Some Hearts

by Meg Jolie

  He smiled appreciatively as his gaze drifted over me.

  I positioned myself between his knees. With him sitting and me standing, we were eye to eye. Wordlessly, I leaned in to him. I sucked on his bottom lip, nibbled it, then kissed it. His hands slid to my backside. His fingers played with the edge of my nightgown. Our kiss deepened and his hands slid across my bare bottom.

  I broke the kiss long enough to tug the nightgown off, wondering why I had even bothered with it in the first place.

  Noah’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and he sucked in his bottom lip.

  He kept his gaze pinned to my face, somewhere safe. Somewhere chivalrous and gentlemanly. He was so adorably predictable.

  “It’s okay, you can look,” I said with a small laugh.

  He nodded once as he dragged in a deep breath. Then his eyes lowered, taking in every inch of my body at a leisurely pace. When he finally pulled his gaze back up to meet mine, I could tell he appreciated what he saw.

  I knew my body wasn’t perfect. I’d lost too much weight this past year. It wasn’t fashionable, it was unhealthy. My knees jutted out a little too far and my ribcage was a little too visible. I wished nature wouldn’t have been so stingy when deciding my cup size. My hair had a habit of becoming frizzy and unruly. None of that mattered when I was with Noah. My body might not be perfect, but he had a way of making me feel like my body was perfect for him.

  His hands slid around my waist, pulling me close until our bodies touched. The sensation of skin on skin felt sublime. His hands coasted across my back, pulling me in tightly as he nuzzled my hair, then his lips dropped to my neck.

  I gave him a gentle nudge, indicating that he should scoot back.

  “I want to try something new,” I whispered. “If you don’t mind?”

  “Please,” he rasped out as I pushed him onto his back.

  I reached over him, tugging off his boxers. He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath before moving to the center of the bed.

  I followed him, lying beside him at first. His fingers ran down the curve of my waist, causing my bare skin to break out in goose bumps. My hand slid down his chest, then lower. My fingers circled around his growing erection. I cautiously began to stroke him. It wasn’t that I’d never done this before. I just hadn’t done it often. I was still not entirely sure of my own actions. When he moaned and closed his eyes I assumed I was doing something right.

  I nibbled and sucked my way across his neck. His fingers dug possessively into my backside. I trailed kisses across his cheek, finally making my way to his mouth. His hands moved up until they rested on my cheeks. He guided me into a slow, leisurely, delicious kiss. I was careful not to break the connection. I didn’t want the kiss to ever end.

  My fingers finished their caress and my hand slid up to his shoulder. He was ready for me and I was so very ready for him. Slowly, I inched myself over him, until I was on top of him. He inhaled sharply and then groaned in anticipation when he realized what I intended to do. Slowly, carefully, I lowered myself onto him, hoping that I managed to do this right. I broke the kiss long enough to look down at his face

  “Emory…,” he grated out as he slid in. He sucked in a breath as he squeezed his eyes shut. His body began to move beneath mine.

  The feeling was extraordinary. He bit his lip, his eyes glossed over in lust. I began to rock slowly. My body was already vibrating, ready to explode with sensation. Noah matched my rhythm and I was no longer worried that I wouldn’t get this right.

  When my body tumbled over the edge of ecstasy, Noah was right there with me.

  Chapter THREE

  “Caleb’s here!” Tyler called as he barreled down the staircase.

  I got up from my bed to peek out the window. Sure enough, Caleb’s truck was parked in our driveway. I barely had time to peel off my pajamas and wiggle into a pair of cut-off jeans and a tank top before the doorbell rang.

  Caleb had been Evan’s best friend. He was sticking to that duty by trying to play big brother to Tyler now that Evan was gone. Instead of rubbing me the wrong way, thinking he was trying to take my brother’s place, it filled me with a rare, warm fuzzy feeling.

  Tyler adored Caleb. No matter how I looked at it, I admired Caleb for taking time out of his life to spend with a seven year old.

  I hadn’t known he was stopping by today. I quickly tugged a brush through my hair before working it into a sloppy ponytail.

  I heard chatter coming up the staircase and I knew that Tyler had let Caleb in.

