by Lexi Hunter
"There's a lot more in my car. I was sorta hoping you would help me bring it in."
Grandpa laughed like I'd just told a joke.
"I'll help," the man with his back to me said. He turned around and when I saw his face my heart dropped into my stomach. Not only was he the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen, he was at twice as old as me... and my dad's best friend.
Liam had finally arrived.
CHAPTER 4
SECRETS
"JACQUELINE, THIS is Liam."
"I know," I breathed, extending my hand. "I remember you. How have you been?" His eyes were dark and cloudy, a deep shade of brown to rival the many shades of midnight. They held secrets. I tried licking my lips but my tongue was dry.
Liam reached out to shake my hand. His hands were huge and covered mine completely. His skin was the color of light caramel and his hands were a little rough. Probably from all the construction work he did. I could feel small calluses on the pads of his palms, but it wasn't off-putting. It only added to his overall ruggedness. This was definitely not the same Liam I remembered growing up.
The second my skin touched his, a shot of heat pulsed through me and I jerked my hand back. I was trying not to pant like a dog in front of Grandpa, but I could feel my panties coming undone at the seams.
I couldn't tell whether Liam had felt any of the same things I just had. I was just glad that my hair was swept back and out of my face and I was wearing my white spaghetti strapped tank top instead of the too large t-shirt I'd been donning when I woke up. This, at least, took full advantage of my breasts.
Grandpa seemed oblivious to anything except his groceries.
Liam cleared his throat. His eyes were almost as dark and brown as his coffee, spiked with hints of gold. They looked like they'd just come to life. He was staring at me as though I was the first woman he'd ever seen.
"It's been a while, Jackie," he said. "I've been away for some time." There was something oddly mysterious about the way he spoke.
"Nice to see you again," I said. "Did you enjoy Europe?" I tried to quiet my heart but it refused to cooperate, insisting on beating itself to a pulp as it hammered faster and faster in my chest.
"Europe?" he asked, his brow scrunching into a deep line. I didn't mind his forty-something years. Not when he wore them so well.
My grandfather coughed and nudged Liam with his elbow.
"Sure," my grandpa said. "Jackie's father told her all about how you've been traveling through Europe these last five years."
"Eight," Liam said, his voice a low rumble. "It was eight years I was away for."
"Oh," I said, sounding lame. I looked at Grandfather, who seemed impatient for his groceries to be brought in. There was something oddly cryptic about the way they were speaking. "Well, I guess I'll just get the rest of the stuff from my car," I said, setting the one bag I still held on the counter.
"Let me help," Liam said, stepping to follow me.
"Beh," Grandfather said. "She's a grown girl. She can do it. Besides, this is punishment for her getting arrested. Her parents and I are trying to teach her a lesson."
Liam's eyebrows rose and I thought I saw his lips twitch up at the corners. "Arrested? Hmmm... I bet that's an interesting story. They always are."
I opened my mouth to tell him how boring of a story it actually was, but Grandpa beat me to it. "Nope, it's a letdown. Her boyfriend talked her into breaking into some abandoned house to look for ghosts. Dumbass." I wasn't sure if the name calling was directed at me or Aaron, but decided it didn't matter anyways. I felt my face flush and practically ran from the kitchen and to my car before I could embarrass myself.
I fiddled with my keys, wondering why I had bothered to lock the trunk anyways. No one in Grandpa's neighborhood was going to steal anything. They were all retired seniors who moved about as fast as a toaster. I dropped my keys, cursing under my breath, and knelt to pick them up.
A weathered hand, roughly twice the size of mine, brushed my own. Liam grabbed the keys before I could and stood up, holding them out to me. A faint, mysterious smile played across his face, like the Mona Lisa. I was dying to know what he was thinking.
"Here you are," he said.
I took the keys and smiled. "Thank you." My voice sounded breathier than usual. The longer he looked at me, the more aroused I became.
