To Live Again

by Melody Dawn

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Jayson

  Holding onto Chloe’s hand while I drive to meet Connor feels perfect. Her small hand is holding on to my much larger one like it’s a lifeline. And I think it is, for both of us. I haven’t said anything to Chloe, but I’m nervous about meeting up with Connor and Madison. Neither of them have filters when it comes to sensitive situations and I don’t want them to screw up the progress we’ve made tonight. I know Chloe could tell we were talking about her and I could see it bothered her. By the end of the conversation I had threatened both Connor and Madison within an inch of their lives if they embarrassed her.

  I try to think of a way to get her to stay in the truck when we meet up with them, but I know that will cause a fight with both Chloe and Madison. I’m pretty sure Madison thinks Chloe has been traumatized for life and will want to see how she is doing. Looking over at Chloe, I see her licking her lip through the moonlight that streams into my truck. It’s a move she always makes when she is nervous about something. I know what she is nervous about and I’m going to try and make it as easy as possible on her.

  Pulling into the hotel parking lot, I see Connor’s truck close to the front entrance. I tell Chloe I am going to text him and let him know we are here. I send him the following text:

  Jayson: We’re here. Parked in the back. Will meet you in the lobby.

  Connor: K. R u both coming in?

  Jayson: YES, WHY?

  Connor: Chill out, M wants to see Chloe

  Jayson: Remember what I said. Don’t piss me off.

  Connor: Get your panties out of a twist…we aren’t going to upset her.

  Jayson: I mean it…don’t try to be funny. I can tell she is really nervous.

  Connor: Then quit texting me and get in here b4 u make it worse.

  Putting my phone away, I see her looking out at the parking lot.

  I grab her hand and ask, “Are you ready to go?”

  Shrugging her shoulders, she says, “As ready as I will ever be.”

  I get out and come around to her side of the truck. She has the door open, but is still sitting there. “Hey, look at me,” I say. When she does, I tell her, “No one is going to embarrass you or say anything to upset you.”

  She shakes her head and says, “Do you know your brother and Madison at all?”

  I don’t answer because she will soon see for herself.

  As the electric doors slide open, Madison runs to Chloe like she hasn’t seen her in two years. She starts checking Chloe over and saying, “Are you ok? I’ve been so worried. Where did you go? Why did you leave?”

  I feel my temper spiking, but Connor barks out, “Madison, what did I tell you…shut that down now!”

  Though she rolls her eyes, to my surprise, she stops with the questions, but keeps hugging Chloe.

  Connor says, “Let’s get out of the entrance so people can get around us.” Looking at me, he says, “I went ahead and rented a room; if you decide not to keep it, just put the room key on the dresser when you leave. Its room 309; let’s go.”

  As we pile into the elevator, Madison hands me a bag and says, “We tried to think of everything you would need in case you weren’t coming home.

  Opening the bag, I see a huge box of condoms on top and a bottle of lube. I look at Madison and she points at Connor. Laughing, she says, “He seemed to think they were the most important items besides your toothbrush.”

  Chloe grabs the bag and looks in; seeing the condoms, she says, “He needs bigger ones…are these the ones you wear?”

  All of us explode into laughter and Connor flips her off. Maybe everything will be alright after all.

  I’m so glad to get to change out of these clothes. I’m still a little nervous about leaving Chloe while I’m changing, but I can’t put it off forever. I give them both a final glare and go into the bathroom. I leave the door cracked a little bit in case I need to get out there right away.

  Pulling off my boots, socks, jeans, and unbuttoning my shirt, I stand there in my underwear for a few minutes. Even though I took a shower at Chloe’s I still feel like I need another one. Houston weather is so hot and humid that taking multiple showers is sometimes a normal daily occurrence. Turning the water to cool, I wash off as quickly as possible. When I get out, I realize that I left my bag out in the room.