  I glanced at Mom’s room. Her door was still closed. There was a time; it felt like a lifetime ago, when she had gotten up with the sunrise. That memory was just that. A memory, nothing more. I wasn’t going to waste any more thought on it.

  “Hey, Caleb,” I said as I bounced down the stairs. “I didn’t know you were stopping by.”

  “I’m actually just picking Ty up,” he said.

  I reached the bottom of the staircase, giving them both a questioning look.

  “I’m taking him fishing?” Caleb’s words came out in the form of a question, asking if this was okay.

  “Mom said I could!” Tyler immediately interjected. “I asked her yesterday.”

  I glanced at my brother. His eyes were wide and concerned; as if afraid I’d tell him he couldn’t go.

  “Okay, then,” I said as I forced a smile. “She just forgot to mention it to me. Are you ready? Do you need anything?”

  Tyler gazed up at Caleb.

  “Nah,” Caleb said. “I got it covered. I just need my little buddy here.”

  “Do you know how long you’ll be gone?” I asked. I wasn’t sure what state of mind Mom would be in today. With her it was anyone’s guess. I hadn’t planned on going anywhere but just in case something came up, I wanted to be sure I was home when Tyler got dropped off.

  “The last time I took him, I had to drag him away,” Caleb admitted and Tyler grinned. “My guess is it could be all day.”

  I nodded. “I’m sure you’ll have a great time. Ty,” he glanced up at me, “you behave yourself.”

  He looked at me indignantly, as if I had some nerve even bothering to request that of him.

  Caleb took a step toward the door. He hesitated and looked back at me. “Noah took off yesterday, didn’t he?” Caleb asked sympathetically.

  I felt tears burning. The sensation frustrated me. Sometimes, it seemed like I was never going to get past the urge to cry about one thing or another. It was hard to remember what ‘normal’ even felt like anymore.

  “Yeah,” I finally managed. How I kept my voice even, I didn’t know.

  “Tell ya what,” Caleb said. “I know fishing isn’t really your thing but you’re welcome to come along. I’m taking Ty to a place Evan and I used to go. It might take your mind of things. You can bring a book, or just relax, whatever.”

  My heart pinched at the thought of my brother. There were so many little pieces of Evan that Caleb had. I wanted to latch onto this piece that he was willing to share.

  “Sure,” I agreed.

  His eyebrows scrunched together. “Really?”

  I laughed. “You sound so surprised. Did you not want me to go?” Maybe he’d only been asking to be polite.

  He grinned at me. “No, I meant it. I just didn’t think you’d say yes. I thought maybe you’d have other plans, it being your last day before classes start.”

  “Nope,” I said. “Most of my friends have taken off for school already. Riley’s moving into the dorms today. I’m on my own.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at the clock on the wall. It was after ten. Tyler’s stomach was still on the schedule of the school year. He expected lunch at promptly eleven. If he didn’t get it, he grumbled about starving to death. Caleb didn’t know kids at all if he thought he could take my little brother fishing over the lunch hour, without actually providing lunch, and not have a problem.

  “Did you happen to pack a lunch?” I asked, giving him the benefit of the doubt for just a m
oment.

  Caleb looked at me sheepishly. “I’ve got a cooler full of drinks.” I raised my eyebrows in question: Drinks? He shook his head at me and clarified “Root beer, water, iced tea. That kind of thing. And I’ve got some chips and stuff.”

  “Can you give me maybe ten minutes to get ready? I’ll throw together some sandwiches. Ty is used to eating lunch pretty early. I’d hate to get out there and have him grumpy because he’s hungry.”

  Tyler looked ready to protest. He was clearly anxious to get a move on. Caleb put a hand on his shoulder and answered first. “Yeah, no problem. We’ll just maybe step outside. I’ll have Ty check out the fishing gear. He can make sure I didn’t forget anything.” He winked at me and Tyler beamed up at him, pleased at feeling so important.

  They went out and I hurried to the kitchen. I threw together some ham and cheddar sandwiches. I rummaged around in the fridge, pleased that Mom had actually purchased a watermelon. I cut it into wedges. Caleb had mentioned he had drinks, chips and other snacks so I decided the melon and sandwiches were a good enough addition. I found our cooler in the pantry and quickly packed it.

