by Jessica Cruz
“Are you in a rush to leave?” He plopped a kiss on my cheek and began running his hands along all of the inappropriate places that drove me absolutely crazy. “The quad will still be here in an hour.”
Before I could answer, my phone started vibrating against the marble counter top. My dad was calling me, “Hey Daddy!” I cheered. Gratefully, Garrett dropped his hands. “That’s so weird. I was planning on calling you later today. How’s the holiday season going?”
“Hey, baby, the holiday season is crazy, really testing what can be considered as retirement. What are you doing?”
I looked at Garrett’s reflection in the bathroom mirror and smirked. Well, I knew what I’d be doing later. “I’m doing my makeup and hair, getting ready for the day.” Garrett kissed my forehead and left the bathroom to give me some privacy.
“Christmas is next week and then New Years is after that. It’s a crazy time for the hotel, but you know I always can make time for you. Am I going to see you for the holidays?”
Escape in a luxury hotel with the ocean as my view sounded like heaven. My dad always knew exactly how to brighten my mood. “How about you figure out which dates work best for your schedule, and I’ll come visit. I miss you so much.”
“I miss you, too. I’ll check out my schedule tonight when I get done some things, and I’ll let you know. I can’t wait to see you.”
“I know, Daddy. I’ll come down to see you whenever you want. I love you.”
“I love you too, Adriana. Let me go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye.” I clicked off the phone and stared down at the screen. God, I missed my dad. In this crazy, crazy life that I lived, he was my normal.
I walked into the bedroom, and Garrett was fully dressed in a coat, some jeans, and Timberland boots. So much for a morning full of sex…He flashed his award winning smile in my direction after I came out the bathroom. “How’s Dad doing?”
“He’s doing great. He’s going to text me later, so I can go down to Virginia to visit him for the holidays,” honestly, I’m not sure what came over me. Perhaps, I was still in complete bliss over the multiple orgasms from last night, but out of nowhere, I blurted out. “You should come with me. Virginia’s really great, and his hotel is amazing.”
“Are you inviting me on a trip to meet your dad?” Somehow it sounded even crazier coming from him. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Just think about it, and let me know, no pressure,” I quoted him from yesterday morning. I grabbed his hand in mine and started towing him out into the hallway. “Now are you going to take me out on that quad or what?”
Garrett plowed through a snow covered trail, speeding over the white powder with the powerful, thick tires. I sat behind him, gripping his sides, and laughing hysterically. We had been out for hours and been having a blast.
Large snowflakes started to fall from the sky, and Garrett stopped. Snow melted in his hair, and I couldn’t help but think about our night at the charity dinner. To think all of this could happen, and for once, I wasn’t completely screwing it all up. Normally, I was awkward with guys and constantly wondering what he thought about me, not with Garrett. With him, I just wanted to be me. It was so easy to laugh together.
“We should probably be heading back,” Garrett said to me. “I’m not sure what time that snow’s supposed to pick up, and I don’t want to get us stuck out here.”
“Okay,” I said while burrowing my cheeks into his back. The wind was getting a little harsher and whipping at the tender skin. As fun as this was, I definitely thought it was time to get back into the warm cabin.
It took forty minutes to get back to the house. I hadn’t realized how far from the cabin we had gotten. It was a good thing we came back when we did because the snow started picking up again.
We got inside, took off our snow clothes and left them by the door. Garrett shook his wet hair onto me and grabbed me by the waist to keep me still. He kissed my neck, and I felt limp in his hands. I instantly became hot with desire as he whispered against my skin, “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” I asked breathlessly.
“I want to call my daughter and talk to her for a little bit,” he answered. I nodded my head, regaining my composure, “and then, I need to call my brother. He needs to know I won’t be making it back into Jersey tonight. I have a few details to go over with him.”
“That’s fine,” I answered in a whispered voice, trying not to let the thought of his brother ruin the great time I was having. “I should probably call Gloria, too. She usually stops by on Sunday nights to watch Walking Dead.”
“Isn’t that based on a comic about the zombie apocalypse?” He laughed, and I nodded with delight; nothing made my Sunday nights better than watching a gorgeous cop protect his family and friends by stabbing a zombie in the brain. “You’re such a nerd.” I stuck out my tongue. “Okay, sounds good. I won’t be too long, and then you’ll have all my attention again.” He gave me a kiss and disappeared upstairs.
I threw myself on the couch and flipped through the contacts. I landed on Gloria’s name and sighed. She was going to throw a fit when she found out where I was. It rang several times before she finally picked up, “Hey, love, what are you doing?”
“I’m in a cabin in the Poconos.”
There was a long pause before she sneered, “Who are you with?”
“Garrett,” I breathed. She gasped on the other end of the phone. “And to answer your question before you even get to it; yes we had sex..a lot of it, too. We’re having fun. I love this place. Don’t kill my mood.”
“Adriana, he’s still a married man,” she said firmly. “You’re in the middle of nowhere because he can’t risk running into anyone who knows him back at home while he’s with his mistress. Ew, you’re a mistress.”
“They’re getting a divorce,” I groaned. “They don’t even live with each other anymore. What they had is over? I’m confident in that.”
