by S. A. Cook
“You're a wicked boy,” Eva teased. “You have it all planned out don't you?” She peeled off her sweater and unbuttoned her jeans.
“Yeah, I'm wicked...,” Dylan said. “Take your pants off, please.” Eva took them off, then climbed onto the bed, her legs on either side of Dylan. He ran his hands up and down her thighs. She sat back against him.
“This is so awesome,” he laughed. “The bra and panties...you look perfect. Better than anything I could have dreamed up.” She had worn a red bra and panty set she just bought, knowing he'd like them.
“Really?” she looked down at his face. His brown eyes were wide and shining in the soft glow of the little lamp next to his bed.
“You look so beautiful, Eva,” he said. “Your breasts have gotten bigger....and look at your hips and...you're so soft...” He ran his hands up and around her waist, and put one on her belly.
“I'm getting chunky..” she said.
“No...you're beautiful,” he said. “Let me take a picture from this angle and I'll show you.” He reached for his cell phone on the bedside table, and Eva grabbed his wrist.
“No way!” she laughed, and moved his hand away from the phone. She put his hand on her breast. “Forget the picture.”
“Hmm..okay,” he moved his hand inside her bra and closed his eyes. “This is so good...” Eva moved her hips against him, and he responded, lifting his hips up to meet hers. She leaned over him and kissed his ear, then his neck. He took the opportunity to unfasten her bra deftly, with one hand.
“Do one more thing,” he said. “Take your ponytail out, and let your hair down.” Eva reached up and released her hair from the ponytail. It fell over her back and shoulders. She lay down on top of him and let it fall across his chest. He buried his fingers in it and combed them through it. She kissed his neck, moving down to his chest. He moaned as she worked her way further down. She teased him, kissing her way down to the waistband of his underwear and stopping, then moving back up again to his mouth. He ran his fingertips around the edge of her panties.
“Take these off,” he whispered. She moved off him long enough to slip the panties off. He raised his hips and pulled off his underwear. Eva moved back on top of him and he held her around the waist. She leaned over and pressed herself against him, kissing his neck and working her way up to his lips. He grabbed the back of her head and pressed her mouth against his. His tongue moved inside her, touching her lips, her teeth, searching for her tongue. When their tongues met, she felt a shock of electricity and wanted him inside her. He moved his hand down to her ass and pulled her hips tighter against him. She moved against the rise and fall of his hips, and he slipped inside her. She caught her breath, and she could feel his mouth moving more insistently against hers. She pulled herself up so she could speak.
“Dylan, a condom,” she moved her hips off him, and he slipped out.
“I forgot,” he said, out of breath. He got up and found his pants. He fished around in his pocket and found the condom, ripped it open and put it on. He climbed onto the bed, and moved Eva's leg so he could get inside her. She tried to catch up to his rhythm, but he was moving too fast.
“Slower,” she whispered. He lay on top of her, catching his breath and making himself slow down. He braced himself with his arms, looking down at her, and tried to be still. She wrapped both legs around him and moved her hips against him, taking her pleasure from his hardness. She looked up into his eyes and ran her finger across his lips. He tried not to move. He tried to let her do what she wanted with his body, but watching her face was making him want to move faster. He came watching her climax, and collapsed on top of her, burying his face in hair. He was so lost in the feel of her body under his, he was unable to tell her how much he loved her.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Eva woke up and looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was 1 am. Dylan was lying beside her, his arm draped around her waist.
“Dylan,” she nudged him. “Dylan, wake up.” She whispered.
“Hmm?” he tightened his arm around her. She jiggled his arm, trying to wake him.
“Your grandparents are going to be back soon,” she said.
“What time is it?” He leaned up on one arm, and reached over her for his phone. “We probably have another hour. They won't get back this early.”
“I need to get up and put my pajamas on,” she said. “Just in case.” She got up and looked for her underwear on the floor. She took her pajamas out of her suitcase and went to the bathroom.