  I knot a towel around my waist, run a washcloth through my hair to keep it from dripping, and open the door. Stepping out into the room, I say, “I forgot my bag.” Madison and Chloe just stare at me while Connor points to my bag and says, “It’s over there in the chair.”

  I walk over to get my bag and I hear Madison say in a quiet voice to Chloe, “Jesus, will you look at him?!”

  And Chloe responds in a dreamy voice, “I know!”

  This makes me grin because I know exactly what is getting ready to happen.

  In an agitated voice, Connor says, “Madison! I look just like him. Why are you looking at him like he’s your last meal?”

  She gives me a wink and says, “I don’t know; there’s just something about him…” She doesn’t get any more words out before he grabs her up and mauls her mouth.

  Chloe shakes her head laughing and says, “Men, y’all are so gullible!”

  With Connor and Madison still going at it, I pull Chloe into the bathroom with me.

  “That was mean…and so perfect,” I tell her.

  She smiles at me and says, “I couldn’t resist; he gives me so much shit all the time. But, you do look pretty freaking hot, so I didn’t have to put on too much of an act once Madison got started.”

  I open the door and push her out, “You better get out there and make sure they don’t make any nieces and nephews for us to babysit.”

  Putting on the navy track pants Connor packed in my bag as well as my white “Let’s Play Doctor” t-shirt. I don’t feel like doing much to my hair so I run my fingers through it and put on my navy Dallas Cowboys hat. Finally, I find my blue Nike slides, which is great because my feet have been roasting all night in my boots. I brush my teeth, swish around some mouthwash and now I’m good to go. Wondering what’s going on out there, I take a deep breath and open the door.

  What I saw was not what I expected to see. Connor is hugging Chloe and whispering in her ear while Madison stands off to the side crying. Instantly I want to fucking punch my brother; I told him not to say anything to her!

  I walk over to them as fast as possible and just before I pull him off of her and throat punch him, I hear him say, “You’re our family now, little bit. Mom and dad love you and so does Madison. Jayson obviously loves you and I guess I do, somewhat.”

  He pulls her face up and starts wiping the tears from both cheeks with his thumbs.

  Madison comes over and puts her arms around both Chloe and Connor.

  Connor looks over at me and asks, “Do you want to help me here?”

  Smiling, I say, “It looks like you are doing a good job.”

  I go over anyway and put my arms around Chloe and Madison. Madison sighs and says, “Finally, my fantasy has come to life…getting hugged by both of the Reece twins!” Connor pushes me off of her and tells her he isn’t going to spank her ass for a week if she doesn’t behave. She mutters, “Ok, killjoy.” There’s an awkward silence while Chloe and I stare at the two of them and suddenly Connor grabs her up saying they have to go.

  The girls hug goodbye and Connor gives me a fist bump and I thank him for renting the room.

  After they leave, Chloe says, “Did you hear what he said to her?”

  Yes, I did hear, but no I don’t want to talk about it. I tell her, “Let’s just leave that stuff between them, ok?”

  She agrees, but I can see the wheels turning in her head. I have a pretty good idea what he means, but before I hurl in my mouth, I move us quickly to another subject.

  I ask her if she is ready to eat and she responds with a huge moan and says, “Oh, yes!”

  I laugh and say, “That sounds so familiar.” />
  With her cheeks blushing as pink as her t-shirt, she says, “Shut up, perv!”

  Seeing her so happy just makes me want her more and I love making her blush; it’s as cute as hell.

  Finding it impossible to keep my hands off of her, I pull her to me and kiss her. She scoots closer to me and I put my hands under her ass and pull her up against me lining up all of our good parts. The longer we kiss, she starts moaning into my mouth, and I know we are entering dangerous territory.

  Setting her back from me, I say in a ragged voice, “Ok, that’s enough for now.”

  Smugly, she smiles and says, “You started it.”

  I stroke her cheek and say, “Well, you’re kind of irresistible.” She blushes just like I knew she would and I say, “Ok, we need to get out of this room.”

