Never Let Go

by Anne Carol

I held my hand up. “David, I don’t want to talk about this right now. I’m so tired after this morning. Let’s just enjoy our lunch, and then afterward I plan to curl up in your arms and fall asleep.”

  He broke out into a relieved smile. “I think we can arrange that.”

  Jenny graciously left us alone in our room so I could snuggle with David on the bed. Aunt Ellie was out running errands and Uncle Ned was in his study working, so I took advantage of their absence by wrapping myself around him. I was completely comfortable in his arms, and the tender way he held me, caressed me, and graced me with an occasional kiss on the forehead reminded me how much I wanted him in my life. We felt so right together. I couldn’t imagine anyone else making me feel this loved and cherished, even after a huge disagreement.

  He must not have slept well the night before, because we both snoozed for at least an hour. When I woke up, I quietly watched him sleep, just as he had done the other day when I napped after the long flight. I could see the allure. He looked so peaceful, as if being here with me had lifted a weight off his shoulder.

  “Are you enjoying the show, angel?” he whispered, his eyes slowing opening.

  I reached over and ran my hand over his cheek. “I love watching you. You look so relaxed.”

  “I am, because I’m with you.” He scooted closer to me and kissed me. “I missed you this morning. Tell me about the appointment.”

  “Okay.” I sat up on the bed and he followed suit, taking my hand in his as I told him about my morning at the university. He listened intently—I’d forgotten what a good listener he was, one of the many things I loved about him.

  “So, this one is your top choice?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I have a few to visit tomorrow.” I shrugged my shoulders. “We’ll see. It’s hard to go wrong with family tradition, though.”

  “Perhaps I should go on the visit with you tomorrow.”

  “If you want to.” I gave him a quizzical look.

  “I mean, to have a look for myself.”

  His suggestion threw me off, but what it revealed was that he’d taken into account my concerns about the future. Here was my chance to apologize for stepping on his toes, so to speak. I curled my elbow up and kissed the back of his hand, which was still entwined with mine.

  “I was too hard on you last night. I’m sorry. Sometimes … what you think is right for yourself isn’t necessarily right for everyone. You need to put everything into your music right now. Doing it half-assed isn’t going to get you ahead.”

  “No, it’s not. I’m glad you understand that.” He faced me now, looking straight into my eyes. “But I promise, I will never leave the financial burden to you. If the music isn’t bringing in enough, I will find a way to make up the difference.”

  “I trust you will.”

  “Good. You have no idea how hard my mates and I have been working to get so much as a raised eyebrow from a record label.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  Now it was my turn to listen as David recounted everything the band—Trevor, Pete, Don, and himself—had done so far to attract the interest of a record company. Seemed like there wasn’t much more they could do except be persistent. Playing as many gigs as possible also had to help, because I assumed they were gaining a fan base.

  “Hey, my cousin said you have a few new songs. Do I get to hear them on New Year’s Eve?”

  “Yes. Did she tell you the titles?”

  “She might have.” I smiled.

  “I hope you don’t mind a few songs written about you.”

  “No, in fact I kind of expect them.” I laughed.

  “Come here, you.” He let go of my hand and grabbed me, pulling me into his lap. “Kiss me, sweet girl.”

  I followed through by possessing his mouth with a slow, deep kiss that made me dizzy with pleasure. Make-up kisses were the best.

  “Well, what’d you think?” Uncle Ned asked me as soon as he got in the car.

  “Hmm … not much on atmosphere. It’s all concrete. But its close and they do offer a nice literature program. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to apply.”

  We had just finished up our second college visit of the day, also my final college visit since I only had three on my list. Bradley University was a possibility, but the first stop of the morning, St. Francis, was a definite no. I guess the idea of a Catholic all-girl’s school looked better on paper. Not that I was on the hunt for a man or anything, but I didn’t think I could handle the estrogen overload.

