by R Cole
She looks out the window and becomes silent. When we finally pull up to the marina, she looks my way and asks, “Where are we?”
“Well, you wanted some place quiet so we wouldn’t be bothered. This is where I like to come when I need to be alone. It’s where we keep our boat, and I can guarantee you we’ll have no interruptions.” Plus we can stay the night comfortably if she wants. I get out and walk around to open her door and help her out of the Jeep.
Her eyes get huge as she takes in the different yachts, sailboats, and catamarans. “You have a yacht?” The breeze blows her long hair everywhere, so she grabs it and does a quick braid to secure it.
“Well, technically it’s my parents’, but I take it out more than they do.” I notice she still has no shoes on, and I don’t want her small feet getting a splinter from the pier, so I turn around and squat down. “Hop on,” I tell her and wait.
“What? You want me to get on your back?” I look over my shoulder in her direction, and I can see the excitement in her green eyes as she smiles.
“Yeah! I’m going to give you a piggyback ride.”
She laughs when she gets on. I stand up with her on my back and start walking toward the pier.
“This is unreal. I’ve never been on a boat before and definitely not one like all this.”
I don’t want her to freak out about my parents’ money, and I have a feeling she will if she thinks too long on it, so I quickly change the subject. “So, you just started dancing one day and developed into this phenomenon?” I ask, smiling, enjoying her arms and legs wrapped around me. Even backwards she turns me on, and I can feel my dick making my jeans tight.
We finally reach our destination, so I place her on her feet and step on before I reach over and help her. I hold her hand as I open the door and we walk into the cabin.
I turn on the lights and place my keys on the counter. It’s a smooth redwood and runs along the whole right side. It has different compartments with a flat screen TV that will come up with the push of a button. On the opposite side are green cloth couches and chairs that spin to face anywhere in the yacht. Large windows are on each side to show the moon reflecting off the water and farther back is a set of stairs that lead down to the only room and a small bathroom. Right of the stairs sits the kitchen area with stainless steel appliances and a bar area.
I love this place and would live here if it wasn’t for school, but having her alone for the first time makes me love it more.
“Well, when I was eight the foster mom I had enrolled me in summer dance camp because I was always dancing and watching all of her old musicals.” She has a faraway look on her face as she speaks, and I can tell she really loved this lady. “My favorite was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I would always try to imitate the dance moves.” She looks at me. “Have you ever seen it?”
I shake my head. “Musicals aren’t really my thing, but if there’s dancing like what you did tonight, I’ll definitely start watching them.” We both laugh and she playfully hits my arm. “Are you thirsty or hungry?” I ask as I walk toward the back and grab a bottle of water from the fridge. “We have anything you could ever want in here: wine, water, cokes, and even beer, but I know you don’t care for that.”
She sits at one of the stools and starts to drum her fingers on the granite counter. “Water would be great, thanks.”
I give her a water after I open it Then I walk over and spin her stool around. She just took a drink and her lips are still wet, so I step between her legs and place my arms on either side of her. I slowly lower my lips to hers and begin to suck the moisture off her lower one. She makes a sound that is so fucking sexy I feel my control starting to slip. I would love a repeat of earlier, only naked. I know if I want her to talk, I need to stop. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. “Let’s go sit on the couch.” I take her hand and start to lead her over but she stops.
“What’s downstairs?” she asks shyly and looks at everything but me.
I don’t want her to think we have to have sex tonight, so I lift her chin with my finger so she has to look at me. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. That’s not why I brought you here.”
She starts to giggle and I’m confused at first until she clarifies why. “Actually, what I really want to do is use the ladies room, and I’m hoping one is downstairs.”
I laugh then take her hand to lead her to the bedroom. The colors are similar to the upstairs. A green comforter decorates the large, redwood bed. It takes up most of the space so there’s not much room to maneuver. The bathroom is before you reach the room, so I sit on the large bed and wait for her to come out.