  Taking her hand, I lock the door and lead her to the elevator. She seems a lot happier on the ride down than a little while ago when we were on our way to the room.

  By that time, it’s a little after 10:30 PM and we are both starving. “Have you decided what you want to eat,” I ask?

  She smiles and says, “Becks Prime.” I pull out of the parking lot and turn towards the BP restaurant.

  I grin at her and say, “You weren’t kidding about that hamburger, were you?”

  “No, I wasn’t…sorry, no cheap date tonight!” she says laughing.

  When we reach a stoplight, I lean over and kiss her and say, “You can always have anything you want.”

  In no time, we are at Becks Prime and since there aren’t too many people in the carry out lane, we are in and out of there in 20 minutes. My stomach feels like it’s eating itself now and the smell is killing me.

  Looking over at her with a really pitiful face, I say, “Can you please open that up and give me some french fries; I’m dying over here.”

  Seeing my face, Chloe shakes her head and says, “I am going to be in so much trouble if we have kids and they give me that face….” Her voice trails off and she looks shocked. She immediately starts backtracking and says, “I meant that no one could resist that face.”

  I don’t say anything because I don’t want to make her uncomfortable, but I feel like she just handed me a billion dollars; that statement proves this isn’t just a passing attraction for her.

  Once I find a parking spot around Transco Park, I see an area that is a little more secluded than the rest of the area. We are farther away from the Water Wall so there are less people around. She spreads out her big RU football blanket and we set out all the food from Becks Prime and what she brought from home. Both of us are so ravenous, we just dig in and eat; there’s no talking at all as we inhale the food in front of us.

  Finally, we’re both stuffed from the hamburgers and french fries and put our trash away. I lie down on the blanket with my head in Chloe’s lap. She pulls out her bag of strawberries and Swiss Cake Rolls and asks if I want some. I really don’t, but I’m not going to pass up the chance for her to feed me. We’re making small talk about school and work as she is feeding me. She takes the cream from the Swiss Cake Rolls and smears it across my lips, then leans down and licks it off.

  She looks very proud of herself so I tell her, “You’re playing with fire, baby.”

  This time she digs out the cream and puts her finger in my mouth. I suck it off her finger and we both just stare at each other. Seeing that there is no one around us, I pull her down on top of me and kiss the hell out of her. I run my hands up and down her thighs and ass and she moves away from me slightly. I immediately wonder how hard I spanked her.

  I start rubbing her ass and she hisses at me, “What are you doing?”

  “I was afraid your ass was sore,” I say, “So I decided to massage it.”

  She is not impressed and says, “Stop it, you are embarrassing me; if people see you, they are all going to know!”

  I do my best to keep a straight face and say, “Ok, I’ll stop.”

  Rolling her underneath me, I tell her that turnabout is fair play and I reach for the strawberries she brought with her. I rub the strawberry across her lips and lick the juice from it and suck her bottom lip into my mouth.

  I feel her flex into me and I say, “We need to stop or I’m going to fuck you right here.”

  I sit us both up and with her in my lap and I tell her that I imagine those same kids she was talking about in the truck.

  Turning towards me, she looks into my eyes and I tell her, “One day, I’m going to marry you. You’re going to be a social worker and I’m going to be an ER doctor. We’re going to have at least two or three kids that are going to make us crazy, but we’re going to love them like there’s nothing more important in life. I’m going to buy you a house on the water because I know how much you love it and we are going to be happier than you ever dreamed you could be. And of course, I’m going to fuck you every day, maybe twice. Most likely twice because one of those times, I’m going to be making love to you, not just fucking you. But, more importantly, I’m going to be loving you. You will never be lonely again and I’ll love you until I take my last breath.”

  She smiles tearfully at me and says, “I’m going to love that house on the water and those kids that have their daddy’s pouty look when he doesn’t get his way. I’m going to cook for you every day even when I’m working. If you’re working a late hospital shift, I’ll bring you some dinner so you won’t be hungry. And, if your work interferes with the fucking/lovemaking schedule, we’ll just have to make sure to find an empty room at the hospital. But, most of all, I’ll be loving you. I’ll love you forever and if you were to go before me, when I get there, I’ll find you and love you some more.”