We stared at each other a moment longer than necessary before I finally realized the trunk was still shut. I unlocked it and Liam reached in and came out with two bags in each arm. Muscles rippled along his arms and I realized that he had more tattoos than I'd originally noticed. They stared back at me as his veins pumped blood through him, fast and hard. There was something about those tattoos that moistened my thighs and made my head light.
"I can get some of it," I said, reaching to take a bag from him.
"Not necessary. If your boyfriend were here, I'm sure he'd do the same."
My cheeks burned. "He's not my boyfriend anymore."
Liam raised one eyebrow. I had no idea why, but every time he did that it sent little ripples of heat up my body. "Because of your parents?" he asked. "I've known your dad a long time and can imagine he wasn't too happy about your arrest."
I laughed. I think it was just nervousness, but I couldn't help it. Liam raised another eyebrow and I felt a fever break out across my forehead.
"Aaron and I broke up because of Brie Garter. Ex-best friend and closet skank." I was surprised to find myself talk about it so easily. I hadn't been able to think about Brie and Aaron for longer than ten seconds without bursting into tears.
Liam's eyes implied an understanding my father had never been able to grasp. I was grateful that Liam didn't ask any follow-up questions.
"Well," he said, "your boyfriend—ex-boyfriend," he corrected himself, "is clearly a lunatic. Only a mad man could look at you and think of wanting anyone else." He turned on his heels and strolled back to the house, leaving me by the car, breathless and absolutely mesmerized.
Liam talked shop with Grandpa while I put away the groceries. Apparently, Liam was advising my grandfather to rip out everything in the kitchen and start from scratch. I thought that was a damned fine idea, but Grandpa wasn't exactly wild it.
"I told Thomas that all I wanted was a new bathtub," he said. "I don't know what he thinks you're gonna get out of doing all this. I can't pay you."
"I need to build up a portfolio," Liam said. "Something I can show people when they ask about my work. I can't exactly show them the things I did on the inside."
Grandpa shot him a look, scowling, as Liam's lips whose thinned and eyes darkened.
"Fine," Liam said. "A bathtub. Whatever you want." He left a minute later. I could hear his motorcycle roar from the driveway and then he was gone.
"So," I began, trying to sound casual while I cooked Grandpa dinner. "Liam seems nice."
Grandpa laughed. "Nice, yeah. That's what all those guys are. Nice."
"All what guys?" I asked.
He looked at me and blanched. "Oh, I, uh... your dad told you about Liam being in Europe."
"Yeah..." I forgot about the bell pepper I was chopping and looked at him. "Why? What about it? I'm not a kid, you know. I'm twenty-one."
My grandfather sighed. "Liam had a wife. She died a few years ago and he went a little nuts. That's all."
That's all?
"He didn't seem crazy," I said, attempting to chop the bell pepper again.
"Looks can be deceiving."
I paused again in my chopping, thinking. There was still something Grandpa wasn't telling me. I could hear it in his voice, I just didn't know what it was.
I wondered if Liam had sworn off women as I'd sworn off men. For the first time since finding Aaron and Brie together, I found myself wanting the things I'd promised myself I'd never want again—love, desire, romance. I knew these things didn't come cheap. I could be hurt again, but there was something about Liam that made me think it was a risk worth taking.
CHAPTER 5
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Oatmeal
ROADSIDE TRASH COLLECTION just after sunrise was not exactly fun, especially on days like today when it was over eighty degrees outside. I still had to go to Grandfather's after this, which was normally something I looked forward to since Liam had started coming around, but I was afraid I'd be stinky and unappealing in my community service clothes. The dirt clad jeans and neon orange vest weren't exactly attractive.
I could go home and shower, but my parents would just lecture me some more. You'd think they'd have eased up on the lectures by now, especially considering the whole arrest thing had happened months ago, but they didn't seem like they had any intention of ever stopping. When I was forty they'd probably still be lecturing about the time I'd been arrested.
I'd brought a change of clothes just in case I decided a shower was an absolute necessity, figuring I could just shower at Grandpa's. He had two bathrooms and Liam was only working in one of them. We ran late at clean up this morning. There'd been some sort of windstorm the night before and the roads were a pigsty, and by the time I was done it was after twelve and sweat ran off my body in rivers. I was glad for the clean clothes.
