Take My Breath Away

by Wendy L. Wilson

  Judd stops his caress across my shoulder and turns to his side so that we are facing each other.

  “No, why would I be mad at you?” he replies so quickly with such certainty that all the worries I had are lost.

  “It’s just that Bethany kind of still makes me uncomfortable.” He grits his teeth and looks at me as if he fears my reaction.

  I laugh, pushing at his chest as I assure him of her intentions, “She is over it all. Don’t worry about her.”

  He stares at me with an unreadable look on his face and opens his mouth to say more, then decides not to. Closing his mouth, he presses his lips together in a straight line and squints his eyes as if he’s in deep thought.

  “Are you sure nothing is wrong?” I ask again, puzzled by his hesitation.

  “Yeah, I mean no . . . I’m fine; nothing’s wrong.”

  Yet, I still don’t feel confident that he isn’t holding something back, but I make my mind up to let it go. I’m more than likely being paranoid.

  He looks up to the ceiling before continuing our conversation.

  “So, how long have you two been friends?”

  I roll onto my back to lie beside him, staring at the reflection of the street lights shining through his window above us.

  “Since the end of our junior year. Kyle was the quarterback and pretty popular, so when he asked me out it kind of put me in the limelight. Bethany was on the cheerleading squad with me, but I usually kept to myself and didn’t associate much with the other girls outside of games and practice. She approached me one day after school and said she had heard I was going out with Kyle and, after that, we became quick friends.”

  Judd shifts back onto his side with a quizzical look. “So before that you were never friends? Did she and Kyle ever date?”

  Why the fascination with Kyle all of a sudden?

  “No . . . they never dated. Why are you asking that?” I stare at Judd, looking for some clue of where this conversation is headed.

  He shrugs his shoulders and pulls my hand into his, running his fingertip over each of my knuckles.

  “I was just curious about how you all met. So you have basically been friends with her for only a little over a year?”

  Huffing out a small laugh, I cock my head to the side and analyze each turn this conversation is taking. I assume the whole past situation with Bethany is still weighing on his mind more than he is telling me.

  “I’m just curious, that’s all,” he pauses, clearly sensing my bewilderment in this line of questions, but then he goes on, “So you dated Kyle for a year until he cheated on you and then that’s when you met me,” he says it more as a statement rather than asking me, but I still shake my head.

  “It doesn’t bother you that you don’t know who the girl was?”

  This takes me by surprise and my face falls. That moment hurt me more than I care to think of, although, it worked out for the best, I don’t care to revisit it.

  I start to persuade him to change the subject when he opens his mouth to go on, “You said Bethany was at the same party, didn’t you? Do you think she knows who he was with, possibly?”

  Ok, I’m really ready to move this subject in a different direction.

  “Actually it really doesn’t matter to me who she was. She obviously didn’t care that he had a girlfriend, but you know what? That was a good thing, because if it had not been for that girl, I would not have gone to the lake . . .” I slide a little closer to Judd, trying to turn this warped conversation into something a little more light and playful. I start to walk my fingers up his chest, instantly feeling his muscles tense. He looks down at my hand with a sneaky smile on his face that tells me my attempt is working. “ . . . and then I would have never met you.”

  I end the sentence with my body pressed up against him while moving in to place a slow kiss onto his mouth-watering lips. He grabs ahold of my hand on his chest and holds it there while nudging my mouth open with his tongue; deepening the kiss. Finally. I breathe out a triumphant sigh.

  The kiss guides us back into the throws of passion and pleasure, but in the back of my mind, I still wonder why he would be concerned with such silly information. He has always been slow to talk about painful topics in his life, plus he is usually so understanding and compassionate about pain I have went through, so why these questions? What is the point?

  Soft, moist kisses send tingles down my spine and I toss all thought out the window. Judd is always straight forward and is not one to keep secrets so there is no need for me to worry about this. Especially not now, I think as I let out a whimper as Judd sucks on my earlobe. Definitely not now!

  SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH, I WAKE UP bright and early on Saturday morning, ready for a jam packed day. We had promised to run several errands for Bethany to aid in her attempt to throw the best Halloween party ever. Normally we would spend the entire weekend at my parent’s; however, Mom insists that we take a break to enjoy life. She worries that the constant flip-flopping back and forth and the stress of the situation is going to affect my grades. I agreed to stay away for one day, but am most definitely going to visit first thing Sunday.

  Abby was also instructed to take a day off. She and Piper have decided to crash the party later tonight. Judd invited Evan, but he is busy this weekend and won’t be back until Sunday.

  I stretch my leg over to Judd’s side, eagerly anticipating the brush of his skin on mine. However, my excitement for the day ahead takes a nose dive when I notice no legs where they should be. I open my eyes and look up expecting to see him curled up beside me, but all I find is a crumpled up pillow and an empty bed.

  The soft cotton fabric sweeps over my skin as I sit up and look around the room, from his large dresser across from the bed, past his closet, over to the nightstand that sits only an arm’s length away from me. On the worn out oak table beside his bed sits a single sheet of notebook paper with my name on it. My heart stammers as I eagerly grab the paper into my hands with a cheesy grin on my face.

  I pull the note to my chest, breathing out a content sigh. I love him so much!

  Placing the letter down to read it again, a clicking sound from the front door has my heart climbing into my throat. I hastily toss the letter back where it was and lay back down in bed. Him waking me up doesn’t sound too bad!

  I flip onto my stomach quickly, pull the sheet up and close my eyes.

  My ears pick up on a sweeping sound and then a quiet snap that tells me he just shut the door. The floor lets out a creek to let me know it is being walked on and then there is silence. I keep my eyes closed but for a second my mind starts to race with ideas of a mass murderer standing over me raising a knife in the air ready to plunge it into my back. I flinch at the thought, but dismiss it and turn my head away from the figure that I know is standing over me. My eyes remain closed the whole time.

  The edge of the mattress sinks down beside me and I have to refrain from giggling. I feel like I am sweating profusely from the stress of trying to lie still. Something soft runs down the length of my back and I hear a crunching sound. I draw my eyebrows in, puzzled by what it is.

  As the bed shifts, I feel heat radiating off of his body as he moves against my side. Something as soft as silk slides up my right arm at the same time that Judd’s warm breath tickles my ear.

  “I know you’re awake.”

  The giddiness that was threatening to bubble to the surface erupts into laughter as I flip over and am nose to nose with Judd. His gorgeous dimple is showing and he is looking at me, completely amused.

  In an attempt to wipe the silly grin off his face, I lean forward to kiss him when suddenly a handful of pale pink roses fill the gap between us. I open my mouth and look at him in awe causing his smile to widen.

  “Happy one month anniversary.” His words instantly have me doing a silent countdown to tally up the days.

  We got back together on September 25th and Halloween is a week away. Holy cow! It has been a whole month already?

  “Has
it really been a month?” I ask trying to play down the mental guilt trip I am giving myself.

  How is it that he remembered something like this but it didn’t even dawn on me? I’m an ass!

  I grab the flowers from his hands and stare at him in complete wonderment. With my eyes closed, I bend my neck and inhale the floral scent of the roses, letting it tickle my nostrils and nearly making me sneeze.

  “They’re beautiful.” I smile, letting the heavy thuds of my heart inch my lips up further the longer I look at him.

  “You’re beautiful,” Judd replies, leaning in to woo me even more with a passionate kiss.

  He pulls away and flashes me a loving smile, which will never cease to melt my heart.

  I look down at the flowers, feeling a little guilty that I didn’t remember today was significant, let alone do something special for him.

  “I can’t believe it’s been a month already.” I bite my lip and look into his eyes. “I have to admit . . . I didn’t remember.”

  I’m so undeserving of these lovely flowers. He shakes his head and grabs the flowers from me, placing them on the nightstand behind him.