I’m deep in thought, resting my head in my hands, thinking of everything that has happened in the last hour when I feel the bed dip. She’s sitting beside me and I can tell she’s nervous because her back is rigid and she’s biting her lip. I grab her hand and lace our fingers together, trying to let her know I’m here no matter what she’s about to tell me.
“I was abandoned right after my sixth birthday by my parents. After a few weeks by myself, I was discovered and placed in foster care, when I was able to start school for the first time.” She takes a breath and I just sit and wait for her to continue. I already knew this, but hearing it still pisses me off on her behalf.
“My parents' weren’t the best, but they were mine. I don’t remember too much about them, only the fights and the parties they always threw. Being in school was hard because I watched the interactions between my classmates and their parents throughout the years and knew that what I had was different. They liked their dope and liked to drink, so more than anything I was an inconvenience.” She lets out a bitter laugh and looks down at her hands that I’m still holding. “Luckily, my mom had registered my fingerprints at some point so DHR was able to find out my name.”
I don’t know what to say, so I just gather her in my arms and hold her. Her childhood was so different than mine, and I can’t imagine what she went through. “It’s kind of funny that my last name is the only love I’ve ever known. Well, until Ms. Freeman came into my life.” She pulls away and looks at me with a genuine smile. “She was the sweetest lady and helped me to see that I was more than a paycheck. She always encouraged me to be myself and told me I could become anything I wanted. She never married or had children of her own, so she fostered throughout her life instead.”
“What happened to her?” I ask, wanting to thank this woman for teaching Tru how special she is.
I watch the happiness disappear as her eyes fill with tears. “The summer I turned fourteen she was killed by a drunk driver on her way to watch me dance.” I wipe away the tear that falls down her cheek. “After that I was bounced from home to home until I turned eighteen and was kicked out. Apparently, since I wasn’t worth a paycheck anymore, I also wasn’t worth anyone’s time.”
When she doesn’t continue, I’m sure what she’s about to tell me is the hardest part of her story. “What did you do then?”
“I moved in with my boyfriend Brad. I really didn’t have a choice at the time because I was still in high school. We had only been dating a few weeks at the time...well, if you can call hanging out at his apartment dating.” She lets go of my hand and stands up to pace around the cabin. “Sorry, I just have to move. I’ve never told anyone this and it’s hard.”
She continues to pace for a few minutes to gain her thoughts, and I sit patiently and wait. “I eventually became pregnant. I was so happy and thought Brad would be to.” She looks at me and rubs her stomach, and I picture her with a large round belly. “At first the abuse wasn’t that bad. I mean it was similar to some of the foster homes I lived in. A slap here, a push there, but nothing I wasn’t used to.” She stops and looks at me for a second, and I see the pain resurfacing in her eyes. “Then he started using more and more drugs with his friend Tony. The higher and more drunk he got, the more violent he became.” She takes a deep breath, and her eyes well up with tears. “
I was still in my first trimester one night when Tony asked if he could try me out. I didn’t think Brad would let him, in fact I thought he’d be pissed off.” Red is all I can see as I listen to her tell me of how this Tony guy rapes her and Brad watches the whole time. I can’t help but get up and take her in my arms because I need to do something with my hands before I drive to Atlanta to beat that mother fucker’s ass. “I’m so sorry, Tru. You didn’t deserve that. No one does.” I breathe deep to soften my voice and ask her even though I dread the answer. “Was that the only time?”
She shakes her head against my chest and clings to me with her arms around my waist. I vow right here and now to never let her hurt ever again and to make her smile every day even if it kills me.
She calms enough and pulls away to continue, but her voice is still choked up. “I had received my scholarship and finally made the decision to get out because I didn’t want my son growing up in that lifestyle. I wanted better for him, but Brad found my letter one day while I was at school.”
Her face collapses and she starts to break down. I catch her just as her knees give out, then I slowly lower her to the floor while she releases her grief. Between her sobs of anguish she continues. “I tried to protect him, I did. I even fought back for the first time, but it just made him angrier.” I cradle her in my arms and feel my own eyes start to burn while hers soak through my shirt and her body convulses from her cries.
