Safe With Me, Part 8 (The End)

by Shaina Richmond

  She laughed.

  "So what happened?" I asked. "Did I ruin you for all other men?"

  "Something like that, yeah." She looked away, shuddering. "I can't stand the thought of anyone else. It meant something with you. It always did. You're the only guy I've been with since the day we met."

  "Wow." Yeah, I knew I had to take her home with me. One night? That wasn't gonna happen. "I love you."

  I put the car in drive, then put my arm around her, holding her close as I steered down the empty two-lane road, intent on finding a place to pull over. There was no way I could wait five whole miles to get to my hotel room. I had to have her now.

  The first place I found was an old gas station. It was obviously long forgotten about, with gas prices from 2009 still listed on the signs out front. I pulled into the parking lot and drove around back where there was another set of gas pumps. Behind those was a tall wooden fence. I pulled up close to it in the shadiest section I could find. That was good enough hiding for me.

  "Sorry, baby." I put the car in park and left the engine running. "I know it's not the most romantic spot but I can't wait."

  She smiled as she turned her head to look around at the building, the fence, and the old gas pumps. "It's the best place ever. Remember that night on our way to McMurraysville? Behind that old gas station?"

  I had to kiss her before the lump in my throat became tears. "Yeah." I drew her into my arms, kissing her, but not for long. I needed more of her, quickly. I pulled away and said, "Backseat."

  We both immediately opened our doors. She ran around to my side of the car. I unzipped my shorts and pushed everything down and sat inside, then watched her lovely eyes glance around outside as she unzipped and let her shorts fall to the ground. She squealed as she flew inside the car, my hands on her hips pulling her into a straddling position.

  I closed my eyes as she descended on top of me. "Ohhhh," I breathed. And I was inside her again. Finally, I'd returned to my favorite place in the whole world.

  She sat there, barely moving. My arms were around her back, holding her tight, prepared to stop her if she wanted to speed up. I needed to keep still and just feel her for a while.

  I pulled her forward, kissing her forehead, her cheek, her ear. I whispered, "I love you."

  Her lips blew a gentle breath against my neck. She said, "I love you, too."

  She felt so nice sitting there, kissing my neck, loving me. Being my woman.

  I put one hand on the back of her head and wove my fingers in her hair. Then I kissed her temple and said, "Never leave me again."

  She let out a little gasp.

  Afraid she might say something to ruin my perfect moment, I pulled her face to mine and kissed her.

  She enthusiastically met my lips as her body started to move up and down. I held her close in my arms to control her speed. Nice and slow. That's how I needed her.

  After a while, I thought I heard another car in the parking lot so I broke our kiss and opened my eyes. There was no one. But I sat back and kept my eyes open to keep a lookout.

  How could she look so different but still look exactly the same? Her face was as lovely as ever. Paler than usual. That silly hair made her look kind of gothic. And her body. There was a lot less of her to grab with my hands. I missed the way that luscious body felt on top of me, but I still loved the woman inside. Shit, it didn't even matter what she looked like. She'd always be my Susie.

  I started to move her a little faster. "I love you."

  She smiled. "I love you too."

  "So, tell me that story again about how no other man can ever compare to me."

  She put her hands on my shoulders and threw her head back, laughing.

  "Come on. Tell me. I've ruined you for all other men."

  She laughed for a moment longer then calmed down and looked deep into my eyes. "Okay." She lightly cleared her throat and said in a husky voice, "Mr. Campbell."

  "Ooh, yeah." A nice start. She knew me too well. I started to move her body faster.

  She let out a giggle, her eyes on mine. "You've ruined me for any other man."

  "Keep going."

  "I don't want anyone else inside me."

  "Yeah." I moved her faster.

  "I can't stand the thought of being with another man."

  I knew it. She only wants me. I thrust my hips up to meet hers. "Yes…yes…"

  "Oh yeah." She moaned, her eyes softening. "Oh, that's so good."

  "Yeah."

  "Mmm…you're so good, Tyler."

  I grabbed her waist tight and pulled her up and down as my thrusts increased. "Keep going baby."'

  She smiled. "You're the best. No man can ever compare to you."

  "That's right."

  "You're so good. You've ruined me." She closed her eyes and let out a scream. "Yes! I love you!"

  Change of plans. I needed to pound her. I shoved her tote bag off the seat and watched it hit the floor, then I lifted her away from me and sat her down beside me. "Lay down."

  She rolled down to the seat and pushed herself backward until the top of her head touched the door.

  I knew there was a reason I rented this full-sized car. The backseat was large enough for me to put her foot on the back of the driver's side bucket seat and raise her other knee with my arm. If she was uncomfortable in that odd position, she didn't show it. She merely laughed and said, "I can't wait for this."

