Levels (The Swingtown Series Book 1)

by Jaime Whitley

  Clasping his hand in mine, I bring it to my lips kissing it. “Then don’t. I’m scared too, Justin, but if you’re going to be here, then I need you here. You can’t run as soon as things get scary. If you’re going to make me feel like I’m alone, I’m going to be alone. Understood?” He nods and pulls me into his body drifting off in each other arms.

  Chapter 3

  It’s finally graduation day, and I couldn’t be prouder of Justin. He spent the last two years working his ass off to become a medic, and today all that hard work will finally pay off. I’ve planned a surprise party later and with the help of my parents, everything will be set up once we get home. Once the party is over, the kids are going to stay with their grandparents so we can have the night to ourselves.

  They call Justin’s name, and I watch as he walks across the stage to be presented with his certificate. Sitting here I can’t help but smile, and I clap and even give him a whistle. There are so many people who enter this course and don’t even make it past the first year. I can see the pride in his smile when he shakes everyone’s hand as he moves down the line. When he turns to me, I take a picture to capture the look on his face before clapping along with the crowd. Once the ceremony is over, and he is dismissed, I run over to him, jumping into his arms planting a kiss on his lips.

  “I’m so proud of you, babe. You did it!” He spins with me in his arms, kissing me all over my face.

  “I couldn’t have done it without you.” I find my feet as he lowers me to the ground, the smile on his face taking my breath away.

  “Me? I didn’t do anything.”

  “Don’t say that. You’ve dealt with mood swings and long nights and had to take care of the kids all by yourself.” I smile at him, thankful that I don’t have to put up with that anymore.

  “It’s no different than when you’re deployed, honey.” And it isn’t. The main difference is because I don’t get to see him when he's gone for long stretches of time, when we do see each other we try to spend every second together. These last few years I’ve probably missed him more than normal.

  “I know, but you don’t give yourself enough credit.” He kisses my nose, and I swear I feel my heart melt.

  “Congratulations, Dad.” Alexander pats his dad on the back, doing that male bonding thing. The two men in my life look so alike now.

  “Good job, Daddy.” Gabby hugs his leg, refusing to let go.

  “Thank you, Princess.” Finally getting her to move, he picks her up, and he puts her on his shoulders. We walk to the car as a family, and I feel settled for the first time in a long time. “I’m starving, want to grab some lunch?”

  “That sounds great. I just have to stop home real quick and then we will be ready to go.” I smile as I picture his response. It's been a while since I saw him so carefree, and I hope this afternoon he will be able to relax truly.

  The short drive from the base to our house is filled with talk of how Gabriella needs Justin to build her a castle so her Prince Charming can rescue her. Justin’s face is priceless, and I can tell what’s running through his head. She’s too young for any Prince Charming, but he plays along. He even throws in a dragon that her good prince will have to defeat to to prove himself worthy of her. She laughs and says the dragon can be her pet. As we turn the corner at the end of our street, there are cars lined all along the road, but thankfully there are none parked in front of our house. There’s also a moving van parked in the driveway of the house next door; looks like someone finally moved in but I don’t see anyone outside. Normally, I would introduce myself but seeing as I have a house full of guests waiting, I park and try to get to the front door before Justin does. I look back, but he's still sitting in the car, looking like he has no intention of moving. I yell out to him, making him put the window down. “Aren’t you coming?”

  “I can wait here.” He goes to put the window up and I move back to the car a little, making sure he doesn’t.

  “I don’t know how long I’ll be, just come inside and you can change out of your uniform before we go.” Getting out of the car he walks up to the door where I’m waiting for him. I turn around and give him a kiss.

  “What was that for?” He asks, kissing me back.

  “I didn’t think I needed a reason to give my sexy husband a kiss.” I put my arms around his neck and kiss him with a bit more passion. I’m getting carried away, forgetting we have a house full of people.

  “Gross, could you guys save that stuff for when you’re alone.” Alex chimes in, making me pull away from Justin.

