by ANDREA SMITH
Weston shrugged, “It’s just something they do, dude. It’s beyond me.”
Weston nudges me awake. I must’ve fallen asleep once Marcus and Eva left to go have their talk, and we started watching a movie.
“Bedtime,” he said, running his fingers through my hair.
“God, I don’t think I can even get up,” I whine. “I’m still so darn full.”
“Then, I’ll carry you, wench,” Weston says with a laugh, getting to his feet and scooping me up into his arms. I start giggling at the fact that he does a very good impression of a Viking pirate.
“Wait, wait,” I say in a whisper, as I glance at the clock on the wall. “You know Marcus and Eva have been in her room talking for over an hour now. I think that’s a good sign. How about we give them some privacy?”
“Well babe, I wasn’t planning on barging in her room with you in my arms.”
I giggle, tightening my arms around his strong neck. “I know that, silly. I just meant why don’t we do our sleepover at your place?”
“Well, aren’t you the romantic.”
“I am,” I reply cockily, “but I also have an ulterior motive. We can be kind of loud when we play, so I’d feel bad if we distracted them, you know?”
Weston set me down. “Grab your coat. I see your point. And for the record, you’re way louder than I am in the sack, babe. Just sayin’.”
“Think so?” I ask, as I grab my coat and pull my boots on. “Tell you what, let’s record our next session and see who is louder?”
“Nah, that won’t work, because we’ll both be trying to stay quiet, and that’s no damn fun.”
“You’re right,” I laugh, pulling my knit hat on, “so, let’s just be all about the noise, eh bad boy?”
“I got your bad boy hanging,” he says, smacking me soundly on the behind. “Let’s roll, baby.”
And we do.
Spending the night with Weston is the perfect ending to an almost perfect day.
We make love, and then I curl into him and we fall asleep just like we always do after claiming one another the way we do in bed. I’m comfortable with him now. I think about the way we interact and it’s simply something we do without even thinking about it.
I have found happiness and contentment in the least likely place and with the least likely person I could’ve imagined. But I’m so grateful and blessed that I have. Taking the walk of shame has finally taken me where I want to be.
Weston says that I’ve taught him things he never thought he would even want to know, and I can say the same for him with me. We are a mismatch that are perfect together if that makes sense.
All I know is that, for now, I want to savor every second of our relationship. I know there will be highs and lows, good days and bad days, smooth sailing and bumps in the road, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I want to live all of it. And I hope Weston is beside me the whole way.
The End
Epilogue
The applause is deafening as the graduates disembark from the stage in the huge auditorium at Hardwick University. I’m sitting between Darcy and Carson as we wait for Weston to find us in the family section. Easton is saying something to Darcy when I feel Carson tug on my arm.
“So, did you ever think Weston would pull off graduating with honors?” she whispers to me.
“Well, of course I did. He has a brilliant mind, you know?”
She rolls her eyes and makes a gagging motion. “You are so dick-whipped aren’t you Peyton?” she replies, laughing.
“Carson, shhhh,” Darcy hisses, obviously overhearing her daughter’s last remark. My cheeks flush.
“Well you know you are,” she whispers to me. “But that’s okay. You’re really a good influence on my brother. I approve.”
I turn and gaze at her, smiling. “I approve of his sister as well,” I whisper back. “How are you doing, really?”
She shrugs and I see some of the sparkle leave her vivid blue eyes. “I feel like I’m in prison what with the way Mom and Daddy hover over me. I don’t like my new school, and I hate living with the folks but, other than that, everything is peachy keen.”
“You know, Carson, maybe if they knew you were safe---that they didn’t have to worry about your…”
“Alternative lifestyle?” she fills in for me.
“Is that really what it was?”
“No,” she finally says with a heavy sigh. “That was me trying to make a statement, live on the edge, walk on the wild side---to do one damn thing my older brother hadn’t done before me, I guess.”
I took a moment to absorb what she just told me. But I couldn’t absorb it, not for one minute. How would adopting a lifestyle such as the one she obviously had prove anything to anyone other than herself?
And then I got it.
The light bulb went off in my brain.
She did it for herself. To prove that she could, but why?
I study her face, her beautiful and perfect face as if searching for the answer there. It wasn’t as if she didn’t get the attention Weston did, she probably got more. She seemed to be the apple of her daddy’s eye, and Darcy worried about her, while Weston was pretty much left to his own devices. For the amount of time I’ve known Weston, he acts as if his father has pretty much been on his ass the last couple of years of college, and that he and his mother get on well, but she’s not overly protective or controlling with him.
If anyone has been living up to her ‘expectations,’ it’s been Carson.
“It’s too complicated to explain, Peyton. But I’m okay, I promise. I’m done with that shit. It was something I did, because, well because it was something I could have that was all mine. My dirty little secret that only I could control. Any expectations met or not would be all mine. I know this doesn’t make any sense to you.”
“No,” I whisper softly, “I get it. I understand. But I’m so glad you’re past it.”
She nods, and I see a single tear well up in one eye. She quickly brushes it away with her sleeve, and gives me a smile. “Somehow, I knew you might.”