  “I can’t see why. It’s not like you’ve had anything going on.” He rolls his eyes in a teasing way and pulls me against his chest. “I couldn’t decide whether you were a red rose kind of woman or a mixed arrangement or what, so I went with this color.” He points over his shoulder to the flowers. “It’s the color of the tank top you wore the first day I ever saw you.”

  My heart skips a beat at the fact that he remembers what I wore that day. I bounce up onto my knees feeling the springs in the mattress as I get situated so that I can wrap my entire body around him in a gigantic hug.

  “I love you so much, Judd. How did I get so lucky?”

  He snickers and then tugs my chin down with his fingertips so he can look at me.

  “I’m the lucky one.” He plants another seductive kiss on my lips and then jumps to his feet. “Now, get changed before I decide we’re not leaving this bed.”

  I forgo showering and throw my hair up in a clip; I’ll shower before I get all gussied up in my costume later anyway. After slipping on some gray yoga pants and an oversized black hoodie, we head out the door in a rush.

  “Why are you in such a hurry to get the party decorations? We have all day, you know?” I laugh as he slams the passenger door of his truck and then sprints to the driver’s side.

  Shutting the door behind him, he settles in behind the steering wheel, puts the key in the ignition and looks over to me with a smile.

  “I was just hoping we could get everything done by noon.” Raising then lowering his eyebrows in a quick, flirty motion, he adds, “I have a surprise planned for later.”

  Bubbling with excitement, a burst of giggles erupts from me as I try to imagine what the surprise could be.

  “I can’t have a clue?” I flash him my best pouty face.

  “Not a chance,” he snickers as he throws the truck into drive and pulls out.

  “It was worth a try.” I look at him through the corner of my eye and can see the amusement on his face. “Ok, then let’s hurry and get this over with.” I laugh as Judd heads in the direction of the Halloween shop.

  Once we’re inside the shop, Judd grabs a cart.

  “I’m not going to be much help here, so I’ll push, you shop,” he says, bringing to mind that I actually have no idea what Bethany wants either.

  I lead the way through the store, tossing in a spooky tunes CD, several bags of spider webs, black streamers and a witch’s cauldron.

  “What do you think about these?” I say as I grab several white plastic drop clothes with some tubes of fake blood. “We could put them on the floor so our carpet doesn’t get all tainted up with beer.” I would like to keep my cleaning deposit.

  “Yeah, that might help, but it will probably just make more of a mess or trip people after they are drunk.”

  “That’s true,” I laugh, envisioning a bright, white monstrous mass with tentacles swallowing up my legs and dragging me to the ground for the final count.

  What the heck. “I’ll get them anyways. I’m sure we can use them for something,” I say with a smile as I toss them in the cart.

  Going through aisle after aisle, I throw in a few more over the top items and we are ready to pay then leave.

  Judd cracks up as we load the bags into his truck.

  “Do girls always put this much effort into an event where half the guest list will be seeing double or have blurred vision about thirty minutes into the party?” He laughs harder as he shuts the cab door.

  I slide into the passenger side and sneak a look at him from the corner of my eyes. He gets in beside me and shakes his head with an amused grin on his face.

  “Us guys . . . we usually just throw a keg in the middle of the floor and leave the decorating to later that night.”

  Heading for our next stop, he pulls out of the parking lot and glances my way with a mischievous smile.

  Trying to match his enjoyment with a smartass reply, I tilt my head to the side and cross my arms with a little attitude.

  “Is that so? Let me guess . . . beer towers?” He chuckles and I go on, “Well, us girls, we like things to look pretty.” I raise my eyebrows, challenging him.

  He looks over at me and teases me further, “Pretty? Is that what they are calling blood splattered sheets and spider webs these days?”

  Unable to hold back my laughter any longer, I bend over with my hands over my face and laugh so hard I snort; in turn, making Judd crack up.

  Trying to control my laughter, I point in the direction of the grocery store.

  “Next order of business is munchies for the party,” I get out through my giggles.

