“Mom, you are the most amazing, best mom that ever lived!” Eliza hugged her hard across the kitchen chairs. Her mom smiled, and Eliza was sure she had never loved her mom more. The tears started falling down Eliza’s face.
“Oh, honey, it’s okay,” Mia said. She took Eliza’s face in her hands and wiped away her tears. “It’s all going to work out, I promise.”
She nodded mutely, tears still falling, overwhelmed by her mom’s understanding.
“Well.” Mia smiled at her and then grimaced at the stove. A burned sauce smell was filling the kitchen. “I think we need to call the pizza guy.”
* * *
Graduation went well, and they were granted liberty until lights out. He was prepared for the back slaps from Tomasz and the gushing tears from his mom, but his father’s behavior at dinner stunned him. He had greeted David warmly, shaking his hand and clasping him in a one-armed embrace. When David removed his hat and took his seat, his father had looked his dress uniform up and down and nodded to himself. Gesturing in David’s direction, his father whispered to the waiter, but David was still surprised when the server arrived with a bottle of champagne.
“To David,” his father said as they raised the glasses the waiter had poured. “My soldier son.” The lump in David’s throat made it difficult to drink the fizzy liquid.
Clayton added a hearty “Ready, aye, ready!” making David and his family laugh. They seemed glad to have Clayton join them for dinner—Tea particularly so. That Tea found Clayton attractive practically screamed out from her slender face and body every time she looked at him. Clayton, meanwhile, had turned on the full Southern charm, and there was a lot more drawling going on than normal. It was driving David crazy.
He insisted that they turn in early, over his mom’s protests. They had to get an early start in the morning for their drive to Albuquerque. But he also wanted to end the agony of watching Clayton flirting with his sister.
They planned on taking turns driving, and Tea insisted on driving first. It was her car, so David didn’t object until Clayton claimed shotgun, and David was relegated to the back seat. They flew down I-55 at Tea-speed in the pre-dawn light, quickly leaving the Chicago suburbs behind.
He watched the cornfields whiz by, brown husks dying in the post-harvest, and tried to tune out the conversation between Clayton and Tea. He had warned Clayton, last night before lights out, that Tea was off-limits. He could save his sweet talking for the thousands of coeds waiting at Monterey Bay. Clayton had laughed, saying David didn’t need to get all big brother defensive, as Tea wasn’t interested in him anyway. But David knew him too well—he could tell Clayton had no intention of staying away from Tea. David hadn’t been able to warn Tea, so he would just have to be vigilant during the car ride. Once they made it to California, and Clayton was safely in lock down, he could explain to Tea the dangers of flirting with overly charming sailors who had recently broken up with their girlfriends.
In spite of his best efforts to not hear their conversation, it was difficult to ignore. He was badly missing his iPod.
“So, Miss Tea, what are you planning to study at Monterey Bay?” asked Clayton.
“Studying? No one said there would be studying required!” said Tea. Clayton chuckled. “I’m going there to work on my tan,” Tea added, making David groan internally.
“Really?” said Clayton, with too much interest in his voice.
“Have you been there before?” Tea asked.
“No. Well, not in a long time, since I was a kid,” Clayton said. He seemed to talk freely around Tea.
David tried counting farmhouses. He hummed a song in his head, trying to drown out the conversation in the front seat. It worked for a while. When he ran out of distractions, he glanced at them. They were holding hands! More accurately, Clayton was leaning over the center console, Tea’s slender hand turned upright, his fingers laced through hers. He was tracing some kind of pattern on her palm, so slowly that she probably didn’t even notice that he was caressing her hand. Ack! David decided it was time for him to drive. At the next turnout, he feigned the need to use the restroom. They both looked strangely at him. They had been on the road less than an hour and had barely left the city. When they came back to the car, he insisted on driving and had Tea ride in front with him, where he could keep an eye on her.
It was no use. As soon as they started on the road again, Clayton leaned forward, bracing his face against the headrest of Tea’s seat and gazing at her. Tea twisted around in her seat, wreaking havoc with the seatbelt, so that she could see him as well. Their faces were only inches apart. David ground his teeth and tried to keep his eyes on the road. He turned up the air conditioning, hoping the sound of the fan would drown them out. That worked for a while, until they all froze, and Tea insisted on turning it back down. She snarled at him.