  Smiling, I planted one hand against the door near her head and held her leg to my waist. I took one more look around outside to make sure we were alone. And then I stared down into her eyes and laid into her.

  "Tyler!"

  Anyone watching from a distance could probably see the car shaking. I didn't hold back. I wanted to fill every part of her. She looked in my eyes, joyfully screaming, "I love you!" over and over until I released deep inside her.

  I let my body rest softly on top of hers, propping myself up to keep from crushing her. Her hand went to my sweaty hair. My cheek rested against her breast.

  I panted for air. "Next time there'll be foreplay. Lots of foreplay."

  She laughed. "Don't worry about it. I got exactly what I wanted." She kissed the top of my head. "I forgot how good you were."

  I took a deep breath and softly said, "Can't let you forget again." Another breath. "You gotta come home with me."

  "Tyler—"

  "Shh. Let me catch my breath." I didn't have the energy to argue with her, and I knew it'd be one hell of an argument.

  We stayed there in silence until I had just enough breath to sit up. Soon we were both dressed, sitting in the front seat, holding hands as I navigated the car with one arm down a road that was totally unfamiliar to me.

  She spoke first. "So I was that easy to find, huh?"

  "Not really. I think I just got lucky." I tightened my grip on her hand. "Maybe I was meant to find you."

  "Aw." She leaned over and put her cheek against the top of my arm. "We'll have to make tonight count, then."

  I groaned. "Susie…"

  "I told you. One night." She sat up straight, away from me. "Let's just enjoy it. Live like it's our last night on Earth."

  Might as well be my last fucking night on Earth if it means I'll never see you again… I sighed, this time keeping my groan to myself. We could argue about it later. For now, I would pretend she hadn't just said that. "So, what made you move here? Looks like the town's about gone." As we got closer to the small downtown area of Britta, Indiana, I saw more and more empty businesses and 'For Sale' signs.

  "Yeah, it's been hit pretty hard by the economy," she said. "This side of town looks worse than the rest."

  "Must be doing well enough to sustain a strip club."

  She chuckled. "I guess so."

  "Do I even need to ask what you're doing there? Is it fun or something?"

  "Well, I sure didn't do it for the money." She paused. "One day I was out shopping and I started talking to a girl who worked there. She was nice. I was bored. It gave
me something to do."

  "Okay."

  "Hey, it's not that bad. I only worked day shift. It's pretty laid back. They only let a few girls work at Flippers during the day. There's less pressure to hustle the customers."

  "Hustle the customers?"

  "Yeah, it's hard work. Too much work for me. I just like to sit and listen to people. That's how I ended up with so many regulars in the VIP area. Just sat there listening. Same guys over and over."

  "Hmm. A lot of lonely guys, huh?"

  "Uh-huh." She produced a slight giggle. "But remember what I said. You're the only man I've been with. I kept it clean. I can't say that about a couple of the other girls." She sighed. "Anyway, that's why I decided to work there. I needed someplace to be during the day."

  "So, you were a stripper before? Was it when you did porn?"

  Her throat cleared. "It's dancer. And yes. Preferred it to movies."

  It was so weird to hear her speak of it so casually when she used to go to such great lengths to hide it from me. I didn't need to hear more. There were times when I was grateful to have so many pictures and videos to remind me what she looked and sounded like, but not today. Today was about us.

  I said, "So, tell me why you moved to Britta. I've never heard of it. You know someone here?"

  She looked a little sad when I glanced at her. "No, but I was here before."

  "When?"

  She hesitated and let out a long sigh. "It was right after I met my real dad, Preston. He knew all these fancy resorts hidden away all over the world. The first place he ever took me was The Hotel Britta. It's on the other side of town."

  "You wanna go there now?"

  "No."

  "You sure? We need to eat somewhere. They have a restaurant?"

  "I never go there. I just like being in the same town. It's crazy, I know."

  "It's not crazy."

  "Yeah it is." She laughed. "You don't have to lie to me."

  "I'm not lying. I get it." After all the stupid shit I did because I missed my Dad? Yeah, I got it. "So, it's about time for dinner. What're you in the mood for?"

  "Nothing."

  "When's the last time you ate?"

  I waited for her to talk, but when she paused so long, I looked over to see her glaring at me with a scowl.

  "What?" I asked.

  "I know I've lost weight, but I really do eat. I'm just not hungry right now."

  "Okay. So, we goin' to your place or mine?"

  "Yours."

  "Okay. There's a small fridge and a microwave. I bought enough food to last us maybe a few days."

  "Tyler." Her voice was oddly harsh. "I told you, one night. I'm leaving tomorrow."

  Yeah, we'll see. She wasn't going anywhere. Right then, we came to a stoplight. As I put my foot on the brake, I brought her hand to my lips and gave it a kiss.