And just then, Weston is beside our seats, standing in the aisle with his crooked grin, while Darcy is snapping digital pictures of him in his cap and gown, clutching his rolled and ribboned diploma.
“You did it, son,” Easton says, standing up to shake his son’s hand. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, Dad,” he replies, giving him a manly hug, but I couldn’t have done this well without my sidekick here. Penny taught me the value of literature, and Peyton taught me the value of my education.”
He pulls me from my seat, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me tightly, swaying me back and forth. “Weston,” I squeak, “you’re going to break me.”
“Oh, sorry, babe,” he says relaxing his grip a bit and pulling back. “You okay?”
“I am now,” I laugh. “And don’t give me so much credit. I was just telling your sister here what a brilliant mind you have.”
“But focus is another story. You keep me focused, baby.”
And the fact that he’s gone all gooey on me in front of his family causes my cheeks to warm and I know I must be beet red.
“Quit embarrassing her, Weston,” Carson pipes up, “and let’s get to the party.”
“Pictures first,” Darcy instructs.
So, for the next thirty minutes everyone is at Darcy’s mercy with the pictures. She wants pictures of Weston alone in various poses, pictures of Weston and me in various poses, pictures of Easton and Weston in various poses, pictures of Carson and Weston in various poses, and then, reluctantly, she turns the camera over to Carson to get pictures of her, Easton, and Weston together. Before they finish, I offer to take one of the whole family.
“Now,” Darcy announces, “we can head over to the party. We’ll meet you over there Weston.”
They head out, and Weston removes his cap and gown and I see he’s dressed casually for the evening events.
“Ready babe?” he asks, taking my
hand. “You know tomorrow is your night, and we’ll all be there for it. My parents are staying over.”
“Seriously?” I ask. “That’s really nice of them.”
“Hey, they really think a lot of you, and they want to meet Jake as well.”
I stop him as we’re walking out to his car in the lot. “They do?”
“Well sure, why not? I mean, he could be family some day.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, searching his face.
“Well, it’s supposed to be a surprise for your graduation tomorrow, but since you’re putting the pressure on me, I guess I’ll surprise you now.”
He’s starting to worry me with his illusive banter. He sees the look on my face and starts laughing. “It’s good news, babe, I promise.”
“Spill then.”
“Okay, well you know how I had planned on doing my post-graduate studies here?”
“Uh huh.”
“Well, I didn’t want to say anything because the school I applied to has a very low acceptance rate, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up---or yours, in case it didn’t pan out. But I got my letter a few weeks ago. I’ve been accepted in the MBA Program at Stanford. And I’ve found an apartment that is halfway between Stanford and UC Berkeley. We won’t have to be a continent apart, babe!”
My heart leaps because the truth is, I’ve been dreading the end of the summer when Weston and I would be going our separate ways. We’re close, very close, and while I knew it wouldn’t be the end of our relationship, I also knew that being that far apart was bound to be difficult to maintain, no matter how strong our feelings for one another are.
“Weston…” I murmur, “are you saying we’re going to live together?”
He looks at me closely, “Well, yeah…that was the idea. What do you think?”
“I mean, it caught me off guard. We’ve never talked about moving to that level with one another. I just want to make sure it’s the right thing to do and that we’re not rushing into anything.”
He takes my arm and leads me over to where his car is parked, helping me inside. Once he’s in the driver seat with the engine running, he turns to look at me. He nervously runs his hand through his hair.
“I don’t want to be apart from you,” he says, taking my hand. “I hoped that you felt the same way.”
He’s so botching this, as only Weston can, I think to myself, but I look at him affectionately because I know this is all new to him, just as it is to me. I know that I love Weston. I have for some time, but call me superstitious or whatever, I’ve been too chicken to tell him. I guess I took a lesson from Eva’s experience and decided that if the L word was going to be used, it was going to be used by Weston first.
“Well, yes. I don’t like the idea of being apart from you, Weston. But there’s more to it than that.”
“Like what?” he asks, frowning.
“Well, what about feelings?” I ask, trying to nudge him along just a bit.
“Well shit, Peyton. You know damn well I have strong feelings for you. I mean what have we been doing for the last six months?”
“A lot of fucking,” I deadpan, hoping like hell he gets with the program quickly before he totally sucks the romance out of it.
He bristles. “Don’t’ put it that way,” he growls. “It’s way more than that and you damn well know it.”
“Then tell me, Weston. Tell me what it is.”
“It’s love, Peyton. You know it and I know it. It’s not that I don’t love fucking you, because I do. But I also fucking love you.”
I smile and scoot closer to him, wrapping my arms around him. “It’s about damn time, Matthews. And for the record? I fucking love you too. How about we get apartments close together out in Cali?"
He lowers his lips to mine and we kiss long, and lovingly and even though life isn’t perfect, at this moment in time, my life couldn’t be any more perfect.
"Whatever you say, babe. As long as we're in the same zip code, I can hang with it. Cause you know me, the only one thing I've ever been good for is lovin'."
"Oh. My. God!" I squeal, totally delighted, "Joe Buck from Midnight Cowboy!"