  When I was done in the kitchen, I raced up to my room. I quickly put on a swimsuit under my clothes and packed a bag with extra clothes, towels, a blanket, book, sun block and Ty’s swim trunks.

  Just in case.

  I was ready within the ten minutes I’d promised. But just barely.

  I was walking to the door when, as an afterthought, I realized I should leave Mom a note.

  Sure, she’d told Tyler he could go fishing. I didn’t doubt him when he said that. However, there was always the chance she hadn’t been sober enough at the time to actually remember giving him permission to go.

  Despite how frustrated I’d been with her lately, I didn’t want her to worry. I hurried back into the kitchen, found a pen and some paper in the junk drawer, and scribbled out a note.

  Then I hustled outside where the boys were waiting for me.

  ***

  Turns out, I didn’t know kids at all. Or at least, not my little brother. Not only was he too busy to even think about eating lunch at eleven but noon passed by as well. Finally, Caleb had to make him put his fishing rod down to come and eat. Five minutes later, after stuffing his food down, he was back at the river’s edge.

  Fishing again.

  This place was gorgeous. We’d turned off on a back country road, then taken what amounted to little more than a trail through the woods. We’d ended up in a small clearing with a river running through it. The place was completely secluded.

  “He’s wearing me out,” Caleb said good-naturedly.

  He settled himself down on the blanket I’d packed. So far, he’d spent the entire time fishing with Tyler while I’d found a place to lounge in the shade a ways back from the river. I was halfway through my romance novel and ready to take a break from it.

  “He’s having a blast,” I pointed out as I placed my book down next to me.

  Caleb nodded. “Good. That’s the whole point.”

  “So, where are we?” I asked. It was really the first chance I’d had to talk to Caleb. Ty had called shotgun as we left our house. I had wormed my way into his day so I hadn’t argued with him. Once in the truck, Ty had taken it upon himself to crank up Caleb’s radio. Caleb had grinned at me in the rearview mirror, not bothered in the least that Ty was putting himself in charge.

  “You know Dylan McNamara,” Caleb said and I nodded. Dylan was the third guy in their trio. He had gone away for school, had met someone and hadn’t moved back. “Dylan’s dad owns the property. We used to spend a lot of time out here, back in the day,” he said with a faraway look. “Man. The hours we spent out here, fishing.”

  “‘Fishing’, huh?” I teased, using air quotes around the word. “Is that what you guys called it?” I was trying to lighten the mood. I could tell he was thinking of Evan.

  “If by ‘fishing’,” he used air quotes right back at me, “you mean ingesting large quantities of alcohol, I won’t deny it. But if your little air quotes are implying hooking up, I can tell you that didn’t happen. Not out here. This was a sacred place. Guys only.”

  Guys only.

  But here I sat.

  The obvious question came to mind. What changed? But the answer was just as obvious. Everything. Dylan had moved away and Evan was gone. I smiled sadly. With his two best friends out of the equation, Caleb had been reduced to spending time with me.

  “Why so glum, little lady?” He leaned over, bumping my shoulder with his. “Never mind. I know the answer to that. So let me rephrase it. Out here, all our troubles are supposed to fade away.”

  There was something soothing and hypnotic about the sound of running water, the sound of leaves rustling in the trees.

  “I’m not glum,” I said, smiling back at him. “I was just thinking about how gorgeous it is out here. So peaceful.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Dylan’s dad told me I could still come out here anytime.”

  “Do you come out here a lot?”

  He nodded. “Sure do.”

  “I could see why.” I leaned back on my elbows. I’d been sitting in the same spot so long that the sun’s rays had shifted. I was no longer in the shade. I wasn’t about to move. Even though the air was hot and humid, it felt blissful. “Thanks for letting me tag along,” I finally said. “I really appreciate what you do for Tyler.”

  “I have fun with him,” he said quietly. “I know Evan used to spend a lot of time with him. You know, after your Dad walked out. I know what’s it’s like to have a loser for a father. No kid should have to deal with that.”

