by J Grayland
We stayed in that position for some time, with Casey still straddling me, her chest against mine, her head tucked under my chin, and my hands gently stroking her back as our quick, labored breaths settled and calmed. Eventually breaking our connection, I slipped her off and onto the bed next to me. I went to the bathroom to clean myself up, running a washcloth under the warm water before bringing it back to where she was laying and running it gently between her legs. Settling back into bed next to her, I pulled her back into my arms and kissed the top of her head.
Chapter Eleven
Casey
Waking to the sun streaming through the window instantly reminded me that I’d forgotten to close the blinds last night. Fat lot of good that does me now, I thought. I grabbed my phone, turning to look at the clock that read 6:15 a.m. Seeing how early it was made me groan. Well, that, and the ache in my thigh muscles from last night. Slowly slipping from the death grip Nate had on me, I pulled down the blinds and put on a pair of sleep shorts and my t-shirt. I was just about to open the door when I heard Nate’s sleepy voice.
“Where are you going?”
“Shh, go back to sleep. I’m just going down to get a drink,” I said.
“Okay, just don’t be long.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, giving him a mock salute that I knew he hated, but I watched as he rolled over and buried his face back into the pillow.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, I crept down the stairs and into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of cold milk and sat down at the table.
Crossing my legs, with my elbow leaning on the table and my hand supporting my head, I absently stared out of the large glass sliding doors, out into the backyard, then up at the early morning sky. My mind drifted a little to the mornings that Nate and I had spent sitting on the beach at Paxton’s. It seemed funny that no matter where you were in the world, whenever we gaze at the sky, the sun, or the moon, we are all looking at the same thing, just at different times in different places. The only thing different for me was that the feeling that I used to get from being in the safety of my own home, in my own country, just didn’t seem to be as strong as it used to be, and for a moment, I wondered if that made me a traitor. I chuckled at the stupidity of my wandering thoughts.
I was also a little baffled at the absurdity of the whole parole hearing. What a waste of time, just for the sake of saving face. I wasn’t sure if I just had a long time to think about the hearing or I had already resigned myself to the outcome, but I expected it to feel a lot harsher than it did, and with the reality of Flynn’s words last night, there was no anger or defeat at all in me. If anything, I felt…relief. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted because I had made the decision to let it go. It was hard to explain, but I felt lighter, unimpeded by the past and the hold it used to have over me.
As I took a sip of milk from my glass, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Expecting to see Nate, I was surprised to see Flynn, his hair wet and slicked back from the shower, already dressed in black slacks, a crisp, white, tailored dress shirt with a dark red tie in place. I saw the slight falter in his step as he saw me sitting at the table.
“Hey, what are you doing up this early?” he asked as he poured himself a glass of orange juice from the fridge and brought it over to sit across from me.
“Just woke up early and came down for a drink.”
“Are you okay?” he asked with concern.
“I know this sounds weird, but I feel bloody amazing,” I said, smiling at him.
“Really?”
“Really. I was just sitting here thinking that I feel so relieved. Stupid, right?” I said, looking at him for some kind of confirmation or validation.
“I say if it feels good, own it,” he said, smiling at me.
“I’m going to miss you,” I said softly, causing him to stop mid-drink and place his glass on the table.
“I’m going to miss you, too, sweets, but I know that where you going, you’re finally going to be happy and safe, and by watching you and Nate together, I can see that you have finally found what you’ve been looking for. That missing piece that you could never seem to find. Your freedom.”
As I reached across the table and placed my hand on top of his, I could feel the burn of tears at the back of my eyes, but then he lightened the mood by saying, “Besides, it’s a great excuse for me to come visit you and take in some of the beautiful ladies, I mean, sights over there.”
“Trust you to think with your dick,” I said, laughing.
“What can I say? I am but a mere man with a big libido.”
“Sounds good. We can take turns! Well, once I’m settled and hopefully employed,” I said with a grimace.
“You’ll do it, look how far you’ve come.”
“I guess, but it’s taken a lot of help from the people around me.”
“Aw, come on, don’t sell yourself short. There aren’t many people that would push through like you did. You certainly have balls of steel, woman,” he said, chuckling.
“Nate and his family have been a huge help,” I said.
“Yep, he’s definitely a keeper, that one. And he is so in love with you.”
I felt my cheeks redden with embarrassment at Flynn’s words. “And that response,” he said, motioning toward my face, “tells me that the feelings are mutual.”
“Very much so,” I said with a smile.
“So.” Flynn clapped his hands together breaking the silence between us. “I need to get my things ready for work.”
“Okay, you go do that, and I’ll make some breakfast,” I said standing. I headed for the kitchen and pulled a frying pan from the bottom cupboard.
“Sounds good to me,” Flynn said, going into the living room, which was also his makeshift office.
I was standing in front of the stove, moving bacon around the pan while trying to dodge the spits of oil flying from it like fireworks when a strong pair of arms slipped around my waist, causing me to jump slightly.
Nate’s face nuzzled against the side of my neck. “Mmm, now that’s what I like to see. My beautiful girl dressed in a short robe, cooking my favorite food first thing in the morning.” Turning my head, I kissed the underside of his jaw.
