by Lucy Snow
He must have noticed me though I tried to avoid him, even though I really wanted him to look at me and see me dressed like this. It was petty, and I knew that, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted Harrison to see what he was missing out on.
A lightbulb went off in my head and I joined the line of people gathering to greet our parents. They stood in the center of the hall, like a newly-married couple would line up. They looked so happy to be there, and when it came my turn I stepped forward and gave each of them deep and long hugs.
I hadn’t always been on board with my father getting married again, but now that I took a step back and saw how happy Ruth had made him all these years, I couldn’t help but get over my childish notions of one true romance. They may not have found each other the first time around, but they made it work each and every day and I couldn’t stand in their way.
I tried to make that clear when I talked to them, and both my father and especially my stepmother seemed to get the point. They both beamed with pride. I didn’t take up too much of their time, but told them I’d see them at the house later. They informed me that they’d gotten a suite at a hotel nearby and wouldn’t be home till tomorrow.
After I was done with speaking to our parents I went to the open bar and got myself a drink. Nothing too strong this time, not after what had happened at the Crown, but I definitely need a little alcohol to keep things lively at a stereotypically boring party as this.
“Mind if I join you?” I heard a deep and interesting voice next to me. “I’m drinking alone too, and a drink as well-made as this should not be enjoyed without company.”
I giggled at how strange that sounded, and turned to look…and came face to face with a beautiful man, older than me, with just the slightest hint of grey starting to show at his temples. He was all and strong looking and dressed immaculately.
And his smile, lord, his smile, well that could stop traffic. “Of course, please do,” I smiled back and looked down, resting my arms on the bar. He did the same, and we faced forward looking at each other in the reflection of the mirror in front of us.
We looked good together.
“My name is James,” he started, still looking at me in the mirror. We locked eyes.
“I’m Laurel.”
“Laurel,” he said, turning the name over and over, and I liked how it sounded rolling off his tongue. “I like that. You have a beautiful name, and it fits you perfectly.”
I blushed, loving the attention, and definitely catching Harrison’s look as he saw us together from the other side of the hall. I didn’t want to think about him anymore, though. I had a sexy man in front of me who clearly thought I was sexy too.
That was much better than a wicked stepbrother who couldn’t make up his mind what he wanted.
“Would you dance with me, Laurel?” I melted right there, nodding and not saying anything as we set our drinks down and James took my hand in his and led me to the dance floor off to one side. There, a DJ was playing slower music, the kind that you could get close to someone with.
James pulled me in close to him, and we danced. James knew what he was doing, and he guided me through the various moves like a virtuoso playing his favorite instrument. It was intoxicating being so close to a man who clearly knew how to handle a woman’s body so well.
We danced like that till I lost track of time, faster, then slower, and repeating. It was during one of the lulls that it happened.
We were dancing, James and I, and then Harrison appeared just off to the side of him. He coughed, and James slowed us down.
“Mind if I cut in?” Harrison said, strong but as polite as could be, following the protocol.
James looked surprised for a moment then collected himself. “But of course!” he smiled. “If that’s what the lady wants, then of course!” He looked at me, the question on his face.
“Ye-Yes, of course.” I turned to James. “That was lovely, thank you very much. I’d like to dance with my stepbrother for a bit, if that’s alright.”
“Ahh, right, the siblings. Of course, please, by all means.” He winked at me. “I’ll come and find you later, yes?”
I nodded. “That would be nice.”
James let me go and Harrison stepped into his place. I put my arms around his neck and we started dancing.
“What was that about?” I hissed at him, trying to keep the smile on my face in case anyone was listening or watching us.
“I saw you dancing with him.”
“And? I like to dance with nice, attractive men, Harrison. Call me crazy but it feels good!”
“We need to talk.”
“I think we’ve talked as much as we need to, don’t you? You said all I needed to hear.”
He looked wounded. “I need to talk to you, Laurel, please.”
The way he looked at me with those big eyes of his, I couldn’t resist. No matter what he did to me, no matter how much he hurt me, I couldn’t help but give him another chance to at least explain himself. Maybe that was what our bond was all about.
“Alright, alright. Let’s talk.”
He brightened immediately, standing up straighter and taller than before. I felt myself start to get turned on, and I hastily tried to push that back. “Not here. Let’s go somewhere.”
“Fine. Lead on.” We left the dance floor and moved around the hall looking for a place we could talk and not be disturbed. As we tried out different places I could feel James’ eyes meeting mine from the bar, as he raised a glass toward me. I smiled back, eager to get back to him when whatever Harrison wanted to say was done.
Eventually we went out a door and down a hall and found ourselves in a courtyard with a fountain. The lights were on and there was soft music playing, but evidently the party planner had neglected to tell any of the guests about this place, because there was no one here but us.
Harrison motioned to me and I sat down in front of the fountain, on a bench very similar to the one he’d taken me to in the forest.
“I’ve made another huge mistake, Laurel,” he started, with a rueful smile. “I know you won’t be able to forgive me but I have to say this.”