When she came back, Dylan had fallen back to sleep, without so much as his underwear on. She looked around until she found them, then she went to the sewing room and rummaged in his suitcase until she found the sweatpants he liked to sleep in.
“Dylan,” she shook him. “Wake up and put these on.” He woke up and took the clothes from her. He stood up long enough to pull the underwear and sweatpants on, then collapsed on the bed again.
“I'm spent,” he said. He sounded hoarse again. “Lay down and talk to me for a while, then I'll go to bed.” Eva lay down next to him. He put his arm around her and she put her head on his chest.
“I was thinking,” he said. “Maybe after the New Year you could get things settled with the apartment and we could make arrangements for you to move stuff out to Malibu.” He waited for her to say something, but she was quiet. She knew how easy it would be to say yes, as far as being with Dylan was concerned. But leaving her home and friends—how would that feel? She would miss Sarah. She wouldn't be there for her pregnancy. And she'd miss Marta.
“I'd miss my friends so much,” she said. “Sarah's pregnant. Her baby's due in May.”
“Really? That's great, but,” he looked for the right words to convince her it was the right thing to do. “You could keep your apartment. You could come back and visit your friends. You could even come back and help her when the baby's born. And you'd have someplace to go if I started to get on your nerves. If you needed to get away from me for a while.”
“I can't imagine you getting on my nerves,” she said. “And I can't imagine wanting to get away from you.”
“Then please come,” he said. “If January's too soon, you can come in February.” She thought for a few minutes.
“Maybe I could come in January and we could call it a trial,” she said. “See how it goes.”
“Yeah! That's fine. If you don't like it out there, we can figure out something else,” he said. “Maybe I could move to Chicago if you hate it out there.”
“You'd do that for me?” she asked.
“I want to be with you,” he said.
“I'd never ask you to do that,” she said. “Your whole life is in L.A. I'm pretty sure I'll like it in L.A.”
“You think so?” he asked.
“The sunshine's nice,” she said. “I love the ocean. I don't want to be apart from you.” She leaned up and rolled over, looking down at him. She kissed his lips.
“ I forgot to say Merry Christmas, Dylan,” she said.
“Merry Christmas,” he whispered.
Chapter Sixty
Neither Dylan nor Eva got up before 10. Grandma knocked on their doors, and told them merry Christmas, and that coffee was ready. Eva got her robe on and went to the bathroom. Dylan beat her to it, so she waited for him to come out. When he did, he was showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a blue sweater pulled over it.
“Good morning,” he smiled, bending down to kiss her. “Hurry up. I want you to open the presents I got you.” Eva hurried and got a quick shower. She didn't bother drying her hair, but let it hang loose around her shoulders. She put on a red and grey cashmere sweater she bought while she was Christmas shopping and a pair of jeans. She decided to put her damp hair in a loose side ponytail, and wrapped a red ribbon around it.
“Oh, don't you look pretty,” Grandma said when she walked into the living room. “You look about 16 years old this morning.”
“Wow! Thanks,” Eva smiled. “That's the b
est Christmas present I've gotten in years.” She got her coffee and sat down next to Dylan. Grandpa was closest to the tree, so he leaned over and started passing out presents. Dylan got his grandparents a trip to a lodge they liked in Michigan, and several fishing things for Grandpa. Eva didn't know what any of them were, but Dylan and Grandpa spent several minutes discussing each one. He got his Grandma a necklace with a ruby, because that was her favorite gemstone, and some perfume. Eva gave them the gifts she'd gotten them—a gown and robe for Grandma and slippers and a cardigan for Grandpa. She gave them both a gift card to a nearby restaurant they had mentioned liking when she visited at Thanksgiving.
She was dying to give Dylan his gift. She pulled it from behind the tree where she had put it and handed it to him.
“This is mine?” he asked.
“Yes, fooled you,” she said. He smiled and carefully unwrapped the corner.