  David got in a nice morning of rehearsal time while I checked out the schools. After lunch, he came by and picked me up for an afternoon movie/make-out-in-the-theater date. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you the name of the movie, but I could describe the exact texture of David’s skin, as well as the flavor of his tongue (cinnamon, from his movie candy). His cheeks were still ruddy when we left the building, and I think I even saw sweat beading on his forehead.

  We stopped for tea and pastries on the way to his parents’ house, where I’d be staying for dinner. I told him about my college visits that morning.

  “Are you sure about that girls’ school? I kind of like the idea.”

  “You would.” I could just imagine him soaking in the female attention when he came to visit me.

  “Not in the way you mean,” he stated, seemingly reading my mind. “No males equal no chance of someone stealing you away from me.”

  “Don’t worry about that.” I traced an invisible heart on the back of his hand. “My heart belongs to you.”

  He nodded toward the door, grinning mischievously. “Let’s go to my place … see what kind of trouble we can get into.”

  “Okay.” I grinned back.

  Mrs. Somers was working in the kitchen when we came in, and I made sure to give her a warm greeting. If she was the least bit upset with me for walking out on her son the other night, she didn’t show it. David had assured me his family didn’t think any less of me after our argument. Frankly, I think I scored points with his parents for addressing the very concerns they had.

  Thankfully his mom was heavily involved with meal preparations, so she didn’t notice how David practically jogged upstairs, pulling me behind him. When we reached his room, he told me to sit on his bed and close my eyes. Expecting him to smother me with kisses, I licked my lips and parted them ever so slightly. And then he placed a box in my hands.

  I opened my eyes and looked down. “What’s this?”

  “You forgot it the other day. I want to put it on you.” He sat down beside me and lifted the lid off the box.

  I met his sexy gaze and said, “I’ll let you.”

  I held out my wrist so he could wrap the bracelet around it. “Perfect.”

  “Yeah, I absolutely love it, David.” I fingered the heart charm that was attached to the simple silver chain. “Seems to be a theme.”

  “Well, the next piece of jewelry I plan to give you will go on this finger,” he said, gripping the base of my ring finger.

  My jaw dropped.

  Swallowing hard, I stood up. “I need to give you your gift.”

  “Did I make you uncomfortable? I wasn’t trying to.”

  I turned around, holding my gift for him. “No, you just caught me off guard, that’s all.”

  “It’s no secret I want to marry you someday.”

  “I know. But with all this talk about college and your music career, I wasn’t sure where a marriage fit into all that.”

  “We’ll figure it out.” He smiled. “Now, let’s see what we have in here.”

  He took the package with cute snowman gift wrap and tore it open. Underneath the paper was a plain white box.

  “A box. Brilliant, how did you know, Beth?”

  I gave him a shove. “You dork, open the box!”

  Chuckling, he lifted the lid and came upon a very special, personal item I’d been working on for months: a scrapbook of our photos.

  As he flipped through the pages, his eyes grew wide.

  “All our
photographs … the whole summer … and even some from the past few months. Beth, I love it. Thank you. It’s the perfect gift, besides you.” He put the box aside and gathered me in his arms.

  “I’m glad you like it. I had fun putting it together. I got to relive our entire summer.”

  Together we paged through the album, revisiting all of the memories. When we got to the photos from our day in the country, David smirked. “That was a memorable day.”

  A spark went through me. “Yeah, it was.”

  Setting the album aside, he stood up and walked to his record player.

  “What’re you doing?”

  “Background noise,” he said, popping a record onto the turntable. A man’s voice screamed out as the needle hit the smooth vinyl. Lucky me, it was one of his hardcore punk albums.

  “That’s definitely noise.”

  “Excuse me, what did you want, darling?” he said sarcastically as he sat down again, sweeping me into his arms.

  “Depends on what we’re doing.”

  “I’ll give you a hint.” He trailed kisses up my throat, ending with a sensuous kiss on my lips.

  “Hmm … make-out music,” I murmured between kisses.