“Good morning, I thought you would sleep longer,” I said.
“When I wake up with a raging hard-on, and you’re not lying next to me, I need to find you,” he growled into my neck, placing a warm, open-mouthed kiss against it.
“Go sit, this will be ready in a minute.”
Nate grabbed a mug from the cupboard, filled it with black coffee, and took it to the table. Just as I was serving up the bacon, eggs, and toast, Flynn came in with his arms full of papers, along with his briefcase, and dropped them on the bench. As he sat down at the table, I placed a plate in front of him, then Nate, and one for myself.
“So, what have you got planned for today?” Flynn asked around a mouthful of scrambled eggs.
“A whole day in bed,” Nate said just as I opened my mouth to answer. Ignoring his response, I looked at Flynn.
“Actually, I was thinking of taking Nate up to Bondi Beach and then spending the afternoon at Paddy’s Market. I wanted to grab some presents to take back,” I said, giving Nate a smile.
“Shopping?” Nate said, eyebrow raised in question.
“No, we’ll go to Bondi for a while, then shopping,” I said, grinning.
“Looks like your day is planned, mate,” Flynn said to Nate.
“Seems so.” Although Nate had an unhappy look on his face, I saw the corner of his lips quirk into a half grin.
“So listen, what time does your flight leave on Saturday?” Flynn asked Nate.
“7 a.m., so we’ll be leaving very early.”
“Okay, so tomorrow night, we’ll go out, right?” Flynn said. “And I won’t be taking no for an answer. It will be the last night we
get to spend together for a while, so I was thinking dinner at the Tuscany winery and then onto the Pendulum for some drinks and dancing.”
“Dinner sounds good, but the Pendulum? I was hoping to get an early night,” I said.
“Come on, Casey, you can sleep on the plane! This will be our last night! Besides, I won’t finish work till later tomorrow, and I want to spend the rest of the night with you guys,” Flynn almost whined, making me feel bad and give in.
“Fine, but not an all-nighter, okay?”
“Okay,” he relented. Flynn finished his breakfast and washed up his plate before grabbing his briefcase and leaving for work.
As promised, our day was a full one. After taking Nate to Bondi Beach, where we walked along the shoreline and took in the salty, fresh sea air, we found a small place to grab a bite to eat. We then headed up to the North Bondi Lookout, which is a cliff on the north side of Bondi that sits on a point, and it has the most spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. I drove Nate crazy looking through the endless stalls at Paddy’s Market, trying to decide on the perfect presents. I got Paxton another T-shirt with the Sydney Harbor Bridge on it together with a matching ball cap, and I purchased a beautiful, matching opal pendant and earring set for Lynda. When it came to buying for little Emily, there were so many pretty dresses, and tiny t-shirts with “Aussie Girl” across the front, and of course, I had to buy her a fluffy stuffed kangaroo. I just couldn’t help myself. Thank goodness Nate stepped in and stopped me with the logic that we wouldn’t be able to fit anything else in our luggage.
The day was topped off by dinner out on the patio with Flynn, and an evening relaxing in front of the TV. Nate and I had an early night followed by an early morning spent in bed, with Nate fulfilling his wish from the morning before. We pulled ourselves away from each other and into the shower, had something to eat, and spent the rest of the time repacking our bags to fit everything that I had purchased at the market. We just left out clothes to wear out that night and to travel in the next day, which was easy because it would all fit into our carry-on bag anyway.
Finding a nice, red, figure-hugging dress with a little bit of sparkle to it in my wardrobe and some black heels under my bed, I dressed, brushed out my long, blonde hair, and applied a little gloss to my lips before coming downstairs to a waiting Nate in a pair of jeans and a grey, silk button-down dress shirt. It didn’t seem to matter what clothes he wore, he always looked as sexy as sin. I might have to keep him close tonight, I thought as his arms slipped around my waist, crushing me against his hard chest.
“You look delicious,” he said, giving me a chaste kiss.
“You look pretty good yourself,” I said, returning the compliment.
Hearing keys in the door, we both turned to see Flynn come in. “Hey, cool, you’re ready. I’ll just go change. I’ll be quick, I saw the taxi waiting outside.”
“What taxi?” I asked as I walked to the front door and opened it to take a look.
“There’s a taxi waiting out there. I figured you called for it,” he said, puzzled.
Looking out the door, I saw nothing. The street was empty. “There’s nothing out there,” I said to Flynn who now stood next to me.
“Huh, that’s funny. It was there when I came in. It must have been for someone else in the street, and they got the wrong house. Awesome, now I have time to change,” he said bounding up the stairs two at a time. Closing the door, I grabbed my purse and put my phone inside it. Within ten minutes, Flynn was back downstairs, dressed in a pair of black jeans and a dark green dress shirt, smelling fresh as a daisy. He pulled out his phone, dialed for a taxi, and we went outside to wait for it. No Jeep tonight, he told us he intended on showing us a good time.