Just seeing her in this torment is breaking my own heart. I can’t imagine the suffering she’s going through and the heartbreak she feels. I tighten my arms around her, waiting for her to continue.
Her voice is so grief stricken and angry I squeeze her tighter, desperate to make it better.“I wanted him so bad and I still do. I was going to finally have someone. Someone to love and love me in return, but he was taken away and I was left alone again,” she screams and bangs my chest with her fist, but I refuse to let go. If this is the only way to help her, then I’ll take as many blows as she wants to give me.
When she finally calms down, I still won’t let go of her. “What happened to him?” I ask in a soft voice so she knows I’m talking about her son and not that son of a bitch who did this.
“He was too small and his lungs weren’t ready. He passed away eighteen hours after I was brought into surgery for an emergency C-section. Somehow my neighbor heard the fight and ran for help. The cops arrested Brad, and I was rushed to surgery for a punctured liver.”
I remember the scar and my hand slides to caress that area, wishing I could erase it. “I was thrown on a piece of glass during the fight and started to bleed out. I don’t remember much other than waking up terrified in the hospital.” She pulls back and smiles at me with wet eyes. “He was so strong and beautiful even though he was so small.”
“What was his name?” I wipe her tears away with my thumb as I hold her cheek.
“Brian Matthew Love. I know it’s a pretty common name, but Brian means strength. I chose it because he gave me the strength to believe I can make something beautiful from this disastrous mess of my life.”
She takes a breath and her smile falls. “I had to support myself to live on my own. I didn’t have any friends to turn to, and my classmates just listened to the rumors of how I tried to kill my son by stabbing myself. So I waitressed at an adult club at night to save enough money to pay my hospital bills and make the move for school. I actually was desperate enough to go on stage one night, but I could never do it again.”
She tries to look away in shame, but I won’t let her and make her look in my eyes. “Tru, look at me. You were beautiful before I knew all this, but now you’re the strongest and most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. I’m in awe of how you’ve overcome the shit life has thrown at you.” I kiss her with my emotions of longing coming through until we are both breathless. Then I stand up and lift her in my arms to carry her to the bed so I can hold her against me. I lie there letting my hands rub every inch of her skin that’s visible until her breathing evens out. Before I fall asleep I tell her that I love her even though I know she can’t hear me.
The sun causes a red tint behind my eyelids and my brain finally wakes from sleep. I can hear the seagulls and feel the rock of the boat, but I still don’t open my eyes because I’m scared that everything that happened last night might turn out to be a dream. When I feel strong arms around me and a warm mouth on the base of my neck moving down toward my shoulder blade, I know it’s real. I feel as though a thousand pound weight is lifted, and I’m no longer alone in the world. I smile a secret smile but keep my eyes closed so Jax won’t stop the sweet torture his mouth is causing.
I feel his body shift behind me, and I know he’s watching, so I quickly try to relax my features. “What are you smiling about, beautiful?”
Busted. I slowly blink my eyes open, but the small window allows the sun to shine in, and I have to close them again. When I roll over onto my back and glance in his direction, he leans over me and I can only stare. Immediately, I feel my heart pick up and the flutter returns full force. His smile is gorgeous all the time, but pairing it with his messy dark hair, sleepy eyes, and morning stubble, it’s just...more. I don’t even have a word for it.
I reach up and outline his lips with my fingers then glide my hand over his cheek, loving how his stubble tickles my palm. When I bring my eyes back up to meet his, I notice he’s no longer smiling. The heat is back in his stare, and his eyes are almost black, pupils dilated.
Having more confidence than usual, I bring my hand to the back of his neck then pull his mouth down to mine and kiss him deeply. He opens his mouth and lets me have control of the kiss. I feel empowered from it, so I nibble on his lower lip in my mouth, and I’m rewarded with a chest vibrating growl. The moment is ruined when we hear a loud noise, and I know right away it’s my traitorous stomach demanding food.
