by Mia Madison
And then I remember that awful chat with Mom in the kitchen. “Did Mom ever come to see you?”
“She did. Yesterday.”
“But I told her about us ages ago.”
“Maybe she didn’t want to speak to me in front of Kate. I don’t know. My dad came to take Kate out to lunch and I was home on my own.”
She probably waited until I was out, too. “What did she say?” I can’t imagine it was good.
“A whole lot of things best not repeated. But I told her the truth. I told her that I love you.”
“You love me?”
“I do.” He kisses my nose, and I melt inside. He loves me! “I told her that I was only staying away from you until Kate was well again and that I was going to have a real heart to heart with her soon because I didn’t think she understood how serious I am about you.”
“And so you spoke to her?”
“I was going to speak to her tonight, but Kate got there before me.”
That’s the friend I know, back thinking of others. “What did Mom say when you said that you loved me?”
“It stopped her in her tracks. I don’t think she had finished her tirade. But I told her I hoped you loved me too and that if you did, not all the moms or daughters in the world could keep me away from you, in the end.”
I leave Mom a note “Out with Gavin. Back soon.” I hope she’ll be happy for me. I know she’s tired of me moping about. And no doubt, she’s filled Dad in on everything. They don’t seem to have any secrets from each other. I like that.
CHAPTER 24
Gavin
I open the car door for Lindsay.
“Oh, you mean this kind of walk. The kind on wheels.” She laughs.
“Very funny. I thought we’d go out of town. Do you have any other engagements this evening?”
“Only cookies to deliver.”
“Oh yes, the cookies. It would be good if you saw Kate tonight. We’re not going far anyway.”
I drive for half an hour and stop the car on the edge of Leafwater forest.
“We live at the coast. Miles of sand to walk along and you drive to the forest?” she says.
“Too many people at the beach for what I have in mind.” I smile at her in the passenger seat.
Her eyes widen. “Oh!” and then she frowns in mock seriousness. “Now I’m starting to worry you’re a serial killer.”
“Fuck! Totally forgot my rope and duct tape. We’ll have to find something else to make our walk interesting.”
She laughs and then she sees the way I’m looking at her. “What? Here? You’re joking, right?”
“No, not joking. There’s a pond near here, where Dad and I used to go fishing. We never saw anyone else. I want to fuck you right there, under the trees.”
She sucks in a breath.
“Or we can just walk,” I say. “Up to you.”
I kiss her then and that kiss becomes as heated as our kisses always seem to do, her hands inside my shirt, mine on her breasts, teasing her until her nipples are hardened peaks too tempting for my mouth to resist.
She moans, her voice ragged. “Let’s find your pond.”
I grab a blanket from the car and take her hand, leading her through the trees.
It’s relatively cool beneath the canopy of leaves. The forest floor is soft with vegetation, but I could be floating along, happy to be here with her, knowing that we don’t have to keep our relationship secret from our families any longer.
There’s no one here. I’ve been here a couple of times over the years, once when I needed to think about work, of all things, once to bring Dad back. But it’s always been deserted. More people could have found it and made it their own. But they haven’t, or at least they are not here today. Anyone who was here has probably gone home at the end of the afternoon, but there are no signs the place has been disturbed. If anything, the clearing in the trees, the little pond where we never caught more than minnows has become more overgrown, wilder than it was years ago.
I lay the blanket under a willow tree a few yards from the water’s edge. Lindsay wanders over to the pond and looks around. “It’s so beautiful here.”
“That’s exactly why I wanted to bring you.” I come up behind her and hold her in my arms. “Beautiful, natural and wild. It reminds me of you.”
She turns and kisses me.
“I love you,” I tell her.
“Show me then. Show me how much you love me here by your pond.” Her eyes are bright. “I need you, Gavin.”
And so I do. I show her on the blanket under the tree in a place I always loved. I undress her slowly, kissing every inch of skin I reveal. I worship her with my mouth, sucking and teasing and nibbling and licking. I make her come, her engorged clit between my lips, sucking that sweetness, and she cries out she loves me to the sky.
And then I fuck her, hard and fast and relentless, and our voices mingle as we go over the edge together, not caring who knows.
I could stay with her forever but we have to get back. There are still bridges to build, but I’ve never been happier.
CHAPTER 25
Lindsay
Gavin says he’ll go to the store and leave the way clear for Kate and me to talk. I’m nervous as a newborn colt knocking on the door, but Kate smiles as soon as she sees me and opens the door wider to let me in.
“You’re looking better. I’m glad,” I say, handing her the cookies. “I made a few different ones. I didn’t know what you’d like.”
“I’d like my best friend back. I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
She puts down the box of cookies on the hall table and gives me a big hug. Before I know it we’re both in tears, and we have to go to the kitchen in search of Kleenex.
“I’m sorry about everything, about the accident, about upsetting you so much.” I blow my nose for the third time on the mound of tissues Kate gave me.
“I feel bad I made you miserable too, as if one of us being miserable wasn’t enough.”