They were on the road to St. Louis, and it was one endless flat stretch of farmland. He kept waiting for Clayton and Tea to run out of things to say, but his sister excelled at conversation, and Clayton’s smooth talking was in fine form. In fact, David had never heard so much out of him.
“So, why didn’t your family come to graduation? Are they far away?” Tea asked, quietly and innocently. David’s ears involuntarily perked up to hear Clayton’s response.
“Oh, the Commander was there,” he said. “I think he saluted me. Or maybe he saluted all the graduates. It was hard to tell.”
“The Commander is your dad?” Tea asked. Clayton must have nodded. “Well, what about your mom? Is she the First Lady Commander?”
Clayton was silent a moment. “My mom died when I was thirteen.” His voice was hushed.
“Oh!” said Tea, chastened. She paused and then said, very quietly, “You miss her.”
Clayton leaned further forward, resting his head on the back of the Tea’s seat again. He spoke in a furtive whisper David was sure he wasn’t meant to hear over the hum of the engine and the road. “She was sick for a long time, but the Commander didn’t tell us—my sister and me—anything. They wanted to keep it a secret, I guess. But of course, I could tell. I started ditching school every afternoon. I came home and stayed with her. We talked about a lot of things—she pretended that I wasn’t ditching, and I pretended that she wasn’t sick. Sometimes she was too tired to talk …” His voice faded away.
“Oh, Clay,” Tea breathed, reaching up to touch his face. David stole a look out of the corner of his eye. Was Clayton crying? He locked his eyes on the road ahead.
Clayton laughed a small, choking chuckle. He whispered again. “What kind of spell are you putting on me, baby girl? I haven’t told anyone that …” He cleared his throat. “After she died, the Commander told us it was cancer. He hasn’t really been right since then. It’s not his fault. He lost the woman he loved.” Clayton paused again, and then regained some of his sarcasm. “Although he could be less of a jerk about it.”
After that, they were both quiet. If Tea was kissing him, David didn’t want to know. As they continued to drive in silence, he began to rethink things. Clayton was his best friend. He was incredibly supportive of Eliza and him and had done everything possible to help them out—even coming on this trip, just because he wanted Clayton to meet her. Of course Clayton would like Tea—everyone did. And of course he would use his charm on her—he used it on everyone. Clayton could charm the pants off any female recruit at boot camp, which was exactly what was stoking his big brother over-protectiveness. But, in all the time they had been together at boot camp, Clayton had not actually charmed his way into a coat closet with any female recruits, or petty officers, or chiefs. And there was certainly some of that going on at boot camp, much to his shock. Who knew there was even time for such things? In any event, Clayton was a really great guy, and if Tea liked him, David guessed he shouldn’t try to stand in the way. Still, Clayton needed to know that if he hurt Tea in any way, David wou
ld likely have to kill him, whether he was his friend or not.
David decided it was better for him to keep driving, even though his turn was long over. With the two of them making eyes or holding hands, they would surely get in a wreck. Once they got to St. Louis, they stopped for lunch and gas. Clayton recommended a small down-home diner off the interstate, because it “looked Southern.” When Tea had gone to use the ladies’ room, he took the opportunity to set Clayton straight.
“Look, it’s obvious you like Tea,” he said, talking quietly to Clayton, sitting across from him in the booth.
“Oh?” Clayton said, no doubt remembering David’s earlier warnings.
“And it’s obvious she likes you,” he conceded. On cue, Clayton’s ears perked up.
“How can you tell?” Clayton really couldn’t read her at all if he was bothering to ask that question. David couldn’t help smirking.
“Well, she’s tolerated listening to you a lot longer than I would, so there must be something she likes about you.” He was being sarcastic, but Clayton seemed to thoughtfully consider it.
“She does seem to get me to say things I normally wouldn’t.” Clayton suddenly looked embarrassed. David gawked for a moment at the wonder of a red-faced Clayton. This drive was full of firsts.