"Hi, Grandpa," I shouted, walking through the door.
"Jackie," he called back. "That you? It's about time." I sighed. This was typical Grandpa. He wasn't mean exactly, just crotchety.
I went into the kitchen and saw him standing at the stove, making oatmeal. "Want some?" he asked. It was the first time he'd offered to make anything for me since I'd started coming over. Even oatmeal was a big deal coming from him. I felt my stomach grumble.
"Sure," I said. "Thanks."
He nodded, then spooned the oatmeal between two bowls. We sat at the table and ate in silence. "How was it today?" he finally asked.
"Fine."
"You look a little worn out."
"I am. I was hoping I could take a shower here, if you don't mind. I brought some clean clothes to change into."
He nodded. "Good idea. You stink right now."
I sniffed myself, embarrassed, glad that Liam wasn't here.
"Liam coming by later?" I asked, trying not to sound like it mattered one way or another.
Grandpa shook his head and smacked his lips together. "Don't know, don't care. I got a date." There was a twinkle in his eye.
"A date?" I asked. Who would go out with Grandpa?
"Yep. The widow Maria." He let out a low whistle and I wasn't sure if I should be happy for him or grossed out by the whole thing.
I settled for saying, "That's nice," and went back to eating my oatmeal.
If Liam wasn't coming over, and Grandpa wasn't going to be here, I might as well just go home and shower.
As if reading my mind Grandpa said, "I still got things for you to do around here, though. Don't go thinking you get a day off just because I ain't gonna be here."
I lifted my head from the oatmeal, waiting for his list. He always had a list. He flung a piece of paper towards me and I scanned it over. Clean floors, organize basement, mow the lawn.
"Grandpa, this list is enough for two days' worth of work."
"Well, I guess you'd better work fast then," he snickered. "I'm kidding. A little. Get as much done as you can today, you can do the rest tomorrow."
"Gee, thanks."
"Hey," he barked, "remember whose fault it is that you're stuck here doing this stuff."
"Aaron?" I asked.
"You. You did this to yourself. You didn't have to go along with nothin'."
I hated to admit it, but Grandpa was right. There was no one to blame but myself, and I might as well accept that.
"Have fun on your date tonight." I scanned Grandfather's list again. There was no point in taking a shower right now. I'd just be sweating again in a few minutes anyway.
"I wish Liam would go on a double date with me. I could set him up with someone. It would be good for him. There's tons of Marias out there. Liam could have his pick."
I knew Grandpa was just trying to be nice, but the only places Grandpa went to get dates were bingo halls. "Liam's a little young for a double date with you and the widow Maria, don't you think?"
Grandpa scoffed. "It's been eight years since he's had a woman. Who cares how old she is? Besides, some of these widows have daughters."
My ears perked up at this new information. Had Liam really not been with a woman in eight years? That was the whole time he was in Europe. That seemed pretty strange to me, but I figured he hadn't gotten over losing his wife. It was actually pretty sweet.
"I'm gonna do the lawn first," I said, getting up from the table. "Guess I'll take that shower later instead of now.
"You can leave the bowl," Grandpa said. "I'll get it. You got enough to do." He grinned as I walked outside and got to my chores.
Mowing the lawn was actually kind of therapeutic, as it turned out. The sound of the lawn mower was rhythmic, and I fell into a sort of trance as I pushed it up and down the grass. It allowed me to center my thoughts on Liam and try to sort them out.
I should leave him alone. Forget him.
That was what I told myself. I knew it was true, but I also knew something else that was equally true.
He's the first man I've ever met, Aaron included, that made my panties wet.
It wasn't just that I longed to brush my tongue over the muscles in Liam's chest, it went deeper than that. I craved him. Like an addict craves their drug of choice. Liam was my drug.
If I could know that Liam felt even one tenth of that same craving for me, it would change my life. I wasn't sure how, but passion that strong always changed lives.