“Yeah, you broke up with Paul, and I didn’t get a chance to give you a hug.”
“I’m not unhappy anymore about him. He wasn’t right for me. It’s just the whole breaking up thing that sucks.”
She fills the coffee machine, just like she always does when I go around there for a chat. “I still can’t believe you and Dad. How come you didn’t breathe a word? I tell you everything. But he said there wasn’t much to tell before that night.”
“I’m sorry. There was nothing much to tell you, like he said. There was a kiss at your birthday party. But I thought that was all it was. It was better if we both forgot about it, and we managed to more or less avoid each other.”
“And then? What happened after that? The party was weeks before my accident. Fuck, Lindsay, I heard you. You weren’t avoiding him that night.”
Oh god. I pull a face at the thought of what she heard. “We didn’t plan that to happen. But my bad. I went to see him. I couldn’t stay away.”
“And you discovered you weren’t going to avoid each other after all?”
“Yes.”
“And then you did the opposite of avoid?”
“Yes.”
“So you finally…?”
“Yes.”
“With my dad. This is so weird, you must admit—I mean he’s not bad looking if I look at him as ‘not dad,’ but it’s still weird.”
“Sorry. And sorry you were so upset when you found out.”
Kate pours the coffee and grabs a cookie. “Would you have told me if I hadn’t come home that night?”
“Not right away. I feel bad about that. I knew you wouldn’t like it. Your dad wanted to tell you, but I asked him for some time just to be happy before we upset everyone.”
“Your mom and dad don’t know either?”
“I had to tell Mom why you and I weren’t seeing each other. I suspect she gave your dad a hard time over it. So they know. But I thought it was over when I told her.”
“And now it’s obviously not all over.”
“I hope you’re okay with that.”
“Don’t worry about it. I expect I’ll get used to it. I might even like having my two favorite people hooking up eventually. Just don’t put your tongue down his throat when I’m there.”
“You’re gross, you know that?”
“I know. That’s why you love me.”
And we both start laughing. It’s glad that things are good with Kate again, even if it’s tentative for now.
“Anyway, I have a secret too,” she says.
“Oh?”
“I got a job, but don’t tell Dad yet. He’s being all protective and wanted to get me a job at the station. But I’m going to XP Broadcasting, instead. Just admin, but it’s a start.”
“That’s fantastic. Congratulations. I should really start applying for jobs, too.”
“Yeah, but wait. The best thing is, it means we can still go to Europe, if you want. Maybe not for as long as we planned. I mentioned to them I already had this trip planned, but I only managed to negotiate three weeks off.”
“I’d like that. I don’t want to go away too long now.”
“Because of Dad? You’ve got it bad, haven’t you?”
“Afraid so. I can’t lie. Touring Europe and being away for a couple of months is not as appealing as it used to sound.”
“I thought even with three weeks, we could still see all the places at the top of our list.”
“Yeah.” I grin at her, excited our trip is still on the table. “I’m pleased that’s your secret. I thought it might be that you’ve been making out with my dad.”
And then we burst out laughing because that’s never going to happen in a million years. Dad is no Gavin. And besides, Mom would kill both Kate and Dad, for sure.
CHAPTER 26
Gavin
“What are you two laughing at?” It gives me hope to see Kate and Lindsay back acting as they always did when I come home from the store.
“Dads,” Kate says. “You and Lindsay weirded me out, and then she weirded me out even more with a picture in my head.”
“And now I’m worried what you two were talking about. I don’t dare ask. Anyway, I thought we could all go out to dinner tonight.”
“Thanks, but you two go out,” Kate says. “You need some time together, and besides, I have a date with Netflix.”
“I hope his intentions are honorable.”
Lindsay and Kate roll their eyes at each other and groan. I laugh and ignore them. “I’ll pick you up at eight, then,” I say to Lindsay and leave them to giggle away.
*
I reach for Lindsay’s hand over the table in Le Mouton Noir.
“Finally, no more secrets,” I say. “I can sit in a restaurant with you. Everyone who needs to know we’re dating knows about it.”
“I was afraid Mom and Dad would say more when you picked me up.”
“I think your mom said it all already. But they know I’m not just toying with you now, that I almost fell out with Kate to be with you. They know we have to be together.”
“When I first told her, Mom said you could talk the birds out of the trees. She thought you seduced me with your gift of the gab, as she called it.”
“Was that what got you?” I laugh. “And there was me thinking it was my fine good looks.”
“I love your radio show and your voice and your ‘fine good looks,’ but you seduced me in so many other ways that I can’t even begin to count them. I couldn’t tell her that.” She laughs. “You know, I used to pretend you were playing tracks for me on your show.”
“Sometimes I was doing exactly that.”
“The Heart Break slot?”
“Before that too, but yes. I should drop that now and make it the “Happy Ever After” slot or something, but I’m pretty sure the producer won’t let me. The listeners love the Heart Break feature.”
When the waiter takes the order, Lindsay says. “Did Kate tell you we are still going to Europe?”