The Tuscany winery restaurant was beautiful. We sat outside in the courtyard, and the trees there were covered in tiny white fairy lights that wound around the trunk and branches. The smell of the fresh night air mingled with the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen made my mouth water. We all ordered filet mignon, and the bottle of Merlot Cabernet Franc that Flynn ordered accompanied the meal beautifully. He wanted to order another, but when I rubbed my stomach and groaned that I wouldn’t be able to have a drink at the Pendulum if we did, he conceded. I knew he would; any excuse to get there quicker.
The Pendulum Club at The Rocks was housed in an old stores building, and it was a pretty big place. The entry was through a huge archway that had two buildings on either side with a sandstone, outdoor courtyard area that joined them. It was kind of a mixture of old and new that came together effortlessly. On one side, there was a bar and seating with live entertainment, and on the other, a banging nightclub with high, small round tables and matching stools in the courtyard. We grabbed a table as soon as we saw one empty; the place was pretty full. Nate helped me up onto a stool, and Flynn took off to the bar, returning with a couple of beers and a glass of white wine for me. Even sitting in the courtyard, it was hard to hear each other talk, as there were so many bodies crowded around. The thumping music escaped from the nightclub and out into where we were sitting. Nate pulled his bar stool up close to me and had his protective arm around my waist.
When the courtyard starting filling up even more, and I was starting to feel a little buzzed from yet another glass of wine that Flynn had so graciously placed in my hand, I relented to his pouty begging to go into the nightclub to dance. I could see that Nate wasn’t too impressed. His eyes were already darting around the swarming crowd around us. I also remembered how well he moved his body that night on the dance floor at the Bizarre, so with one of my hands in Flynn’s and my other locked tightly in Nate’s, I was dragged into the nightclub of spiraling flashing lights and loud thumping music coming from the DJ at the front. Somehow, in this huge mass of people, we moved with the crowd. I, with Nate’s arms securely locked around me, almost crushing my body to his as Flynn latched onto a couple of women dancing together. It felt so good to let go and enjoy the music with my arms around Nate’s neck and his eyes locked onto mine, our bodies moving rhythmically to the music.
After about an hour on the floor, our bodies were hot and sweaty, and our eardrums were humming. Nate and I moved to the outer floor and grabbed a beer from the bar. We watched Flynn enjoying the attention of the two gorgeous women on either side of him. After we finished our drinks, Nate looked over at Flynn, then motioned with his finger, pointing down at his watch. After a few words to his dance partners, he came off the floor and over to us.
“It’s late, buddy, and we have an early flight, but you look like you’re enjoying yourself. Why don’t you stay?” Nate said.
“No, it’s cool. I am totally wasted anyway. I need my bed,” Flynn said as we started to make our way back out to the courtyard and out to the front where there was a huge line of people standing and waiting for a taxi.
Walking to the end of the line, I peered my head around the swaying line up of party goers before I said, “This is going to take a while, isn’t it?”
“Yep, at least twenty minutes or so. Why, sweets?” Flynn asked.
“Do you think I will have enough time to run in and use the bathroom?” I asked with a slight grimace. I really hoped he would say yes because my bladder was about to explode.
“Sure, go for it. There’s a bathroom just down the side there. Just be quick,” Flynn said, pointing to a passageway at the side of the building. Turning, I hurried along the passageway, finding the door for a bathroom. After relieving my aching bladder, I washed my hands and wet a paper towel to dab some of the sweat from my face. Tossing it into the trash, I picked up my purse and quickly headed out the door. With my head down, concentrating on the uneven path and not wanting to get my heels stuck in any cracks, I was shocked when I slammed into someone. As I lifted my head to apologize, the words instantly stuck in my throat.
A face that I hadn’t seen for a long time, now older, but I would never be able to erase it from my mi
nd, stared back at me. A mixed ball of panic and fear rolled in my stomach causing bile to rise as I gagged at the sight in front of me. Max. Older, with a much thicker body, but those same evil eyes.
With my legs feeling like jelly, I leaned back against the wall, desperately seeking some kind of support. I tore my eyes away from his for a moment to look over his shoulder, hoping that someone, anyone, was coming this way, but there wasn’t and with all the noise I didn’t think anyone would hear me anyway. I opened my mouth to scream, but all that came out was silent, dry air. I could feel the icy terror coursing through every inch of my body, freezing me in place. It felt like everything was suddenly in slow motion as he lifted his hand and placed it flat on the wall behind me, bringing himself even closer. No longer able to look at him, I closed my eyes and wished that this was not happening, that it wasn’t real, but when he spoke, I knew that wish was a really a nightmare.
“Look at me,” he hissed into my face. Squeezing my eyes closed tighter and turning my head away from the hot breath and the stench of tobacco, I felt his roughened hand as it slowly slid from just below my breasts and up my neck until he had my jaw gripped in his palm. His thumb and forefinger pinched and squeezed as he turned my head to face him.
“Open your eyes, and look at me,” he repeated, squeezing harder until the pain forced my eyes to open and look into his. I swallowed hard, trying to ease the dryness in my throat. His face was so close to mine our noses almost touched. His vile, crazed eyes stared so deeply into mine, I felt like I was looking into two windows of darkness. The skin of his mouth crinkled slightly at the corners as it turned into a psychotic smirk.