“Come on, Dylan,” Grandpa teased. “I know you can rip the paper off faster than that.” He tore the paper from the plain cardboard box. He lay the box on the floor and opened the long side of it. He took out the case and opened it, looking at the guitar. He sat silent for a minute.
“Oh my god,” he said, taking the guitar out of the case and carefully turning it around, front to back. “Eva. I can't believe you got me this. I can't believe it. It's beautiful. And a lefty. I've wanted this guitar for so long. It's gorgeous.”
“Is that a special one, Dylan?” Grandma asked.
“Yeah, it's special, Grandma,” he said. “There's only a few of these.” He quietly looked at it for a bit longer, then he put it in the case and looked at Eva.
“Thank you,” he said, and leaned over and kissed her.
“I can't believe you got that for me,” he said. “I can't believe you remembered I said I wanted it.”
“I remembered,” she said. “That's what I went to Louisville for.”
“You drove all the way to Louisville to get it?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Well, Marta drove. We went together.”
“That must be some special guitar,” Grandpa said. “I haven't seen him this happy since we got him that bike. Remember, Katy?”
“I do,” Grandma said. “That sure was nice of you, Eva. You went to a lot of trouble to make him happy.”
“It was fun,” Eva said. Dylan looked under the tree and got a package. He handed it to Eva. She looked at the wrapping paper and bow. It didn't look store wrapped. He must have wrapped it himself. She tore at one corner of the paper.
“Neither one of you kids know how to unwrap a present,” Grandpa said.
She opened the box. Inside was a framed picture. The picture was of a corner room with two walls of floor to ceiling windows with ocean views, a large teak corner desk overlooking the ocean, and walls of bookshelves. There was a small white sofa under the shelves, against one wall. In the center of the room was a round table and a full vase of white roses, Eva's favorite flower. She looked up at Dylan, uncertain.
“It's for you. The room, I mean,” he said. “It's part of the studio. I didn't really need that much space. It's a writing room. I was hoping you'd come out if you saw it. You can have peace and quiet there. And write.” She looked down at the picture. She was speechless. She put her arms around Dylan. He hugged her harder.
“It's okay,” he said. “I hope you like it.” All she could do was nod against his shoulder.
“Aw, that's sweet, Dylan,” Grandma said. “He always was a thoughtful boy, Eva.”
“Well, looks like you've got to go out to California now, Eva,” Grandpa laughed. “He built you a whole room!” Eva smiled.
“Yeah, I'm definitely going now,” she said, picking up the picture again. “Imagine what I could write looking at this view.”
She gave Dylan a trio of new notebooks with bright white, thick stock she bought at a fancy gift and paper store in Chicago.
“They're not as good as your spirals, but I liked them,” she said.
“I love them,” he said. “I only used the spirals because they were easy for Teddy to find at the drugstore. They're beautiful, Eva.”
Dylan gave her a slender, square package. She unwrapped it and it was a CD with no label.
“What's this?” she asked him.
“It's a new song,” he said. “I wrote it for you. It's a demo. You can listen to it later.” She kissed him on the cheek and looked at the CD. No one ever wrote anything for her before. Not even a love letter.
He handed her another package. This one looked professionally wrapped. She took off the thick blue paper in one piece. It was a large, rectangular velvet box. She opened it and inside was a small gold chain and hanging from it was a pear-shaped aquamarine surrounded by diamonds. It was beautiful.
“I don't know much about jewelry,” Dylan said. “But it reminded me of your eyes. I hope you like it.”
“I love it,” she said. “It's so beautiful.” She gave him a kiss and took it out of the box. He held her hair up so she could fasten it.
“Does it look good with my sweater?” she teased.
“It makes your eyes look even bluer,” he said.
“Well, I think it's been a pretty good Christmas,” Grandpa said. “When are we going to eat?”
“Oh Carl, it's not even noon yet,” Grandma said.
Before dinner, Dylan grabbed Eva by the arm and handed her coat to her.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I'm taking you to see my old school,” he said. “Grab your CD. You can listen to it in the car.” She got the CD out of its box and they walked out to the car. Dylan backed out and drove about a mile and a half away. He parked behind a high school and pointed out his old homeroom, the basketball courts where he practiced, his art class.