  “Frank Sinatra?” he breathed into my ear. “My father’s a fan. I can fetch one of his records.”

  “No, don’t leave now …” I pressed my lips to his, slipping my tongue inside so he couldn’t possibly get away from me.

  It was like I’d turned his ignition on, the way he kissed back. I almost couldn’t keep up with him and feared he’d literally bruise my lips if he continued at that pace. We were both breathing hard and our hands were wound up in each other’s hair. Gradually, he pushed me down on the bed and fit himself between my legs.

  I gasped at his arousal and thought I’d come apart right then and there. But I didn’t have much time—he moved against me over and over, until he shuddered violently. Collapsing on top of me, he sighed into my ear. He lay there for a moment, restoring his breath.

  Finally he whispered, “Did you …?”

  “Uh, not exactly.”

  “Do you want me to take care of you?”

  I blushed at his suggestion and wondered how he would go about that task. “No, not now. Your mother could come up here any minute.”

  Clasping my hand in his, he grinned. “She’s cooking. She won’t bother us.”

  “No,” I said with finality. “But I would like something from you.”

  “What? Anything …”

  “Play a song for me?” I asked, running a finger down his face.

  He brightened up at that, and in a swift move, he hovered over me and kissed my forehead. “I would love to, right after I tidy up.”

  “Okay,” I said, understanding what he meant when he grabbed a fresh pair of boxers and left the room.

  A few minutes later, he reappeared, heading straight for his acoustic guitar. Thank goodness he saved my ears from the godawful record and instead entertained me with his own wonderful voice. He ended the private concert with the song he wrote for me, “Angel.”

  Yep. I could definitely spend the rest of my life listening to that man.

  “Don’t you look nice for church?” Jenny remarked as I paced in the entryway Sunday morning. I was wearing a new blue wrap dress, which I’ll admit was flattering to my figure. My goal wasn’t to look sexy—after all, I was going to church with David’s family—but I was glad the dress still fit well considering I’d pigged out on Beef Wellington the night before.

  I was still thinking about that sumptuous meal when I spotted David’s sharply dressed figure at the door.

  “You look lovely, Beth,” he said, taking my hand in his.

  “Thanks, so do you.” I leaned in for a kiss.

  Both of us, in our Sunday best, headed a few blocks over to the white-steepled Anglican church the Somers’ belonged to and took our seats in the wooden pews toward the front. The inside was ornate, with stained glass windows and a stone carving of the Last Supper at the altar.

  David and I were in the middle of the row, Cameron on one side of us, Mr. and Mrs. Somers on the other. As soon as we settled in the pew, he casually placed his hand on my knee. Immediately, his mom shot him a threatening look and mouthed, “Not in church!” He snapped his hand back and nervously placed it in his lap, glancing at me with a knowing look. Then, just as the organist starting playing the prelude, he slipped his hand in mine and held it between us throughout the service.

  After church, Margaret introduced me to a few of her friends. I think she was showing me off, but I wasn’t sure. One thing was obvious—she enjoyed having another woman around. Who could blame her, being the only woman in a male-dominated household? I could imagine she was desperate for a break from one-word answers, insatiable appetites, and crass jokes.

  David came over for lunch and a card game after church and, as we played, I could see this becoming a tradition once I moved here. The way he got along with my family certainly made it easy for me to want him in my life permanently.

  At one point in time during the game, he scooted closer and whispered, “I have a surprise for you tonight.”

  I perked up and gave him a huge smile. “What?” I mouthed.

  He grinned mysteriously. “No questions, alright?”

  I shook my head at him, wondering what he had planned.

  “Where are you two going?” Jenny asked later as I was getting ready upstairs.

  “I don’t know, he hasn’t told me.”

  “Hmm, well, I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time. Perhaps you should bring along …” Stopping mid-sentence, she bent down and opened her bottom drawer, digging around for something. “Ah, here.” She stood up and produced a string of condoms.

  My eyes flew open. “Jenny,” I whispered. “Why do you have those? Are you and Simon …?”