  She shot me a skeptical glance like she could read my mind, then she looked straight ahead. "So how's everyone?"

  "Everyone? That could take a while."

  "Give me the abbreviated version."

  Even if I knew for certain that I had the rest of my life to spend with her, I didn't want to waste a minute talking about anyone but us. I inhaled generously and spoke fast. "Most people graduated and went home for the summer. Corbie decided to go to grad school in the fall. Joan's supposed to transfer to another school next year. My old roommates tried to rent your old house but your aunt wouldn't let ‘em."

  She laughed. "That figures. So, she's taking renters now?"

  "She told Mom she'd rather do that than let it sit there empty. I was surprised you gave it back to her."

  She shrugged. "I didn't want the hassle. I paid some people to get all the important things outta there." She let out a loud sigh and said, "So what about you? Grad school in the fall?"

  "Nah. There's nothing there for me anymore. I'm back home." The light turned green and I stepped on the gas.

  She quickly changed the subject, ignoring the obvious reason I decided against grad school. "So, your family. How's your mom? Ernie? Aaron and Daisy?"

  I took a minute to tell her about my family, which wasn't very interesting. Hell, nothing was interesting compared to the fact that she was sitting next to me for the first time in months.

  As we got closer to my hotel I had this urge to keep on driving. Take her by force. But I knew, as good as that sounded in my head, she was smart and she had money. She could always find a way to leave. I had to make her choose me. Make her never want to leave. I had to think fast. I'd won her over before. Somehow, I had to make it happen again. There was little time to take it slow and woo her. I fought every one of my urges to scream and tell her how wrong she was. I wanted to argue and analyze, but that would probably only make her leave quicker. I had to force myself to be gentle when I wanted to shake her until she came to her senses.

  I then realized she was asking a lot of questions. It was probably her way of changing the subject. She was always so damn good at that. Maybe if I asked her questions instead…"Why don't you wanna go to your apartment? I'd love to see it."

  "Uh, no. It's boring."

  "You got someone else living there?"

  "No."

  "Then why can't I see it?"

  "You just can't."

  "Okay." Be gentle, Tyler. Next question. "So, why an apartment? I thought you liked living in a house."

  "Houses are too much upkeep. I like to keep it simple."

  "So, you rent?"

  "Yes."

  "In case you have to get up and leave town again? Is that why you got an apartment?"

  She sighed. "What about you? Are you still living in the same house?"

  "Yes. And it's more than big enough for both of us. I'm adding a couple of rooms, too. I like to have places to hide my shit." Just like you. Please come live with me and we can have as many locked rooms as you want. No questions asked. Fuck. Even in my thoughts I sounded pathetic.

  "Okay, I see what you're doing. We have one night. Let's make the most of it, please?"

  We had just entered the parking lot of my hotel. I stayed quiet until I parked the car, cut off the engine, and removed my seatbelt. Then I turned to her, finding it difficult to be subtle. "Can you seriously just leave me tomorrow like nothing ever happened? After seeing me again and making love to me? After all this time? You're just gonna leave me?"

  Her eyes looked pale blue against that dark hair color. She turned to me, her cheek against the back of her seat, and said, "I never said it'd be like nothing ever happened. It's gonna be hard but it's the best thing for both of us. I told you already, we want different things."

  "Yeah, you told me that and a whole lot more. You're scared. That's what you told me. You'll never let anyone get close to you because you're afraid they might die and leave you."

  She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm scared, okay? I admit it." She shrugged. "What's it matter? We'd be foolish to think it could ever work without me getting all crazy and running you off someday."

  "Aw, shit—"

  "Besides, I don't see the big deal. Be in love with me tonight. Remember when you used to say that to me?" She smiled. "It was so sweet."

  "We're way past that now. I'm not even gonna bring up the hours you owe me. I didn't come here to play games. I came here to take you home with me." I put my hand on her neck and slid up to lace my fingers through her bright red hair.

  "Tah-ler.."

  It was the first time all day I'd heard a hint of her accent. Forgot how much I loved it. I smiled and pulled her face to mine.

  We kissed for a long time. With every movement of my lips, I silently commanded her to stay with me forever. I screamed it in my thoughts, hoping she'd read my mind and obey.

  I pulled away when I felt her tears hit my cheek. Immediately, I ran my thumb across her face to dry it.

  She sniffled. "You have no idea how screwed up I am."

  "That's not true. I know it. I just don't care."

  She laughed softly. "That's stu
pid."

  "No, it means I'm screwed up, too."

  Her pretty head shook. Her voice was soft. "Let's just go inside."

  At least she's still with me. I'd said a whole lot more than I planned to say, and she was still with me. She could've asked me to take her home to her apartment, but she wanted to go to my hotel room. This was progress. This made me feel good about things.