“Yeah, it’s a good idea. It was great to see you planning that together again. I’ll miss you, but I’m glad you two will get your trip, even if it’s shorter than you planned.”
“I can’t take you in my suitcase, so I’ll just make the most of you until we go and after we get back.”
“I like the idea of you making the most of me. I’m all yours.”
She laughs, a dirty laugh. “You know exactly what I mean, don’t you?”
“I love the way your mind works, but then I love everything about you. Maybe you can start making the most of me right after dessert.”
“Dessert? Who needs dessert? Totally overrated.” And we laugh.
EPILOGUE
Lindsay
Kate loves her job at XP, and within two weeks of her starting there, I leave the food court without a backward glance. I get a graduate entry-level job with an advertising company—a great foot in the door for me.
We’re both earning better than we did with our temp jobs, and we’re saving money, but in the end, we talk it through and put off our trip to Europe for a year.
I’m okay with that. Kate wants to be able to walk around without a limp, and we get to plan the ultimate trip for next July. Plus, it means I don’t have to leave Gavin so soon. The more I see him, the less I want to be away from him for even a day, never mind three weeks. I’m hoping I’ll calm down about that by next summer.
I see him most days, and Kate gets more and more relaxed about the whole thing, especially when she starts going out with a guy from work, Julian, one of the producers at XP. He’s ten years older than her.
Even so, we don’t talk about our love lives in any detail. That would be a step too far, I think, though I long to say, “Experience has a lot going for it, doesn’t it?” I like to think her smile when she’s going on a date with her guy tells its own story.
As Kate’s the only friend I have close enough to talk with about such things, it’s just as well I have no problems I need to discuss. Far from it. Gavin delights me in all kinds of ways I blush to even think about, never mind discuss with Kate, but I like to surprise him too.
I love it when I try something new that drives him wild. He calls me a vixen or a minx when I do that, and if we visit the pond, which we have done twice, I’m a “wood nymph.” He tells me he is under my spell, that I’m trying to make sure he never leaves me, and that I don’t need to worry about that. He never will.
I just laugh and do things I didn’t even know I knew how to do. With my tongue, my fingers, my body—things that make him cry out my name.
Kate, her Grandad and Gavin spend Thanksgiving at our house. My parents are used to the idea of Gavin and me being together now, and we have a great day eating too much and playing stupid games. Gavin’s Dad makes us laugh with his jokes and stories, and I can see why Kate loves her Granddad.
In the late afternoon, when we all need fresh air, we go out for a walk at the beach with Pluto. Usually I don’t touch Gavin at all when Kate is there, but we’ve had a few glasses of wine, everyone is in good spirits, and I drop my guard. Gavin reaches for my hand when I stumble and doesn’t let go.
No one raises an eyebrow, and Kate just smiles at us. At the end of the walk, as we go in and kick off our shoes, she gives me a hug for no reason. But it seems to me she’s trying to show how much she accepts her dad and me being together now.
Christmas comes around so fast. Mom and Dad are taking me away to Vermont, so I’ll be apart from Gavin. I surprise him with an early Christmas gift, a night at L’Etoile, a little boutique hotel I found online.
He’ll meet me there in the room, but I’m nervous.
When I open the door, his eyes widen. I’m wearing my blue summer dress. Maybe it’s wrong to remind him. I don’t know. “I haven’t worn this dress since the night of Kate’s accident. But I thought we ought to exorcise it,” I say.
He kisses me and smiles. “The perfect dress for fucking.”
“You
remember.”
“How could I forget? And not because of what happened afterwards.”
“I want to be able to wear it. For you.”
He smiles. “I want to undo those buttons again. My fingers are itching to get at them.”
“You said it was like unwrapping a gift at Christmas, so I thought, it’s nearly Christmas…”
“Hold that thought. It’s a good one.” He starts undoing the buttons, kissing down my body as the dress falls open. “Fuck! You really are a minx.”
I giggle. He’s reached the point where he finds out I’ve got nothing on at all under the dress.
“I should spank you for that.” But he’s laughing. He’s said that before now, but he never has.
“So spank me.” I lead him over to the bed and lie over his lap. He playfully taps me on the behind over my dress.
I raise my ass to him.
“You want harder?”
I raise it higher.
“You do, don’t you? Right then. Not going to stop until you tell me to.”
He pulls up my dress so I’m bare for him, and his hand comes down sharply. I gasp. I wasn’t expecting it to sting quite as much as that.
Bad plan? I don’t know, but I don’t tell him to stop. I want to know how this feels.
He spanks me again. Then again. My behind tingles. He caresses my red bottom between strokes. His fingers delve between my folds.
“You’re soaked,” he says. “You love this.”
“I love you too. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing this.”
He laughs and continues.
I have no idea why I like it. But I do.
He spanks me over and over, his big hand coming down hard and sharp each time, until I’m groaning out loud and my bottom is radiating heat, a mass of stinging sensation, making every nerve ending come alive, a mixture of pleasure and pain like nothing else I ever experienced. He spanks me again, and I groan, but I still I don’t tell him to stop.