“Look, Tea has that effect on people. Don’t worry about it.” David wanted to hurry to his point before Tea came back. “Here’s the thing. She’s my sister, and if you do anything to hurt her, Clayton, I’m going to have to pound you into the ground. Do you understand what I’m saying?” He tried not to growl, but wasn’t entirely successful. Clayton looked shocked, and then thoughtful again.
“If I do anything to hurt Tea, I’ll deserve whatever you can dish out, David.” His voice was soft and surprisingly tender. It was almost enough to mollify the big brother in him.
Tea returned from the restroom and had to decide which of them to sit by. Clayton was quicker than David, out of his seat in a flash and offering it to Tea. She scooted in the bench and he slid in next to her. Clayton was so taken by Tea, he could hardly keep his eyes off her.
David sighed and shook his head. They ate quickly so they could get back on the road. He tried to ignore the accidental touches and sideways looks during lunch. Even if he wasn’t going to interfere, there was only so much of that he could take.
He still drove, this time with Clayton in the front seat. David was able to ignore the two lovebirds next to him by focusing his thoughts on his destination: Eliza.
It seemed as if so much had happened since he’d seen her last. On the boat, they’d barely known each other, although she captured his heart. Now, he had come to know her, and his love for her consumed him and ruled his thoughts. But so far they could only express their love through their letters and phone calls, which was a poor substitute for being with her.
When he pictured being in Albuquerque, all he could imagine was kissing and touching her. If he was honest, he wanted to take her up to her bedroom and not come out for twenty-four hours. Just thinking about it was so distracting he had to shake his head so he wouldn’t crash on the endless miles of Missouri highway.
As much as he wanted to make love to Eliza during their one chance to see each other, he knew it wasn’t right. It wasn’t the right time on the beach in the Bahamas, and it wasn’t the right time now. He wanted so much more than one day with her—he wanted an endless set of days. But it wouldn’t be easy to resist the temptation that twenty-four hours was going to present. And he wanted to avoid any misunderstandings, like they’d had on the beach. He decided he would bring it up, talk to her about it, as soon as possible after they arrived.
He had overheard Tea saying that Addison was coming out to Monterey Bay next weekend. His plan, other than having as much bodily contact with Eliza without crossing that line he had just constructed, was to convince her to come out with Addison and visit him. He knew it was completely out of her way, in the opposite direction of Princeton, but he hoped he could be very convincing. He smiled when he thought of ways to persuade her.
The long prairie-grass miles of Missouri droned on. Tea and Clayton finally lapsed into silence, but still twined their fingers together across the seat back. When they made it to Oklahoma City, they stopped for dinner and gas. Everyone was getting tired, so they made it quick. The flat nothing of Oklahoma was even more monotonous than Missouri, and the sinking sun was a blazing orange ball in their eyes. As the sun disappeared below the horizon, turning the sky a deep indigo blue, they crossed into Texas. Clayton sang a bawdy Lone Star State song that David was pretty sure he made up. They lost the light as they waved good-bye to Texas and drove the final stretch to Albuquerque in complete darkness. It was late, past midnight, and he hoped Eliza didn’t mind staying up to meet them.
As they neared her neighborhood, Tea called Eliza to let her know they were almost there. He didn’t talk to her, suddenly nervous about seeing her again. As Clayton navigated by the map light in the car, David’s heart started to race.
When they arrived, he was out of the car before Clayton and Tea. His breath got short as he neared the porch, where the light burned for them. Before he could reach the door, it swung open and there she was. She was dressed in dark shorts and a white sleeveless top, her hair down and bouncing around her shoulders as she stepped out of the doorway. She was amazingly more beautiful than the dreams and the picture and all of his fantasies. She flew into his arms, and he held her so tightly he was afraid he might hurt her. After a moment, he loosened his grip so he could kiss her. When his lips found hers, it wasn’t the tender sweet kiss that had filled his endless reveries about their reunion. It was unrestrained, almost rough, and felt like possession. She was his. She clung to him as tightly as he gripped her. They remained welded to each other for a long moment, and then broke away, gasping for air and release from that hold they had on each other. They looked at each other, unspeaking. He heard Clayton clearing his throat behind them and realized it must have been the second or third time, with the exaggerated emphasis he gave it. David grinned, unabashedly happy, and turned to introduce Eliza.