  “I just want you to know how proud I am of you. Shit, I forgot something in the car. Why don’t you take the kids in and I’ll be right behind you.” I brush past him and since he’s not looking I just fall in behind him, following him into the house. He steps in through the door and stands in shock when everyone shouts ‘surprise’. They are jumping out from all corners of the house; I didn’t even know we had that many places to hide. As instructed, my dad starts the music, and everyone comes over to congratulate Justin on making it through the course.

  “You did all this?” He looks to me with a smile spread across his face from ear to ear.

  “Yup. You worked your ass off, and you deserve to celebrate. Now hurry upstairs and get changed. There’s a cooler of beer in the back, and I’ll get the grill started.” I can’t help the smile I give him in return. He looked so happy just now.

  “You will do no such thing. I’m in charge of the grill today; you should relax too.” Camden says from behind us. “Congratulations man, you’re officially a medic. If I were you, I’d put on your suit. Everyone is wearing theirs and is going to take full advantage of your pool today since it’s hot as balls out.”

  “Duly noted. I’ll be down in a bit.” As he walks off, Julie grabs my attention.

  “Katrina, April forgot her bathing suit, do you have an extra one she can use for the day?” She asks as she points at April, who is sitting outside.

  “Of course, let me run upstairs and grab it. I’ll change into mine too so I’ll be down in a couple minutes. Would you mind keeping an eye on Gabby for me and make sure she doesn’t go into the pool without her puddle jumper?”

  “No problem. I’ll get her situated and let April know to wait for you in the living room.” She grabs a drink from the kitchen unit and starts to walk back towards the pool.

  “Thanks.” I head upstairs, and when I enter the bedroom, I hear the shower running. Walking over to the dresser, I pull out two bathing suits. I'm about to leave when I decide to take an extra few minutes to join my husband in the shower. I don’t think he will say no to a little surprise quickie. The door has been left cracked open, and I push on it, opening it fully. The glass shower stall is steamed from the heat of the shower, and I strip off my clothes quickly, opening the shower door. Justin is so lost in his own world he doesn’t even realize that I’ve joined him in the shower. His hand is placed on the wall holding himself up; his other hand is stroking his cock. Placing my hand on his shoulder, he jumps as I catch him off guard.

  “You know, I can do that for you.” “I say as I wrap my hand around him, replacing his hand.

  “Jesus, Katrina. Did you ever think to knock?” He removes my hand from his dick.

  “No, why would I knock when this is my bathroom too?” I’m pissed and offended that he removed my hand from him like it’s toxic. “What the fuck is your problem, Justin? Am I not allowed to touch you now?” Taking a step back, I glare at him not understanding why he is acting like this.

  “No, I mean yes, you can touch me but…” He stammers over his words. I just stand and look at him, suddenly feeling very exposed.

  “But what?!” I yell throwing my hands up in frustration, not understanding his attitude.

  “I just wanted something quick. And you are just so…”

  I cut him off again. “I’m so what?” He remains silent for a minute. “Well? What am I, Justin?” I have so many thoughts going through my head. None of them
are good. Do I turn him off?

  “You just constantly need sex. You want it all the time.” He looks down, not able to meet my eyes.

  “And that’s a bad thing?” I can hear the confusion in my voice. Don’t most men complain that their wives don’t want sex?

  “When I’m tired, yes. Sometimes you can be a bit too much.”

  “Well, I’m so sorry that I want to be intimate with my husband. Call me crazy that I actually enjoy having sex.” Feeling insulted, I leave the shower and don’t bother drying off. I’m putting on a swimsuit, so I don’t see the point. The water turns off, and Justin comes out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

  “Can you please stop overreacting?” I stand open-mouthed, shocked that he thinks I'm reacting over the top about this. I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

  “Okay then, tell me how I’m supposed to react. My husband would rather jerk himself off in a shower than let me fuck him. Tell me, if the situation was reversed how would you feel?”