“There’s nothing to forgive, Harrison. You saw me dancing with James and now you’ve got all these thoughts in your head…”
“This has been brewing for more than the last hour, Laurel, give me a little more credit than that.”
“I don’t see why I should - you’ve definitely made and changed your mind about us in less time than that over the last few days.”
He started to speak, opening his mouth and closing it a few times before he finally found the words. “OK, I’m sorry, and I deserved that. But please, hear me out. Yes, that was what set me off, seeing you dance with him. Of course, you’re free to do what you like, but I don’t have to like it.”
I crossed my arms under my breasts and shivered slightly, the cold open air of the courtyard finally getting to me. A second later Harrison had taken off his jacket and thrown it around my shoulders. It smelled like him and I felt my resolve begin to crack.
“And I don’t have to care what you think, Harrison. We lived like that for years and it worked out just fine.”
He looked incredulous. “And after what’s happened since you got back is that how you want to go from here? Just like before? Do you think we can?”
I shook my head, closing my eyes and wishing to be anywhere else. “I don’t know if we can, but it worked before.”
Harrison leaned over, stopping his face in front of mine. “It didn’t work for me before, Laurel. It never did. I couldn’t stand not being able to tell you how I felt.”
“You sure had a funny way of showing it.”
“I was young and dumb and I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry about that.”
He stood back up. “I’ve had some time to think about what I said last time, about fighting and wanting to. I realize now that you’re the reason I didn’t fight.” He looked at me. “You’re the reason I want to be a better person, L
aurel, can’t you see that? I need you, even if only for my sake.”
He turned around. “I may have saved you from Steve in the parking lot, but I need you to save me from now on. From myself.” He turned back to face me. “You’re so good for me, and I finally see that now. I don’t want to go another day without you.”
“You’re not still scared about being found out, about being able to be ourselves around here?”
“We don’t have to be here anymore. We can go somewhere else. I can choose where I go next, and you can come with me. We can make this work.”
“And our parents? What will they say?”
He sighed and closed his eyes before opening them again and speaking. “They’ve known how I felt about you. For a long time. Your father and I talked about it long ago. It was one of the reasons I left to join the military.”
“What?!” This was all new to me.
“He told me that if I came back and still felt the same way, he wouldn’t get in the way of us.
I’d have to have a long conversation with my father some time very soon, but now was not the time.
Harrison pulled up and close, cradling my face in his hands. I was unable to stop him, nor did I want to anymore. “I don’t care about what anyone else thinks, Laurel, I just want to be with you forever.”
“Forever’s a long time, Harrison,” I said, skeptically.
“I know. I hope so. Because I want to hold on to you as long as I possibly can, so forever sounds like a good place to start.”
“I don’t know…”
“How can I prove it to you? Tell me how.”
I looked up at him, standing there in the courtyard, holding me so close, and I kissed him like I’d never kissed him or anyone before. “You just did.”
Chapter 25 - The Love
The open courtyard was no place for two people who needed a place to get busy. It wasn’t easy to find a place to be alone at a giant fancy anniversary party. Sure, you could find places to talk amongst yourselves, but finding a place where you could be free from worry of getting caught while you, ahem, got a little naughty? That was a taller order.
Luckily, Harrison was a tall guy, and in my crazy sky-high heels, I was no slouch in that department either. Unfortunately, the height that made them so sexy and so rare to wear also made it tough, or damn near impossible, to run in, so if we did get caught, we’d probably have some explaining to do.
And it wouldn’t go well. There was no possible way it could go well.
“Laurel! Harrison! What’re you two doing?! How could you?!”
“We’re uh…checking each other for…ticks? Can’t be too worried about Lyme disease these days!”
Yeah that wouldn’t really work and I didn’t want to even try to test it out. Maybe if I had some time to come up with a better excuse it might work, but I really had more important things on my mind. Like Harrison’s cock, And getting it inside me as soon as possible.
So we kept looking, testing out different rooms in the hall, but not finding any that were a combination of unlocked and, you know, not a broom closet. The first broom closet we came upon, though, that was unlocked, Harrison was ready to go, and was about to push me into and up against the wall, when I objected.
“No,” I said, putting my foot down and my hands at my waist, which had the undesired effect of showing even more cleavage than I thought. I’m sure Harrison appreciated in that; I was sure of it because I saw his eyes glaze over and he had to shake his head and refocus before I continued. “I appreciate the sentiment and the circumstances, Harrison, but I am not the kind of girl you fuck in a broom closet.”
“What?” He sounded so ready to go, so excited, and then so deflated as he made sense of my words. “But this is all we can find! Come on!” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in.
Jerk! His warm chest filled my view and I pressed myself against him. Like I didn’t now he’d try this, like I hadn’t been building up my tolerance, my resistance, to this in my head all this time. Who did he think he was dealing with here?
The real thing was so much better, though. So, so much. I didn’t want to leave, but I had to. With as much force as I could muster I pulled myself away from Harrison’s chest, pushing him back with my arms, till they were stretched out.
