She grinned, her cheeks growing warm as she shrugged her shoulders and replied, “I have an exercise bike with the monthly coaching plan. It comes with a large screen and an angry woman wearing a headset yelling at me to go one more mile. I hate her, but she’s all I have. It gets results.”
“That works for you?”
“Right now, I’m flat on my back with my knees in the air, my cooch exposed so your sperm can run into my womb and we increase our chances of becoming parents, so, yeah, my sense of reality is a bit skewed,” she told him.
He chuckled again, scrunching his nose. “You call it a cooch?”
“Out of everything I said, that’s all you heard?”
“Well, if I may add to the conversation, I like your cooch a lot. It’s a gripper,” he said, feeling embarrassed for being absolutely delighted with that knowledge. “Best seven minutes of my life! I so look forward to this marriage with you.”
“A gripper?”
“Yeah, I went in and it felt like a tight fist saying get over here and spit it out,” Evan said, covering his eyes with his hands surprised at his honesty with a woman about such delicate matters, but it felt right letting her know. “I pulled back and it gripped onto me and yanked me back in like I had swallowed a bit of candy that it wanted back. It was shit...just awesome. I didn’t want to leave.”
Leta found herself scowling this time at her husband, noticing the levity in his tone versus the gruffness from before. She added, “You’ve got problems, you know that?”
“Me? You’re the one with the magical gripping cooch,” he said, ducking the pillow she threw at him. “Hey, you continue laying there looking all beautiful while you create a nest for our son. I’m going to go make food.”
He walked away. His movements were purposeful as was his prowess in the bed. Seven minutes wasn’t anything to scoff at in her book especially since it was seven hot minutes. If she weren’t pregnant when he finished, she would be by the end of the week. Hercules, as he liked to call his penis, showed up and showed out.
“Well, dayum,” she said, holding her knees, delighted to no end that her husband knew how to make a girl smile. “Life is going to be so good.”
The first thing she was going to do after spending a few more minutes allowing nature to take shape, was to call her parents. Then her brother. Or maybe she should call Trevor first since he was the only one who actually knew where she’d gone.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE’S gone?” Claudia asked Trevor over the phone. “Where is she?”
“She sold her townhouse, which went really fast in this rapidly changing market,” Trevor said. “All of her household goods were placed in a pod and shipped. I’m not sure what the new job is but Leta said she needed a change.”
“Trevor, she’s not answering her phone. Have you spoken to her since she left?”
“I have,” he said, saying no more.
“Please explain what that means,” Claudia urged.
“It means, Claudia, when she’s ready to talk to you, she’ll call you back,” Trevor said. “I have to go. Take care.”
He ended the call. Claudia didn’t appreciate his high-handed manner especially considering she’d been his little sister’s only friend for most of their lives. Leta didn’t do anything or make any moves in her boring life without first consulting Claudia. This only made her more furious, and she entered the airport in Cabo angrier than ever. She would find Leta and learn first-hand for herself why her bestie was avoiding her.
“You don’t treat people you care about this way,” Claudia said, pulling out Kevin’s credit card to pay for the upgraded seats and flight change back to the United States. Today she just wanted to get home. Then she’d call the guy in New Hampshire and the woman in New York at the matchmaking agency. If push came to shove, she’d go and see Leta’s parents, but today, she would get some answers.
“LETA, I JUST WANT SOME answers,” Trevor said to his little sister. “You were so hush hush about everything. I’m concerned. I need to know what is going on in your life.”
She exhaled loudly into the phone. She watched Evan cue up the movie which she was dying to see. Leta also looked forward to cuddling in his arms and possibly going a second round on the whole baby making attempt to fill the house with children. This was her new home.
“Trevor, I got married,” she said.
“What? To who, that Boris guy? Wait, I didn’t know you were dating anyone,” he replied.
“I wasn’t dating anyone, and it’s a long story,” she told him.