“That's about all I remember,” he said. “I only went here my freshman year.” He turned to look at her.
“Aren't you going to listen to your song, now?” he asked.
“Okay,” she said. She noticed he seemed nervous. She fed the CD into the player. She listened as the song started. It was sparse—just piano and a soft drum. Dylan's voice was clear and agile, weaving in and out of the melody. It was a song about love. But not an ordinary love. It was about the joy someone feels inside when they find the thing they've been missing all their life. The lyrics were really good—simple, and honest. When the song was over, Eva looked at him.
“I can't believe how beautiful that was,” she said. “You wrote that.”
“I wrote it about you and me,” he said. “That's how I feel about you...about us.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek, then her lips.
“Thank you,” she said. “It's really beautiful.”
“I never thought this would happen, Eva,” he said. “I mean, I knew I liked you as soon as I met you. I thought maybe we'd have a good time together. I thought you'd be good for me after Vanessa—you know, someone more on my own level, more mature. And I knew I wanted to be with you. I thought you'd be a good affair for me. I don't want to lie to you. I thought you'd be a really good time for me. For a while, maybe. But the more time I spent with you—just watching the way you move, the way you smile, the way you talk.., and you were kind to me. I could tell you wouldn't use me. I don't know...I fell in love with you.” He looked up at her, and she could see his eyes were wet.
“Dylan,” she said. “I never loved anyone like I love you.”
They sat huddled in the front seat of the rental car and kissed for as long as they had time. Then, they headed back home because they knew they were expected for dinner.
Ellen, Tommy and the kids came over and they had a wonderful dinner together. The kids played with Dylan and the toys he bought them in L.A. The tv was playing one of Eva's favorite Christmas movies, but she preferred watching Dylan and the boys, wrestling on the floor, all three laughing.
Chapter Sixty-One
Saturday night, Dylan's three best friends from Indianapolis came to the house to see him. They were loud
and happy to see him, teasing Dylan about his new girlfriend. They seemed much younger than Dylan to Eva, but they were polite to her and funny. She liked them right away.
“So you're the girl who had Dylan all worked up on his birthday,” Kyle, the loudest of the three said.
“Shut up, Kyle,” Dylan sat grinning. “We don't need to rehash the whole thing.”
“Yeah, he was talking about you all night,” Kyle said, ignoring Dylan. “The drunker he got, the more he talked about you. We were all like, 'wow, we've got to meet this girl.'” Eva watched Dylan's face. He was blushing and looking down at the table.
“Calvin pissed me off,” he said. “That's why I drank too much.”
“Language,” Grandma yelled from the other room.
“He wanted to call you back when you left a message, but we took his phone and wouldn't let him,” said Jake, a blonde with long legs and a basketball player's thin body. “We figured if he was that hung up on you, there was no way we'd let him make a fool out of himself on the phone.”
“He was so drunk!” Scotty, the quietest of the three said.
“He called me, later,” Eva said. “He must have sobered up a little by then. He wasn't too foolish.”
“Dylan, I hope you don't go out and get drunk anymore,” Grandma said from the kitchen. “I hope you learned your lesson.”
“Don't worry, Grandma,” he said, looking at Kyle and grinning. “I'm not going to get that drunk anymore.”
“We used to steal six packs from the 7-Eleven and drink them behind the church, next to the parking lot,” Jake said, low so Grandma wouldn't hear. “And one time Dylan fell asleep on the steps outside the rectory and the priest found him early Sunday morning and called Grandma because he recognized him. It was Dylan's church!” They all laughed.
“Thanks for leaving me there,” Dylan said.
“We kicked you, but you didn't get up,” Kyle said. “You just groaned.”
“Yes, and I made him get dressed up and go to mass that morning, too,” Grandma said from the other room. They all laughed even harder, even Dylan.