Weston scoops me up and twirls me around laughing. Once I'm back on my feet, his lips find mine.
And in that special moment something tells me that Weston and I are in it for the long haul.
From the Author
Did you enjoy Weston's Story? Ever wonder how he came to be? Well, that would be Easton and Darcy's story in my G-Man Series Book #3, Night Moves.
Want a sneak peak of the steamy night that Weston was conceived? Would that be too weird?
Probably.
But, I'm known to embrace weird, so I'll go ahead and give you the scene where that happened in Night Moves. If you choose to read it, then you're right there with me, chica!!
Excerpt from Night Moves - Chapter 26
Chapter 26
As predicted, I did fall asleep during the beginning of the third movie, sprawled on the loveseat across from Easton. I awoke with a start to the loud clap of thunder that rattled the leaded glass windows in the darkened room.
"We've a line of thunderstorms rolling in," Easton remarked, seeing I was awake. "It's fairly common this time of year. You probably need to get some sleep."
"Yeah, right," I scoffed. "That's not going to happen easily with thunderstorms coming in." I gathered up my blanket and pillow, stretching as Easton turned the movie off with the remote. I'd no sooner started towards the hallway when a brilliant flash of light illuminated the room, seconds later the loud boom of thunder followed causing me to jump and let out a squeak of discomfort.
"Are you frightened of storms?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"I used to love watching them as a child," I admitted. "Until the time lightning struck a tree, and a huge limb crashed through my bedroom window. Not so much after that."
He was beside me now, watching me carefully. "You've no need to worry. I promise nothing will come crashing through your windows here."
Once we'd reached the top of the stairs, Easton stopped and turned to me. "Have a restful night, Darcy. If you need anything, my suite is just down this hallway," he said, nodding to the left.
"Thanks," I murmured, feeling flushed. The thunderous boom of the latest bolt of lightning sent me skittering to the right to find comfort beneath the covers of my bed. I finally managed to fall back asleep as the storm passed over.
Sometime later, I was once again awakened by angry claps of thunder rattling the windows in my suite unmercifully. I let out a low screech, sitting upright immediately, forgetting for the moment where I was. My heart was pounding in my chest. Torrents of rain were splashing furiously against the windows. The wind was howling through the old stone fortress and suddenly I felt as if I'd been transitioned back in time to one of those old horror movies myself.
I stared at the closed, solid oak door, bringing the bed covers up underneath my chin. My eyes were glued on the polished brass doorknob, watching and waiting for it to slowly turn with a barely audible squeak that would alert me someone was lurking behind it, preparing to pounce on me. Just as that thought finished, a blinding flash of lightning illuminated the room and a thunderous clap of thunder followed behind. I let out a scream that rivaled that of the chick from Bride of Frankenstein.
Shit Darcy! Get hold of yourself, girl.
I clapped my hand over my own mouth to keep myself quiet as the storm continued its rampage outside. Just then, I did hear the squeak of the doorknob. I saw it turn slowly as the door creaked open. I let loose with another blood-curdling scream, not giving a damn who in the hell heard me!
"Darcy," Easton said softly, swiftly crossing the distance to my bed, looking pretty damn fine in his low slung P.J. bottoms and white tee. "I heard you scream from down the hall. Are you alright?"
"I'm sorry," I gasped, shaking my head. "I guess those movies we watched and these thunderstorms rattling outside set me off. I didn't mean to wake you,
Easton."
"You didn't," he said smiling. "I was still up reading. Storms like this make it tough for anyone to sleep. Just keep telling yourself it will pass over; they always do, right?"
He was trying to ease my mind. It was actually kind of sweet. Another flash of lightning streaked through the windows and what sounded like a dynamite explosion, complete with a popping sound followed. The light from the hallway flickered a couple of times and then went out, along with the lamp I'd left on in the sitting room. I muffled another scream, diving under the covers.
"It's alright, love," his soft voice was closer. I felt the bed dip with his weight beside me. "A transformer blew, that's all. Would you like me to stay in here until we get power back?"
"Would you?" I asked timidly, not proud of the fact I was probably feeding into the "macho" he wore around his neck like a medallion.
"Certainly," he said, stretching out beside me on the bed. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close against his chest.
I could hear hail pelting against the windows in torrents, more thunder rattled off in the distance.
"You know," he whispered against the back of my neck, "they say you can know how close you are to the centre of the storm by counting the seconds between the lightning and the thunder."
"Well, I'd say we're there what with it being on top of us and all," I replied, snuggling deeper into him. I felt his amused chuckle more than I heard it. Another bolt of lightning flashed and I tensed up against him, poising myself for the thunder that would follow.
"Count, Darcy," he commanded softly. I felt Easton's hand sift through my hair, running his fingers through the strands gently. It was calming and electrifying at the same time. It was as if he and I had this magnetic force field between us that continually drew us together, regardless whether we wanted it to or not.
The thunder rolled out, making the room echo in reverberation. Another flash lit up the room, as Easton's lips lightly suckled the skin at the nape of my neck, causing me to shiver.