no, here it comes…
“I wrecked your car.”
“Is that all that’s been worrying you?” A wave of relief washed over him as he leaned over and gave her a little kiss. “That old car was on its last legs anyway. As long as you’re not hurt, that’s all that matters.”
“I’m going to pay you back. I have the check from the insurance people in my purse.”
“Lizzie baby, I made some good money over there. That check is the least of my worries.”
“I hit one of your friends.”
“One of the boys? Paul must have gotten a kick out of that.”
“Elena… I pulled out in front of her when I came up here last time to pick you up and you were still over there.”
That stunned his so bad he had to slam on the brakes to keep from causing his own wreck just getting out of the parking lot.
“We’ve gotten to be really good friends.”
“She’s a nice girl.”
Luckily, the light turned green and he pretended to be busy figuring out how to get them back to the highway.
“She told me she gave you a blowjob.”
Her bluntness really threw him for a loop, but he tried to keep it cool and act like it wasn’t any big deal. “That was a long time before I met you.”
“I know.”
Trying to change the subject Billy said, “I was thinking we could live it up a little tonight and get us a nice room at one of the downtown hotels.”
“What’s wrong with the Lodestone?”
“Nothing, I just wanted to treat you to something special since it’s my first night back.”
“I know all about the groupies, or ring rats as you guys call them, and what goes on with those girls after the shows.”
“Sounds like you and Elena have been doing a lot of talking.”
“We sure have.”
“Well as long as you know that everything I ever did with any other girl happened before you came along and stole my heart.”
“From now on the only blowjobs you’ll be getting are from me.”
“That’s fine by me.” Billy just had to laugh at how cute she was, getting all pouty wi
th him. “Your daddy would wash your mouth out with soap if he heard you talking like that.”
“How I talk or what I say or do, for that matter, isn’t any of Daddy’s business. I’m a grown woman and I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“And all your adult talking is getting me all turned on.” Billy grabbed hold of her knee and got kinda surprised when she let his hand keep going up her thigh.
“Oh no,” She gasped, “I was in such a hurry rushing around to get dressed that I forgot to put on my panties.”
Billy slid his hand a little further up her thigh going all the way up to the lacy trim of her stockings. Sure enough, after that there was nothing but smooth skin.
“Damn, girl.”
“I’m no slut.” She smacked his hand away, “You’re not getting any until after you buy me dinner, so you might as well keep driving right past that hotel.”
“According to William there’s a very nice restaurant right here in the lobby.” Billy pulled up to let the valet park the car, “Just let me grab a shower before we eat, seeing as how I’ve been on a plane since yesterday.”
***
“We have a reservation for tonight,” Billy said to the desk clerk. “Mr. and Mrs. Dalton.”
That got another coy little grin from Lizzie before she said, “I’ll just browse in the gift shop while you freshen up.”
“Here’s a little spending money, hon.” Billy handed her one of the bills from his wallet and turned back to the man at the desk. “We’re only on our honeymoon and she’s already got me whipped.”
“I can see why,” he said as they both paused to watch her strut across the lobby all ladylike in her high heels.”
Had he been gone three months or three years? He had left a cute little girl and came home to strong confident gorgeous woman. He was already falling even harder for the new and improved Elizabeth Bryson, soon to be Mrs. Billy Dalton.
Since there was no getting her in the room for some pre-dinner hanky panky, Billy rushed through a shower and changed into his suit so quick his hair was still damp by the time he made it down the stairs. He found Lizzie waiting for him in a quiet corner of the restaurant with a bottle of wine already uncorked on the table.
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