Again, he looked down at my boobs spilling out of my dress, and smiled. I had him right where I wanted him. “Ahem, I’m up here,” I said, smiling.
“Yes, hmmm?” He responded, eyes once again glazed over, not really understanding me. He was in another world, such was the power of breasts over men. Who said women didn’t rule the world? “Did you say something?” He looked lost, but not lost in a bad way. “I was thinking about something else…” He trailed off, eyes still glued to my chest. I giggled, conflicted between feeling objectified yet totally loving it at the same time.
“Eyes forward, soldier!” With that, Harrison snapped to attention and focused on me. “We are not having sex in this closet, Harrison.” I made up my mind right then and there. He started to smile at the implication that we were going to have sex at all. “Take me home.” A girl’s gotta have standards.
“You want to do it in your bed again?”
“No,” I replied, looking him square in the face. “I want to do it in your bed.”
Harrison paused, his eyes widening. “Are you sure about that?”
I stared him down. “Absolutely.” I tried to make my voice as strong and unwavering as I could, but even I knew it had a little bit of a spike to it.
Harrison’s bedroom was like the scene of the crime. The scene of many crimes. If there’d been this many actual crimes committed there, it would have been condemned years ago, biohazard tape and everything. Scientists would be pouring over the place taking measurements and readings with fancy gizmos, trying not to disturb the site of so many unholy rituals.
“I think we can make that happen.” And then he grabbed my hand and we were off. We headed out of the hall as quickly as possible, taking great pains to run into as few people as we could. Anyone we saw who asked the question, Harrison explained I wasn’t feeling well, and that he was taking me home so that I could rest. It seemed as good a story as any.
In the parking lot, we jumped into Harrison’s car and sped off, Laughing to each other the entire time. The ride home was a blur, and I was a little afraid that Harrison’s enthusiasm would get the better of him and that we would get into an accident, but Harrison drove with as much control as you could, for someone driving with reckless abandon.
The house was dark and empty when we arrived, and by the time Harrison pulled his car right up to the curb and shut it off, we both already had our seat belts off and our doors half open.
As soon as the front door closed behind me, Harrison’s lips were buried upon mine, and I thrust myself into him, clinging to his hard body, and not wanting to let go ever. I unzipped his coat and he unzipped mine, and in a frenzy of kissing and feeling each other up, each of us helped the other out of them, depositing the coats on the floor - we could pick them up some other time.
We stood like that in the foyer kissing like it was going out of style, our lips dancing together, a dance that was both new and yet somehow familiar, and just as exciting as the first time we had done so. Harrison reached his hand around the back of my head, coiling my hair around his fingers at the roots. He was messing up my fancy hairdo from the party, but I had a hunch I wasn’t leaving the house tonight again. It might look strange, for someone who wasn’t feeling well to come back to the party.
Each pull on my hair made me moan a little bit, the sound coming out of my mouth without conscious thought on my part. I couldn’t get enough of Harrison’s touch even over my dress, and I couldn’t wait for each of us to undress the other.
But we should probably go upstairs for that. Harrison must’ve been reading my mind just at that moment, because I felt him push me toward the stairs, and I was only too happy to accommodate, taking slow steps backwards my arms
still wrapped around his neck, his arms still wrapped around my waist, our lips and tongues still joined together as we shuffled toward the staircase. We must have looked hilarious!
Navigating the stairs while holding on to someone else, and not being willing to let your lips separate proved more of a challenge than both of us must’ve thought going into it. More than once we crashed hard, one of us sitting down on the stair while we both giggled and tried to keep connected. This was the kind of teamwork that true relationships were built out of, I could tell.
Finally, we made it up the landing, neither of us worse for wear, and both just as turned on as when we’d started. This time instead of going into my room, we continued down the hall and ended up in front of Harrison’s room. I felt like he should run some police tape over the door, as if to warn people before they went inside. That might make for a good gift idea.
I couldn’t remember a time before, when I opened Harrison’s door without hesitation, but this time I did. I expected to see a horror show, with various girls underwear lining the walls, and a large list running down one wall listing the names of all the girls he’d slept with.
But Harrison’s room was a lot more normal than I’d ever expected. In fact there was nothing in it besides a few photos that made it seem like Harrison’s. I remembered seeing glimpses of it back during high school, and all the band posters and other weird paraphernalia was gone now. It seems like a room that hadn’t been used very much a long time.
Of course, right now I had other things on my mind. As soon as I opened the door and took a look inside, Harrison had grabbed my head and turned back around, bringing me in for a quick kiss. “Get inside,” he growled, and gave me the gentlest of pushes into the room. “I need you.”
I didn’t have any reply, and just let myself be pushed into the room, exaggerating the push a little bit in order to fall on the bed on the other side. Harrison grinned and came after me, pressing me down into the bed with the force of his kiss. I clung to him with my lips, wanting to feel him on me as much as I could.