He starts to laugh and I’m mortified, so I cover my face with my hands to hide the redness and try to get up. “Hey, where do you think you’re going?” he asks, still laughing as he holds me down and under his strong body. Even though I’m embarrassed from what just happened, I still feel a heat grow in my lower stomach from the feel of his weight on me.
My voice is muffled behind my hands. “To jump in the water and drown myself.”
He straddles my body and grabs my hands to pull them from my face. “Well if you do that, then I wouldn’t be able to take you riding on my jet ski, but of course that’s after I feed you.” He winks and bends down and places a chaste kiss on my lips.
“Mmmmm breakfast,” I say on a moan. I’m so hungry my mouth waters just from the thought of bacon. “I can’t swim though so a jet ski ride might not be a good idea.”
“Well, you’ll have a life jacket on, and I’ll go easy. I don’t want to lose the feel of you wrapped around me.” He kisses me again then gets up to stretch.
I watch as his shirt climbs up for a second, giving me a teasing peek of hard muscle and a dusting of hair below his naval. I shiver internally then get up to use the ladies’ room.
When I come out he’s already upstairs, so I make the bed before going up. I find him cleaning up and putting things back where they belong. He looks up and smiles at me as I approach.
“You ready?” he asks me as he walks my way and I nod. “Good because there’s nothing to eat besides chips and sardines. I doubt that’s what you want first thing in the morning.”
Ewww. “Or ever,” I say while we head out of the yacht. When I step outside I’m captivated. The salty morning air smells and feels wonderful, plus the view is breathtaking. The water is a green-blue, and it’s smooth like glass with the sun reflecting off it. I can already see people out on the water and walking along the shore. Since it’s Labor Day, everyone is off work.
Once again he gives me a ride on his back and it’s just as wonderful as the first. I watch as a pelican flies away from the pier and goes in the direction of the huge Ferris wheel. I’d really like to ride it before we head back to schoo
l, but I don’t want to seem needy.
“You scared of heights?” Jax asks me as he sets me down and we get in his Jeep.
“Not that I know of. Why?” I ask with suspicion in my voice. I’ve seen people parasailing and I know I’m not ready for anything like that. Besides, I bet it’s expensive and I only brought so much money with me. I definitely don’t want Jax to feel like he needs to pay for me.
“I just want to know about you, Tru. Like I said before, I want to know everything about you.” He winks and starts the Jeep. As he pulls on the highway he asks, “What’s your favorite color?”
I smile and say, “Purple. And yours?”
He doesn’t answer at first but pulls down my sun visor and opens the mirror. I must show my confusion. “Just look in the mirror.”
I do as he says, thinking that I’ll see something, but all I see is my reflection. “What am I looking at exactly?”
“The most beautiful green eyes I’ve ever seen. They remind me of the ocean before it turns blue as it reaches the horizon.” His voice is soft and his expression completely serious. I can only sit there and asks myself how was I lucky enough to find this man?
We reach his parents’ home, and my nerves are a complete mess. I hope everyone’s still asleep and won’t see us sneaking in wearing the same clothes as the night before. I don’t need my first weekend in their home to shame me enough so they won’t have me back over. I bite my lip so hard when Jax opens my door that I’m surprised I don’t taste blood.
He grabs my face with both hands and stares me in the eyes. “Hey, calm down,” he says softly with a smile, and I start to feel better. “They won’t care or think any less of you for coming in this morning. My parents are pretty awesome, and since we’re both adults, nobody will say shit to you.” He grabs my hand and leads us over to the beautiful white beach house.
It’s resting high on large pillars and has a large staircase that leads to a wraparound porch that’s decorated with beautiful tropical plants. A brown wicker sitting area is on one end and a porch swing is on the other. It has windows with light blue shutters and a deck from the master bedroom that faces the ocean. The interior is just as open and clean, with a large room to watch TV, and is only separated from the kitchen by a bar that has a sink in the corner. All the rooms are on the second level, except McKenzie’s due to her wheelchair, and they all have bathrooms. That’s a lot of plumbing with five bedrooms.