  “No! But we’re getting close, and I want them around, just in case.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t look at me like that—these were my sister’s.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m just not sure what to say. I don’t plan on using those, especially for my first time. I want the full sensation, you know what I mean?”

  “Of course, but I also know that you and David can’t keep your hands off each other, and when things heat up … it’s just good to be prepared, that’s all.”

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “Fine, if it makes you feel better, I’ll take them,” I said, grabbing the condoms.

  “Smart girl.”

  As I joined David downstairs, I felt like a vixen knowing I had condoms stashed in my purse. But I was confident I’d be bringing them back later as I wasn’t planning on losing my virginity until I had a ring on my finger.

  “Ready?” he asked, his eyes lighting up at the mere sight of me. Oh, if only he wasn’t so mouthwateringly handsome. He was dressed in dark pants and my favorite striped button-up with his black overcoat thrown around him.

  “Sure,” I said, glancing away for a second.

  He gave me a quizzical look when he gently took my hand. “Come on.”

  As soon as my curfew was confirmed by Aunt Ellie and we said our goodbyes, David and I walked out to his car.

  “Alright, where are you taking me?” I said after we got inside the car.

  “First, we’re going to pick up some Chinese takeaway, and then we’ll see …” He slid a heated gaze my way.

  It wasn’t long before I had my answer. Getting our dinner was a speedy process, thank goodness, and then he started driving toward a residential area not far from his parents’ house. I thought maybe we were going to visit somebody, but then we only bought enough food for ourselves, so that didn’t make sense.

  Just when I thought I’d go crazy with curiosity, he parked the car in front of a white terraced home, which looked plain in front compared with Mrs. Somers’ elaborate flower garden or Aunt Ellie’s potted plants.

  “Who lives here?” I asked.

  “My guitar instructor, but he’s not home.�
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  Reading my puzzled expression, he held up a key. “He’s away on holiday, and he left me the key. Come on.”

  I got out of the car and hesitantly followed him up the steps. Though it was chilly enough for snow flurries, my body heat rose, because I knew what this meant.

  Pushing the door open and letting me in, he grinned. “We have the place to ourselves the entire evening.”

  “We should really eat,” I said, catching my breath. “The food’s getting cold.”

  David and I were literally eye to eye as I straddled him on the couch. We’d already spent an easy fifteen minutes making out with no thought to the Chinese takeout bag that sat on the kitchen counter.

  “Alright, let’s eat.” He gave me one more peck on the lips. “And then we can have dessert.” He grinned like a naughty school boy.

  I giggled. “Can’t wait.”

  We settled into the kitchen and dove into our food. Even though it was slightly awkward, we held hands the entire time, unwilling to break contact while we ate.

  “Imagine what it’ll be like to have our own place,” David said.

  I looked around the room, nodding in agreement. “It’ll be cozy, that’s for sure.”

  “Cozy?” He smiled at me. “Is that what you’re after?”

  “Yeah, does that sound really girly?”

  “Maybe a little, but you are a girl.” He moved his chair closer and squeezed me in his arms. “And if you want cozy, then I’ll give you cozy.”

  We finished our meal in record time and reconvened on the couch. David took the blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around us as he carefully lay down, pulling me on top of him.

  “You smell like teriyaki.” He snickered.

  “So do you, Mr. Romantic,” I said, giggling and playing with his hair.

  He slid his arms around my neck. “Well, then, I guess we’re quite even.”

  He gazed up at me with incredible yearning before pressing his lips to mine, kissing me in a way that created tremors all the way to my toes. Slowly, we shifted ourselves so I lay underneath him, and his mouth possessed mine as my hands wandered to his back. My fingers inched their way under his shirt, making him moan as I drew circular patterns on his warm skin. He mimicked me by sliding his hands under my sweater and gripping my upper waist, just below my bra. The sensation was earth-shattering, and just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, he started trailing sensuous kisses along my throat.