  I pull out my phone and click on my Spotify playlist. When I find the song I’m looking for, I turn it on, pull her to her feet, and wrap my arms around her. The song, “All of Me,” by John Legend plays and my arms tighten around her. She lays her head on my shoulder and we dance right there in our own little world. I sing softly in her ear the words from the song that talk about all of me loving all of her.

  Though the song clicks off, we still stand there holding on to each other.

  She looks at me and asks, “This is really happening, isn’t it?”

  I kiss her lightly and say, “It is.”

  I feel her shiver and I know it’s late; it is starting to cool off mostly due to the water coming off of the Water Wall. We begin packing up our things, each looking at the other smiling.

  Finally, we’re done and I offer my hand to her and say, “Let’s go, princess.” She takes my hand and I tell her, “Don’t ever let go.” She smiles at me and we walk towards the truck. It feels significant…like it’s not just for tonight…it feels like forever.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Jayson

  Walking back to my truck, I ask Chloe if she wants to stay at the hotel room Connor rented or just go home. She decides that the hotel room is fine because she is so tired. I’m tired too and ready to fall into bed. This whole day seems like it has been a week.

  We make a stop by a 24-hour Walgreens for Chloe to pick up some girly stuff. I tell her she can use some of my things but I get a rundown on all the “products” she needs to make herself look “halfway decent” as she calls it. I’m too tired to argue with her about how good she always looks so I do the manly thing and say, “yeah, ok.” I don’t know what I just agreed to, but if I can just get us to the hotel and in bed; I don’t really care.

  Chloe is sound asleep when we arrive at the hotel. I try waking her up, but she is dead to the world. So, I gather up her bags and pick her up, carrying her into the lobby. We get some strange looks, but I overlook them. The concierge takes the bags so I can concentrate on carrying Chloe to our room. Though it’s late, I have a feeling all of the drama, intensity, great sex, and feelings from tonight have worn her out physically and emotionally.

  Arriving at our room, the concierge opens the door for me and carries the bags in while I place Chloe on the bed. I thank him and give
him a tip, knowing that I couldn’t had made it up here without him. I get undressed for bed and brush my teeth, then go into the bedroom to help Chloe get into bed. I pull her Chucks and socks off, her yoga pants and panties, and finally her t-shirt and bra. She looks beautiful lying there naked. I hate to wake her up, but she needs to brush her teeth and go to the restroom.

  I start kissing her neck while she grumbles and swats at me.

  I tell her, “Come on babe, you’ve got to get up.” Though she’s glaring at me, I tell her, “The sooner you get in there and get done, the sooner we can get in bed.”

  After finishing her nightly routine, I turn off the light and she curls into me. Her legs go in between mine, my arms go around her waist, and her head rests over my heart. She whispers that she loves me more than life and I try to answer back, but we’re both asleep before I do.

  The next morning I wake up to find an empty bed, but see the light on in the bathroom. For a minute, my heart skips a beat because we have woken up this very same way before…and it wasn’t a good thing.

  Suddenly, the bathroom door opens and Chloe leaps on to the bed and says, “Good morning, sunshine!”

  “Sunshine,” I say, “Really?”

  She pokes me in the side and says, “Just go with it.”

  Crawling on top of me, she says, “I seem to remember when we first met that you were going to take me to a karaoke bar. Let’s do it tonight! We can get Connor and Maddie to go. What do you think?”

  I pretend to think about it and say, “If you take off that t-shirt and move up a little ways, I think I can be convinced.”

  She winks at me and asks, “Are you bribing me with sex?”

  I pull her shirt off, suck her nipple into my mouth, and after letting it go with a pop, I say,” I do believe I am, Miss Schaeffer.”