“She’s pregnant.”
“Yeah, because she conned him,” I shot back.
“Listen to how crazy you sound. You’re saying a woman had to con her husband into having a baby with her when they already have a child together? You need to back off now before you’re in too deep. He’s using you, Adriana. You’re convenient and fun right now. Once that wears off he’s going to lose interest in you. God, didn’t you learn anything from working at Lux?”
“I learned to trust my gut, and I trust this.”
“Okay, okay, I get it. You’re still heartbroken over Wes,” it was the first time that I heard his name and didn’t flinch away from the pain. Shit, Garrett had done that to me, “but that doesn’t mean you should move on to his married brother. Don’t you hear how crazy that sounds?”
I stood up from the couch and propped myself on a window ledge, molding to the curved shape of the bottom, and staring outside at the snow covered lake. “If all is fair in love and war, than I plan on killing two birds with one stone and fighting for this man.”
“Wait…” there was a long pause. “Are you telling me in some cryptic, crazy, Shakespearean fashion that you love this guy? You’re fucking kidding me.”
A smirk came to my lips. My heart pounded in my chest. “I’m telling you that I should be able to leave tomorrow once the snow lets up. I’m telling you we should try and get dinner tomorrow night. And I’m telling you for once in your life you shouldn’t judge the hell out of me. Just let me be happy, even if you don’t approve. Do you think you can do that?”
“I can’t be happy about what you’re doing and who you’re hurting,” Gloria gulped, “but I can mind my own business. Is that a deal? You keep that part of your life private, and I don’t judge you for living it.”
It was the best I could get out of her, and I was willing to accept that. Gloria rarely made compromises especially when it came to something she felt morally wrong about. When she was a kid, she watched her mom get shot and killed during a robbery
. Her dad left her and her sisters shortly after that because he was utterly consumed with guilt. I always thought that guilt was for not taking the bullet for his wife, but on one drunken night, I learned it was something else.
Gloria’s dad had been having an affair with a coworker for at least a couple years. He claimed she had come on to him a while back and that he resisted for a very long time, but then he slipped up. One mistake turned into two, and two turned into three. All of a sudden he was staying after work at least three times a week to fuck this girl.
He claimed that he still loved his wife, and that it was, in fact, possible to love one person while having a physical relationship with another. He said it wasn’t until he held his wife’s bloody body in his hands that he knew what he had done was selfish. She said it was that guilt that made him feel like he didn’t deserve the family or life that he had left, so he walked away from it all.
I couldn’t blame Gloria for being sensitive about this topic. Hell, it was asking a lot from her, but we were best friends. We had tried once living life without one another, and we failed miserably. It was hell, so we needed to be strong for one another, even when being strong meant going against our individual moral fibers.
“Deal, I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I hung up the phone and stared at the blank screen. It was quiet in the cabin. The only sound was Garrett’s voice that carried down the hallway. By the sound of it, he was still talking to Jade. That gave me some extra time. I flipped through the contacts and settled on Nick’s name.
“What’s up?” He answered the phone. “Are you planning your next trip up to Boston? You promised me you’d come back.”
“Yeah, things have been kind of crazy on my end,” I said, leaving out all details including Dennis. We both knew what I’d been up to, but it was best that we didn’t talk about it...at least not yet. Neither of us was ready. “Maybe, we can save my Boston trip for the end of January for your birthday. I have a different idea.”
“Oh, yeah, and what is that?”
“Dad invited me to spend a few days in Virginia with him to celebrate the holidays. I was thinking you could come and bring Angela with you. What do you think?”
“I’ll have to talk to Angela about it first. The holidays are really important to her family. When were you thinking?”
“Dad’s going to text me later tonight to let me know what dates are good for him. I figured bringing you home to see him would be the best Christmas present ever. I know Angela wants to meet him, too. This is important.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he said. His voice wavered, uneasy. He still hadn’t talked or spoken to our father since that accident. I had tried to get him to call a few times, but it always developed into a fight. Nick felt unworthy of Saint Dr. Thomas Ward’s love. I couldn’t exactly blame him when I often felt the same way.
“Don’t make a big deal out of this. Come to Virginia. Be with me. Have fun. That’s it,” I looked into the window. Garrett’s reflection stared back at me. I turned around and spotted him near the couch, watching me. “I’ll let you go but promise me you’ll think about it, talk to Angela about it.”
“Yeah, I promise,” he grumbled. “Love you.”
“I love you, too.” I clicked off the phone and stared across the room at Garrett.
He was standing in just his boxers, the way I liked him best. I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him long and hard. After talking to Gloria, I had an amazing revelation that was pulsating in my heart. The pain was gone and replaced with something much stronger.
“That sounded like another man you were inviting to Virginia to visit your dad,” he ran his hand through my hair, caressing my cheek, leaving my skin tingling from his touch, “and you happen to love that man. Did you get over me already?”
I shook my head, finding it remarkably ironic and cute that he was even remotely jealous. I liked that though. It meant that what we had was real. “That was my brother, Nick. It’s my mission to get him to come down to Virginia with me. My dad misses him.”