  “I can’t answer that. I don’t have the sex drive that you do.” I feel my anger building. He’s making me feel like I'm wrong for wanting to have sex with him. Making love to my husband shouldn’t be a bad thing.

  “Yes, because yours is basically nonexistent. Get dressed. You have people waiting downstairs.”

  Grabbing the extra bathing suit, I start to cry. I open the door and crash straight into a solid chest. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” I look up through my tears into a complete strangers blue eyes. His black hair makes his eyes pop, and his face is simply gorgeous. He has a perfectly sculpted jaw line with a little bit if scruff on it and the six-pack I just walked into isn’t too bad either. I look down and realize that my hands are still on his chest, and I quickly remove them.

  “No need to apologize. I’m afraid it’s my fault. I’m a little lost and wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. Julie told me there was a loo up here that I can use, but I forgot which door she said it was.” His words are laced with a British accent, making the man an even bigger mystery.

  I’ve never seen this man before, so I’m not about to let him roam the upstairs of my house without an introduction. “I’m sorry, but who are you?” He laughs.

  “Oh right,” holding out his hand I place mine in his and he shakes it. “I’m Klaus Arrington. My wife Hayley and I just moved into the house next door. We were unpacking when Julie invited us over. I hope it’s okay that we’re here.” He suddenly looks a little concerned.

  Wiping a tear away from my eye, I put on a smile. “Of course it’s okay. I’m Katrina. I’m sorry I had to meet you like this. I swear I usually don’t look like this.”

  “Like what?” He asks confused.

  “Like a mess.” I wave my hand in front of my face, a blush working its way up my cheeks.

  He lifts his hand and brushes the remaining tears away from my face. “You’re a beautiful woman, and there’s no need to apologize. We’re the ones crashing the party. It seems like we came on a bad day. I’ll grab my wife and we will go.” I don’t know why I feel such comfort in his words, but the last thing I want is to scare the new neighbors off.

  “No, please don’t do that. Stay and enjoy the party.” Suddenly remembering why he is upstairs, I point to the door across the hall. “That door there is the bathroom. I’ll see you when you come downstairs, and I look forward to meeting your wife.” He gives me a smile before he walks to the bathroom. I watch him as he enters, and I'm left looking at a closed door.

  The door to the bedroom opens, and Justin comes out in his bathing suit. “Who were you talking to? I heard a man’s voice.”

  “Just the new neighbor. Julie invited them over.” I don’t say another word and head downstairs to find April so I can give her the bathing suit. I need to get myself a much-needed drink.

  “There you are,” April walks over to me. “Dare I ask what took you so long?” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.

  “What are we ten?” I say with a little more attitude than necessary and hand her the suit, walking away and leaving her standing on her own. The only thing I’m focused on right now is getting a cocktail in my hand. I go outside and head straight to our bar that’s by the pool house. After filling the blender with ice, I pour in tequila, lime juice and triple sec and bang on the button to start it blending. The whirring noise takes over the bar area, and I stand here staring into the blender, in a world of my own as a woman’s voice snaps me out of my daze.

  “Mind if I grab one of those when you’re done?” Looking up, a beautiful dark haired woman with brown eyes is standing on the other side of the bar. Her short hair is flared out at the ends making it look full and shiny. She has beautiful full lips; I don’t normally notice things like that on women but with her you can’t help it. I glance down at her body, and of course, she looks like a model in her tight maxi dress. I used to have a body like that, a long time ago. “ I think that’s blended enough.” She says smirking at me as she notices I’m staring at her body. Shaking my head, I turn off the blender.

  “You must be Hayley.” I say, grabbing two glasses for the drinks. “Salt?” I question holding the glass above a plate. She nods, so I dip the glass in lime before lining the rim of it with the salt.

  “I am, should I be worried that you know who I am without an introduction?” Her tone sounds more like she’s flattered than worried.

  Laughing, I fill the two glasses in front of me. “No, not at all. I ran into your husband a couple minutes ago.” Reaching my arm across the bar, I hand a margarita to her.