“Clayton, this is Eliza. Eliza … Clayton.” He stepped to the side, but still had his arm firmly locked around Eliza’s waist. Eliza extended her hand to a smiling Clayton, but he was having none of that. David was forced to release her momentarily as Clayton swept her up in a hug.
“Nice to finally meet you, Eliza,” he said, as he lifted her slightly off the ground and then gently dropped her back down. It was worth the second of separation to see that beautiful crimson shade creep up on her cheeks. It was Tea’s turn to duck in and hug Eliza.
With David’s arm once again firmly attached to Eliza, Clayton helped out by bringing in their luggage. He and Clayton had one seabag between them—Tea had three bags of her own. Eliza explained that her mom and Johnny were on the road again, so he and Clayton would be staying in their room while Tea stayed in Eliza’s. Clayton quickly delivered the luggage while David and Eliza drifted to the couch. They weren’t doing a lot of talking. He was busy planting small kisses on her cheeks and lips, when Clayton called from halfway to the kitchen, “We’re going to get some drinks!” apparently taking Tea with him. David had given up trying to keep them apart hours ago, so it didn’t even cross his mind to object.
“I think they’re leaving us alone,” he said between kisses.
“It doesn’t take that long to get drinks.” Eliza seemed to expect them back at any moment.
“I doubt they’ll even bother with drinks in there.” He smiled and surprised himself with how not-over-protective he was feeling at the moment. He was preoccupied with running his hands through Eliza’s hair and finding his favorite spot behind her ear. She let out a small gasp as he found it, and he couldn’t believe the thrill it gave him.
“Wait.” She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “You mean Clayton and Tea …?”
David smiled and nodded, and she looked amazed. “Didn’t they just meet?”
“It was a long car ride,” he said. “I gave up trying to keep them apart about five hours in, but I had to drive the whole way or we wouldn’t have made it in one piece.” She giggled, and it was the most delightful sound. He decided he needed to start kissing her in earnest.
The force of his kisses bent her back along the couch until he was laying half on top of her, nibbling his way down her neck. His heart felt like it would pound straight out of his chest. She sucked in a breath as his hands slipped under her shirt and ran along the smooth skin of her stomach. His brilliant idea of not making love to Eliza was starting to look like utter foolishness, with her warm and breathing hard underneath him on the couch. He should have known it would be more difficult than it sounded while driving in the car across Missouri. He stopped kissing her, grabbed her hip to secure his hand in place, and pounded his forehead gently into her shoulder. A frustrated groan escaped him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. Her hands caressed his head as it lay on her shoulder. His lips brushed the bare skin of her arm, and he inhaled her wonderful scent. He had to say something now, before there was some kind of disastrous misunderstanding.
“Eliza, I think we should wait until we can be together for more than a day or two.” He spoke softly into her shoulder, placing a light kiss on it and then raising his head to look into her eyes.
“Wait for what?” she asked, obviously not understanding at all what he was saying.
He exhaled, eyes bleary from the long drive. “Wait to make love.” He said it as gently as he could, hoping she would understand.
She smiled, and a small, hiccupping laugh erupted from her.
For some reason that his brain, foggy with exhaustion, could not understand, she thought this was amusing. “Eliza Stanton, you had better tell me quickly why this is funny, or I’m going to get upset.”
“I’m sorry!” She smiled without explaining herself. Then she grabbed his face in her two small hands and kissed him, long and sweet. “As long as I can have plenty of those, I can wait as long as you want for the rest.” His heart skipped. And so he kissed her, again and again, and a few more times, just to show that he intended to do that a lot. He breathed a long sigh of contentment into the cloud of hair that had pooled to the side of her head. Snuggling his face into the crook of her neck, he settled in and held her. He had never been so happy in his entire life.
Life, Liberty, and Pursuit Page 25