“Well, where are you, in Augusta or some shit married to a real estate developer?”
Leta laughed at the inside joke between she and her brother. They always joked that if anything should truly happen in their lives, they would move two hours east of Atlanta to Augusta, and develop real estate rentals for the golfing community. She wasn’t ready to explain to him that his little sister physically was not in Georgia at all.
“I’m in Meredith, New Hampshire,” she said.
“Who-da? Why-da? How-da Frankenstein you end up in white ass New Hampshire? Oh no, don’t tell me you’re married to some white dude with a rowboat that lives in a cabin on Lake Winnipesauke who’s a therapist and has a patient named Bob,” Trevor said, laughing harder than Leta felt was necessary.
“No, his name is Evan and we live on Lake Winnisquam,” she said lowering her voice, “it’s not a cabin per se but a country house.”
“Okay, I’m on my way. Where do I fly into and can you come get me from the airport?”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m flying in on Thursday and staying the weekend,” he said. “I need to meet my new brother-in-law. You actually got married without the whole church thing, Momma being overbearing and trying to take over the planning and not being walked down the aisle by your father. Daddy is going to be so pissed.”
“Trevor, that’s the least of my concerns right now. However, I’m sure when he sees the lake and knows he can fish in it, all shall be forgiven, eventually,” she said, thinking of Claudia. Her mind also went to Coraline with the jade green eyes who rubbed an oil over her belly and insisted she have sex with her husband. Under normal circumstances it wouldn’t have been an odd situation, but in her Southern born and bred heart, she knew beyond a reasonable doubt that Coraline was a witch. She also said an additional prayer that her child, if conceived on this day wouldn’t bear the mark of the beast and be the son of Satan leading to the downfall of man. She sighed again, telling her brother, “Thursday. See you then.”
Leta clicked off the line, staring at her handsome husband. He wasn’t what a person would consider to be traditionally good looking, but Evan Eaton possessed the rugged swagger of a man who lived an outdoorsy life. Evan didn’t look like a guy who worked behind a desk but pumped iron on the weekend after taking steroid injections in his left butt cheek. The sleepy brown eyes gave an appearance as if he were disinterested in everything around him, but in the same breath, he took in each detail. A gruff tone of voice which sounded as if he’d reached his last leg of patience with whomever was speaking was a front. She could feel it and as soon as the walls came down, Leta knew her life with this man would and could be amazing.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Evan said, his eyes going to the phone she still clutched in her hand.
“My brother Trevor. He’s arriving on Thursday and most of my household goods should be here as well. I did think ahead though and shipped them in a POD,” she told him, “Just in case I needed to allow the items to stay in storage if you didn’t have room.”
“What else?”
Leta pressed her lips tightly together. “Our first time together, as husband and wife, was done at the prompting of a woman who could worship the Devil,” she said to a shocked face. “She covered my belly with voodoo oil and told us to go and do it and we did. I may now be carrying Satan’s baby.”
“Or, you can be carrying my son,” Evan said, softenin
g his voice. He took a seat on the couch beside her, pressing pause on the remote. His fingers slid inside of hers before raising her hand to his lips and kissing each finger. “The moment I saw you get out of the car and walk past my office window, I was engaged. You came into my office with purpose, filling the room with a sweetness that I’ve never felt in my life and all I wanted was more time with you.”
Leta’s bottom lip began to quiver.
“I went through with the wedding because for once in my life I felt like finally, something was going my way. Coraline may well be the wife of Kali, but I wanted to be with you as your husband,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I didn’t think I would make it one more night lying next to you and not being your husband in every sense of the word. Yeah, the oil thing was over the top, yet it was what we both wanted.”
“Six months of a dry spell, I know you did,” she said, giving a wry smile.
“The teapot can’t sit on the stove yelling she’s hot when I barely got my pants off before you jumped me,” Evan chided.
“Jumped you! Really?”