  “Ah, Katrina.” She smirks at me and wraps her hand around mine as she takes the glass. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She pulls the glass away slowly, and my hand slides out from under it. “Thank you for letting us crash your party. It’s so much nicer than unpacking.”

  “Oh, I know that feeling. If you need help with anything, let me know. I’m home all day, so I’d be more than happy to come over and help.”

  “That would be great, thanks.” I walk around the bar and grab a seat on the stool next to her. “So what are you celebrating today?”

  “My husband. He graduated the medical program today.” I feel bad that I’m angry with him on his special day, but he hurt my feelings. The thought has me taking a big gulp of my drink.

  “Oh, a doctor in the neighborhood. That’s good to know.” She takes a sip of her drink, looking classy even doing that.

  “Well, technically he’s a medic. He’s in the Army.” I can’t help the pride that fills my words.

  “Even better, who doesn’t love a man in uniform?” She winks. Just then I feel an arm slide around my waist and Hayley smiles at me, her eyes moving down to my waist. Justin places a kiss on the crook of my neck, knowing that’s my sweet spot before standing beside me at the bar.

  “Honey, who’s your friend?”

  “Justin, this is Hayley, our new neighbor.” She holds out her hand, and he takes it as I chug down my margarita. Hayley raises an eyebrow at me.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Justin. I hate to rush off, but I better find my husband. It was a pleasure meeting you both and thank you for the margarita.” She holds up her glass as she stands.

  “Welcome to the neighborhood.” Justin says.

  “I’ll stop by tomorrow and help you unpack if you’d like.” I offer, wanting to make them feel welcomed.

  “That would be wonderful, I look forward to it.” She walks off, and I get out of my seat, going back behind the bar to refill my glass.

  “So are we going to talk about earlier or are you just going to get drunk?” Justin asks, and I glare at him.

  “Is there really anything left to say? I think getting drunk sounds like a fantastic idea. Enjoy your party, I set all this up for you, not me. Go have a good time and we can discuss our future another day.” I try to dismiss him with my words, but he doesn’t move.

  “Our future? Don’t you think you’re getting a bit extreme with all this?” A woman clearing he
r throat interrupts our conversation. I look over and see Hayley standing by the bar.

  “I’m sorry, I forgot my sunglasses.” She picks them up and hurries off into the crowd of people in the backyard.

  “Happy now?” Justin chastises, making it seem like this was my entire fault.

  “Excuse me?” I continue to chug my margarita, deciding that I need to be drunk for all this.

  “Now the neighbors will be gossiping about our love life.” I laugh a little. And he calls me dramatic?

  “You have to have one in order for others to gossip about it. If you had just fucked me instead of your hand earlier, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.” I pull the sunglasses off my head, covering my eyes, and holding my drink in my other hand I head to the pool. I’ll be damned if I planned this huge party and can’t even enjoy it.

  Chapter 4

  The next morning I wake up with an excruciating headache. Moaning, I roll onto my side pulling my knees up to my chest. I cover my head with the blanket and pray the room will stop spinning soon. I’m not surprised to find that Justin isn’t in bed with me, and to tell the truth; I don’t remember coming to bed. Shit, how much did I drink last night?

  Rolling carefully onto my back, I stare at the ceiling and kick the covers off, trying to cool my overheated body. I swear I can hear the blood moving through my head. The noise is so loud I don’t hear the bedroom door open.

  “Knock, knock.”

  I jolt up in the bed, not recognizing the voice. My head spins, and it takes me a minute to realize I’m naked except for my panties. I move through the pain in my head and try to cover myself.

  “Oh shit, Katrina, I’m so sorry. The door was unlocked, and I just let myself in.”

  My eyes cross, and I instantly regret the movement. I fall out of bed as I sprint to the bathroom, collapsing to my knees as I relieve my stomach of the alcohol I drank last night. Hayley is behind me holding my hair back and patting me in a soothing way. “I’m so sorry,” I mumble after I feel as though I’m done, but my head is still in the toilet.