  Coming from anyone else, I might be offended. But I was sure that Evan had shared the details of our dad leaving with Caleb. Not to mention Caleb’s own dad had plenty of issues. He and Caleb’s mom were still together despite countless affairs.

  My dad, on the other hand, had simply taken off.

  These days, I didn’t consider my dad to be much more than my sperm-donor. He and Mom met in college. It was no secret that Evan was a big old whoops. But they’d married, they’d made it work. They’d both put themselves through technical college. A few years later, when their lives were a little more settled, I’d come along.

  Growing up, we were your average family. Or so I’d thought. Both of my parents worked a lot but that was to be expected. That’s the way things went if you wanted to get ahead in life.

  I had vague recollections of Mom talking about having another baby. It wasn’t until much later that I realized just how against this plan Dad was. Mom didn’t seem to care. She wanted a baby…so she made sure that happened.

  I overheard a few fights before Dad left.

  Mom claimed that Tyler was another whoops. He didn’t believe her. The more I thought about it, I wasn’t so sure I believed her either.

  Dad had wanted to save for early retirement.

  He hadn’t wanted to add a third college fund.

  Eventually, he took off. Things had been getting progressively worse in the years leading up to that. I had no doubt that Edward Pierce did not enjoy being a father.

  I didn’t blame Tyler for his existence the way Dad did.

  We may have started to lose Dad when Ty came along. But we gained Ty out of the deal so I thought we came out ahead on that one.

  In the years since he’d left, we’d barely seen him. The job he’d taken required him to relocate so he was now nearly half a days’ drive away. To top that off, he traveled a lot. When all was said and done, his new job left very little time for us.

  I couldn’t help but feel as if he’d taken the job for that very reason.

  He’d shown for Evan’s funeral.

  But we hadn’t seen him since.

  As far as I knew, Mom still got a big, fat check at the end of every month, a combination of alimony and child support.

  Caleb leaned over and nudged me again. “I feel like I keep losing you to your thoughts.”

  “Sorry, bad hab
it of mine,” I said with a shrug.

  “Damn,” he muttered. “I should’ve told you guys to grab swimsuits. The water is perfect this time of year. And it’s really hard to get lost in your thoughts when you’re busy swimming.”

  “One step ahead of you,” I said as I got to my feet. Swimming sounded divine. “Hey, Ty! Why don’t you get one more cast in and then come and change? I brought our swimsuits.”

  He looked ready to argue but Caleb cut him off. “Finish up bud! I’m dying to get in the water but once we do, we’ll scare all of the fish away.”

  I knelt down and tugged my brother’s suit out of my bag. I dropped it onto the blanket and then peeled off my t-shirt, revealing my red bikini. I dropped my shirt to the ground and realized Caleb was staring at me.

  “Uh,” he said. “I didn’t realize you had your suit on under your clothes.” His gaze swept over me and I blushed. I realized I’d probably stripped pretty unexpectedly. He shook his head and pulled his gaze back to my face. A teasing grin settled onto his face. “Wow, I’ll try not to stare.”

  I had no idea if he was serious. He turned away from me, peeling his own shirt off. He kicked off his flip-flops and trotted off to the river, passing Ty on his way. He didn’t slow down when he reached the water’s edge. He didn’t turn to face us again until he was waist deep. Then he grinned and motioned to us.

  “The water’s amazing guys! Come on in!”

  I handed Tyler his trunks and instructed him to go change on the other side of Caleb’s truck, where he’d have some privacy. I expected him to grumble but he took one look over his shoulder at Caleb, who was already in the water, and hurried on his way.

  I wiggled out of my shorts, letting them fall to the ground. I noted that Caleb made a point to look the other direction. Tyler reappeared wearing his trunks with his clothes in his hand. Everything was inside out, crumpled into a ball. He was such a boy. He tossed them onto the dirt, next to the blanket and raced to the river’s edge.

  He entered the river in the same fashion that Caleb had, running until the water slowed his momentum. I raced after him, letting out a shriek as the cold water enveloped me. I didn’t stop until the water was nearly to my waist as well.