“Yes, really, you saw Hercules and wanted to hang out with the muscle man,” he said, sticking out his tongue.
“Hmmhmm, you and your seven-minute workout,” she said under her breath. “Both you and your buddy need to be quiet.”
“The first time was just me being excited. I’m good to go right now, wife,” he said, arching a brow. “A second round can make sure the spackle sticks to the wall.”
“Ugh,” she replied, “spackle sticking to my walls is a visual I don’t need.”
“Then tell me what you do need, Leta,” he said, staring into her eyes. “I’m willing to give you everything I have, and if I don’t possess what you need, I’ll move that lake to ensure it lands between your fingers.”
Leta sighed, touching her chest. “Well, that was romantic.”
“I can see loving you until I am no longer able to row my boat and our grandchildren have to drive me to store for my arthritis pills. This is our rock. Here is where we shall build our church,” he said.
She swallowed hard. “What do you need from me in return?”
“Help me fill this house with love, laughter, and the fruits of seven-minute power sessions,” he said with a smile. “If you can do that, then I shall never leave you lonely. You will never have to question my love, faithfulness, or attentiveness. As your husband, I shall be the man you need.”
“Fine!” she said, getting to her feet. Leta kicked off her shoes and yanked down her skirt. Thankful she’d showered after dinner, she stripped down to her undies. “Seven minutes more....bring it on with your sexy mouth saying pretty, sexy words. Damn it, I’m ready!”
“Oh, being married to you is going to be easy,” he said, reaching for his wife, but thinking better of the uncomfortable couch. “Hey, did you by chance ship a comfortable couch?”
Chapter Ten- Sunniness
The couch proved to be a tad too uncomfortable for Evan to handle matters in a manner which he deemed appropriate for the circumstance. An initial run through at the request, or rather insistence, of Coraline took the edge off, allowing both him and Leta to have an excuse to get the first round of feeling each other off the list of things to do. Ideally, it wasn’t the best approach to the first time he made love to his wife, yet he managed to find a means to connect. This time, Evan required more than getting it done. He needed to attach himself to Leta on a deeper level. His touch was tentative, almost afraid that she would smack his hands for trying to reach into the cookie jar too soon after a hearty serving. Leta sighed into his embrace.
His hands weren’t as soft as Leta had assumed they would be for a man who had worked fifteen years behind a desk. The touch was tender when his hands touched the sides of her face. The kiss, planted with purpose, sent little rivets of energy down her back. As if he could feel the internal shudder, Evan’s arms dropped, encompassing her waist and pulling Leta against a firm body, solid in all the right places.
Evan was the same height of the men she’d dated in the past, but for the first time she felt on equal footing. In his arms, safeness engulfed her with a feeling of being in the one place she longed to visit her entire life. She was home. Evan was her home.
Tenderly, he undressed his wife as if she were a delicate porcelain doll, and he was afraid of chipping the fine features of the face. Her upturned mouth met his fevered kisses with eagerness, which he welcomed. An anxious tongue darted inside her mouth, teasing, touching, and tasting as he tantalized her senses before laying her gently on the bed. The initial lovemaking had been rushed and hurried but Evan took his time.
He sighed heavily into Leta’s mouth, his body settling between her thighs. The light remained on in the bedroom as he looked into her eyes, connecting their bodies in a satisfied grunt. His movements were slow and steady, his hands exploratory. The kisses were layered with passion. The more he moved, the more passionate it became. Leta tried to keep pace but found herself climbing the summit, crashing hard, clinging to him, and biting into his shoulder as she mumbled his name through slobbered jabbering.
“Leta,” he whispered in a husky tone while increasing his pace and enjoying the grip around him. Evan let go, moaning into her ear. Kisses peppered the side of Leta’s face as her nails lightly scored his back, her legs locked around his waist. The final thrust, deep and powerful, was planted with intention and struck a note inside of Leta, making her let go once more, gushing against him and squeezing tight.