  Our grocery excursion goes much like the decoration shopping with Judd continuously laughing at my selections in snack food.

  “What are you looking at these for? Why don’t we just grab a couple frozen pizzas and some bags of chips? Done.” He chuckles with a confused look on his face when I grab several bags of cubed cheeses and meats.

  I laugh with him, “What . . . Bethany wants finger foods.” I look over at him trying to keep a straight face. “Oh, and I need to get toothpicks, too.”

  Judd bends at the waist and nearly falls on the floor from laughter.

  “Are you kidding me?”

  By the time we reach the cash register my eyes are filled with water from laughing along with him. Judd makes an event out of drawing deep breaths in and out of his mouth to calm his hysterics, while I fan my hand in front of my face, still giggling uncontrollably.

  We push the cart out to the truck, me standing on the lower bar leaning back against Judd’s chest as he pushes. Butterflies swarm in my stomach as his chin rests on my shoulder.

  He stops the cart beside his vehicle and slides his hands around my waist in an affectionate embrace. Taking in a deep breath, I close my eyes and shiver as Judd’s lips touch just below my ear. A cool breeze sweeps across our faces and I cover his hands with mine.

  “Is it weird that I think this is a perfect day so far?” I ask quietly.

  He lets out a small chuckle into my neck. “It is a perfect day because we’re together.”

  Yep! My thoughts exactly! It wouldn’t matter if we were stuck in a cave or abandoned in the desert; we would still manage to find the romance in the circumstances if we were together. Actually those situations sound pretty terrific to me.

  Clearly reading my thoughts, “Let’s just blow off this party tonight and spend the whole night at my apartment in bed,” he suggests, tightening his grip on me.

  I worm my back against his chest and snuggle the back of my head into the crook of his neck.

  Ahhh! I heave out an elated sigh, wishing badly that I hadn’t promised to help Bethany with this party. Staying in bed all afternoon and evening wrapped in Judd’s arms sounds heavenly.

  I hop down off of the cart and turn to face him, puckering my lips and giving hi
m my best puppy dog eyes.

  He breathes out a chuckle and then leans down to kiss me.

  “Ok, we’ll go, but just so you know . . . I will be counting down the minutes till we can leave.”

  I give him a quick peck on the lips in return. I’ll save the in depth thank you for later.

  “We will just stay long enough to make sure everything is under control and then the rest of the night will be all ours,” I assure him in my best seductive voice, letting him know that I will be counting down the minutes as well.

  After loading up all the snacks, Judd drives back to my apartment while I send Bethany a quick text.

  Me: Got everything. We’re headed over to Kyle’s to get the keg then we will head that way to drop everything off. :)

  Bethany: Actually, Kyle and his friend, Hayden, already dropped off all the alcohol, so you don’t have to run over there after all.

  Me: That’s great!! One less thing to do today! We’ll be there in 10 minutes!

  Plus, more time to spend with Judd, I think as I hit send.

  Bethany: Sounds good! C-ya then!

  We pull into the parking lot beside my car, which appears neglected after weeks of me and Judd refusing to go anywhere without one another. My car gets far better gas mileage than his big truck, but it doesn’t offer the option for me to scoot as close to him as I can get while he drives.

  I love to hold his hand and snuggle into the warmth of his body. I also love the way his hand lingers on my thigh until he is ready to shift into another gear. Something about that small amount of contact gets my heart thumping and my pulse racing. Actually, I think all things Judd turn me on and fill my belly with swarms of butterflies.

  Shortly after we run all the bags into the apartment, Judd escapes back to his truck to take a call from his brother.

  Standing in the doorway, I look around and am pleasantly surprised by how clean the apartment is. Bethany has on a pair of black sweat pants, a low cut white t-shirt and her hair up in a messy pony tail with fly-away hairs sticking up every which way. She is actually a mess, yet her makeup looks impeccable. She probably wanted to make sure she looked good in case one of Kyle’s roommates brought the booze over.