There was a long pause before Garrett asked in a hushed voice, “Do you really want me to go with you?”
I gulped. Shit, it was way too soon to even be bringing something like this up. I didn’t like the look on his face. He was overanalyzing my question, searching for meaning, probably wondering if he should let me down now before pretending to look at his schedule. I started rambling. “It was a stupid idea. We said we’d take it slow with each other, and I put you in an awkward position like that. I’m sorry. I don’t want you feeling obligated to go. Things are no less complicated than when we left Philly. I guess I just got caught up in this world where only you and I exist.” I couldn’t look at him. I felt stupid for asking him. Honestly, I don’t even know why I asked in the first place.
“I’ll come,” he said, pressing his lips to mine. He held my chin to keep our eyes connected. “Nothing stopped being complicated and that won’t change for a long time, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do the simple things.”
“Simple things?” I scoffed. “So what do I tell my dad? I’m bringing a married man to Virginia for the holidays. That doesn’t sound simple.”
“You tell him the truth,” Garrett smiled, his eyes bright. “You tell him you’re bringing home your boyfriend.”
I blinked hard, frozen into a state of shock. Suddenly, I knew the answer to my question: Why did I invite Garrett to Virginia this morning?
...Because I wanted him there.
Chapter 13
I climbed out of the shower and into the bedroom. From the window, I could spot Garrett clearing some snow out of the driveway. After an amazing couple nights, we were finally heading back to the city. It was like the world chose to tease me with a taste of perfection, only to leave it as a bitter and distant memory. Nothing would be perfect about returning to Philadelphia.
When I walked over to the mirror, I glanced over my naked body and flinched. My legs were covered in bruises from two nights of wild sex. Garrett was never delicate with me, and I loved every second of that. Instinctually, he knew what I wanted and was never scared to give me that.
As I changed into some warm clothes, I thought about yesterday. He had called himself my boyfriend. I was still so new to this dating scene that it left me utterly confused. I didn’t exactly know the parameters to being the girlfriend of a married man…and so damn soon? I wondered if it was the bliss of the weekend that caused him to get carried away. Clearly, he couldn’t have committed himself to me so fast. Shit, of all the guys to fall for, I choose Garrett fucking Holden. This situation couldn’t be more of an inconvenience.
“Are you ready to go?” Garrett startled me. He was still dressed in his snow clothes, somehow looking gorgeous in that, too.
This was unfair. I didn’t want to leave. There wasn’t a damn thing back in Philly besides Gloria, and she could come visit me. “No, we should stay. I love it here. I love this house. I love being with you.”
“So the cold’s starting to grow on you?” Garrett laughed. “We can come back to visit in January. I’ll teach you how to ice skate.” If only he knew how serious I was. I grabbed my bag, checked around the house one last time, and headed east for Philadelphia.
After a couple hours, Garrett pulled up at my apartment building. Reality was setting in. I had no job. I wasn’t in school. And I was officially in a relationship with someone who I couldn’t really see in public. Oh yeah, I was also being blackmailed by one of the wealthiest men in New Jersey. How did I start reeking of “loser” so suddenly?
“I don’t think I’ll be able to see you until tomorrow night,” Garrett said after putting my bags down in the living room. I shot him a look. “Christmas is around the corner. We’re busy as hell, and I still have to go shopping for Jade. I’ll text you as much as I can.”
“It’s fine,” I answered. “We had two days together. I really can’t complain
about you catching up on life after giving me that.”
“That’s my girl,” he gave me a kiss. “I promise. Time will just fly by. Besides, I’m surprised you’re not sick of me yet.”
“Not yet,” I laughed. “Okay, I’ll let you go. Text me when you can.”
After one more hug and kiss, Garrett left, and I was alone and completely exhausted. Tomorrow, I was going to start job hunting. I needed things to keep me busy. Garrett had so much going on in his life, and he’d only be getting busier when the new baby and other business opportunities came along. I would need some distractions to help keep me sane, but for now, I was taking a long, much needed nap.
The intercom buzzed, and I struggled to get out of bed. I pressed the callback button, and it was the front desk, “Ms. Ward, there’s a Mr. Holden wanting to see you. He’s not on your approved guest list. Can I send him up?”
My vision was still blurry, but as it cleared, I gasped at the time. I had slept for almost six hours. Fuck, Garrett must have finished work early and come to hang out here. I buzzed the call button, “Yeah, you can send him up.”
Quickly, I ran a brush through my hair and changed out of the same clothes that I was wearing this morning and into the first articles of clothing I could find, a denim skirt and pink t-shirt. There really wasn’t any time to freshen up my makeup, so my mildly sloppy appearance would have to do. There was a hard knock at my door. I answered it.
“Hey,” Wes grinned, dressed in a coat and jeans. My smile quickly faded. He scratched the back of his head, looking uncomfortable. “How’ve you been?”
For a while, I just stood there, looking like a complete idiot. This was the last person that I ever expected to see at my front door, but here he was looking as magnificent as ever, stealing my breath and coherency as usual.
“Can I come in?” He asked, and I woke up from my daze. I motioned inside my apartment and shut the door once he was in.