“Good grief, Evan,” she said, trying to catch her breath.
“See, I can do more than seven minutes,” he replied, looking her in the eyes and wondering how any man could let such a woman go. Whoever the dumb bastard had been who had given up in a life with Leta, he didn’t envy. Leta Feldman Eaton was now his wife, and if he’d done a good job, she could well be on her way to becoming the mother of his children. “Ha!”
“Ha! Yourself,” she said, pushing at his chest. Leta maneuvered from underneath her husband, her bare bottom heading to the bathroom where she started the shower for the second time in one day.
“Hey, aren’t you going to raise your knees this time for the tadpoles to swim across the pond?” he asked, rolling to his back with his legs splayed open like an overfed hunting dog.
“I’m pretty positive it took the first time,” she spoke questioning the truthfulness of the statement, turning on the taps for the shower. It had been a long day. All she wanted now was a final hot shower and to sleep. The weekend had been full of information that required time to sort through for a better understanding of her husband, the world he lived in and the strange residents in a town considered to be the recreational stop for outdoorsy activities. A moment of panic hit her as she stepped inside the shower. The warm water pelted her face as unsteady fingers ran across her taut abdomen.
“What were you thinking?” she said in a low voice. “The plan was to get to know him slowly, maybe take a month before having sex with the man. Now you going all soft and could possibly be incubating the spawn of the Devil.”
In the other room, Evan turned over and lay on his side, staring down the hall toward the bathroom. “I can hear you, Satan’s Baby Mama,” he said, chuckling.
He’d laughed more in one day than he had in the past five years. She was refreshing. The smile was plastered on his face when he fell asleep. She left him that way when she returned to the bedroom and slid under the covers. Leta gave him a caressing touch, and her husband pulled her close, nuzzled his nose into her neck, exhaled loudly, and fell back to sleep.
Leta patted his hand and stared at the high ceilings with heavy wooden planks in light colored wood. The bathroom had the same feel and it all seemed to be loaded with bad memories, past regrets, and a sadness which radiated through the walls. Leta understood that if she desired to be happy here, a few changes were necessary that transcended area rugs, matching dishes, and paint. She didn’t think that heavy curtains would be enough to push away the co
ld that returned to her although he wrapped her body in his own heat.
“We’ll take a new look at it all tomorrow,” she mumbled, settled in, and drifted off to sleep.
EVAN DIDN’T WANT TO go to work and leave his wife alone. She’d only been in town a few days and it seemed as if everyone wanted to get to know her. The idea of her being home alone to receive unwanted guests didn’t set well with him. She didn’t know these people and in a certain sense, neither did he. Of course, for the past fifteen years he had stood behind the counter certifying events in the resident’s lives with his handy dandy stamp of approval for various licenses and permits. He didn’t actually take part in any of it other than the occasional start of a race or a ribbon cutting when the Town Manager was unable to make it. Truthfully, he simply didn’t care for people that much.
“Uhmm, Leta,” he said softly, “Meredith is a pretty safe place to live. I would, however, feel better if you have anyone to stop by today, especially if they are men, to remain outside. Don’t allow them in my, I mean our home.”
“Evan, is there anything you want me to know?”
“Yes, I don’t want to go to work today and leave you alone,” he said, touching her cheek with his index finger.
“I’ll be fine. Go make my money while I get settled in and take a look at where my things can go in this home,” she said. “Am I free to put up drapes, maybe paint, and look at a few modern features?”
“Of course, within reason,” he said. “I’m not, however, taking a dump in a pink bathroom.”
“Noted,” she said, looking at the sad sandwich and apple he packed to take for his lunch. “What time do you go to lunch?”
“Usually at noon; small town, everybody pretty much goes to lunch at twelve,” Evan replied, torn between calling in and taking the day off. Instead, he needed to get the official marriage license filed and other items on the list. “I’m usually home by 5:15.”
Maple Sundaes & CIder Donuts Page 9