I thought I'd caught Liam watching me during his visits while he was working in the bathroom, often shirtless. Sometimes it was only out of the corner of his eye, but it was there. A hidden desire for me. A lust he was trying to push away and barricade in his gut. Then he'd turn his head and talk to Grandpa and I'd wonder if I'd imagined it all.
Could he really want me?
Grandpa said Liam had been celibate for years. What if I made a pass at him and he turned me down? It wouldn't just embarrass me, it would destroy any semblance of self-confidence I had left. What if Liam turned me down and crushed a part of me that I wasn't even aware still lived? Could I survive that?
CHAPTER 6
Tease
I STEPPED OUT of the shower and rubbed a towel over my skin, thankful that all the hard stuff was done.
"I'm leaving, Jackie," Grandpa called from downstairs.
I cracked the door open and shouted, "Bye. Have fun." I meant it too. I hoped the old man had a good time.
I heard the front door close and let myself relax. My muscles ached. I rubbed at my shoulder and shook my hair out, looking at myself in the mirror. What did Aaron see in Brie that he didn't see in me? I thought I looked okay, but even as I told myself that, I felt like a fraud. Am I just lying to myself?
I opened my towel and let it drop to the floor, staring at myself with a critical eye. Would Aaron have liked my body if he'd seen it? In our almost one year of dating, he'd never seen me naked. Oh, we'd kissed and petted and all that fun stuff, but I'd told him the big stuff would be more special if we waited. He'd acted like he agreed with me, but obviously, that was only because he'd been getting it somewhere else.
My generous breasts segued into smooth, creamy skin that ran up and down my ribcage. I touched myself and let one finger slide over my bare skin. My hips were full and round, curving into my waist to make the perfect hourglass figure. I was hot.
Not to Aaron, obviously.
The confidence I'd been building came crashing down. Thank God I hadn't slept with him. At least now I could blame Brie. If I'd given into Aaron and he'd still cheated on me, could I blame anyone but myself and my subpar body?
There was no way I could make a move on Liam, no matter how much I wanted him. If he rejected me I didn't think I could handle it.
I heard a knock on the door and rewrapped the towel tightly around my chest. I ran down
the stairs, assuming Grandfather had forgotten his keys and locked himself out—he'd done it before.
"Hold on Grandpa," I shouted, fidgeting with the locks. The door swung open and Liam stood there. His face turned pink when he saw me, and I was instantly aware that I was almost naked, water still dripping down my skin and forming a puddle around my feet.
"Hi," I breathed.
Liam seemed unable to catch his breath.
See, he does like you.
Maybe, but that didn't mean much. It had been years since he'd been with a woman. What made me think I was special enough to change that?
"Hi," Liam said, his voice low and seductive. I'd never seen him at a loss for words before, but he sure seemed to be now. He averted his eyes, but they kept returning to me again and again. My body burned. If he'd touched me now I would have scorched him.
Suddenly, I made up my mind. I wasn't going to let what happened with Aaron and Brie destroy me. Liam did like me. It was obvious from the way his eyes bulged out of his head as he stared at me in my towel. I was certain from the way his face flushed now that if I made a strong enough move, he wouldn't refuse me.
I smiled at him, feeling a surge of confidence I hadn't felt since... well, I wasn't sure I'd ever felt this confident.
"Do you want to come in?" I cooed.
He nodded but hesitated in the doorway. "Is your Grandfather home?" he asked, looking uncertain. His eyes darted around the room behind me.
"Yeah," I lied. "He's getting ready for a date. Come on in."
Liam sighed and seemed to breathe easier. I shut the door behind him and leaned against it. I knew what I wanted to do, I just wasn't entirely sure how to go about doing it.
Liam stood by the stairs. "Is he in his room then?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'll take you up there."
"I know the way," Liam said, but I hurried and scooted ahead of him, walking up the stairs with my towel swishing around me. I could feel Liam's eyes watching me and wondered how much of my ass showed from under the terrycloth. It felt like just an inch or two, but I figured that was good enough for starters.