by Diana Currie
“He sure did,” Rachel beamed.
Ally ran over to Adam and picked him up, nuzzling his face and kissing him. Shane followed her and kissed Adam’s cheek.
“You are getting so big, little man,” he cooed.
Shane was adorable with his nephew. I looked at Rachel and she pressed her lips into a thin line trying to suppress a smile. She has had baby fever since Adam was born. If Ethan ever proposes he’s going to be elbow deep in diapers in no time.
We finally left for dinner and Shane drove us to a fancy restaurant I never thought I’d ever step foot inside. The name of the place was in French and Shane had to order for me because I had no idea what anything said on the menu.
He surprised me completely with my gift. I’d gotten him concert tickets for a band he really liked. Shane gave me a charm bracelet that was beautiful and had a small heart shaped charm on it. We were ordering dessert when he pulled a long rectangular envelope from his jacket pocket. I looked at him in complete shock. Flowers, a fancy dinner, jewelry, and whatever was in the envelope?
“You went completely overboard, Shane,” I gently scolded him.
“This present doesn’t really count because you can’t use it for another three months.”
I looked at him in confusion and then slid my finger under the flap to open the mystery gift. I gasped when I realized what was inside.
“Two round trip train tickets to New York?” I asked amazed.
“I know you’ve wanted to visit Andrea for some time now,” he explained. “And I’d love to see the city again too. I thought it might be fun to take the train up.”
“This is too much,” I insisted.
“I don’t want to impose on your time with Andrea. I thought maybe I could tour NYU while you girls do your own thing,” he said ignoring my complaint about the money.
I sighed and decided to simply let him win this one. Giving me things made him happy and I really was dying to visit Andrea. I smiled brightly at him and said thank you. Shane reached across the table and took my hand in his. He pressed each of my fingertips to his lips and stared into my eyes. I lost all interest in dessert but before I could say anything the waiter brought out a delicious looking chocolate cake drizzled in raspberry sauce.
Shane told me his ideas for New York while we shared the super sweet, calorie packed treat. He had put a lot of thought into the trip already. We were going to have a busy semester for sure. Mid terms were a few weeks away but there was also the obligations of Ally’s wedding to consider. Shane and I were both in the wedding. Rachel, Casey and I would have to go for dress fittings since we were the bridesmaids. I knew Elise was already planning a bridal shower for mid March. Shane and Ethan would have tuxedo fittings and a bachelor party to plan. That reminded me to ask Rachel about where we would take Ally that night. Then there was the wedding itself. No wonder Shane wanted to hold off our trip until the semester ended.
As we left the restaurant and walked slowly hand in hand back to Shane’s car I was reminded of the provocative lingerie Ally made me wear under this dress. My face flushed at the thought of Shane’s expression when he saw me in it. I’d worn pretty underwear for him before but nothing this extravagant. I’d actually needed Ally to help me into it. How was I supposed to know how garters worked? I sure hoped Shane knew how to get me out of it or we were in for an embarrassing situation.
I was downright nervous by the time we arrived at the house. Rachel’s car was gone so she must have still been out with Ethan. They had gone out to dinner the same as us. I offered Shane something to drink as we entered the house but I could tell by the look in his eye there was only one thing he wanted.
He chased me up the stairs and I laughed and tripped the whole way.
“Go sit on the bed and wait for me,” I instructed.
Shane’s eyes widened and he obeyed my order with a crooked smile lighting up his face. I left him as he was loosening his tie and locked myself in the bathroom. Quickly, I removed the silk dress Ally had lent me and took my hair out of the tight twist. I brushed my teeth and inspected my makeup. Some of it had worn off throughout the night so I did my best to touch it up. I took a look at myself in the full length mirror and breathed in a deep relaxing gulp of air.
I peeked around the corner of the wall into my open bedroom. Shane was still sitting on the edge of my bed only now his dress shirt was untucked and the tie gone. His shoes were on the side of the bed. I bit my lower lip and stepped into the doorway.
“Holy fuck, Hannah” was his response.
I blushed slightly and turned around to give him the full effect. It felt empowering to see the reaction I was getting from my boyfriend. Maybe joining Rachel in her morning Pilates had been a good move after all. Shane licked his lips and motioned for me to come closer. I shook my head and smiled at him.
“I want to see you take off those pants.”
Shane chuckled but stood up and did as he was told. He loosened the belt and tossed it to the side. Slowly he unbuttoned his dress pants and once the zipper was down they fell to his feet. He kicked them away. I took a few steps closer and settled my hands on my hips.
“Unbutton the shirt, Shane,” I said as seductively as possible.
As my eyes trailed down Shane’s muscular chest he undid the buttons at his wrist and shrugged out of the clean white shirt. I rewarded him by taking a few steps closer. I was now only two feet away. I was about to tell him to lose the underwear when he swiftly closed the space between us and pulled me into his arms twirling me around. We toppled down on the soft comforter and Shane wasted no time attacking my neck with kisses.
“Where did you get this little getup?” he mumbled against my skin.
“I wanted to do something special for you.” I craned my neck to give him more access. “It’s really uncomfortable,” I added.
I felt his warm breathe tickle my skin as he laughed softly. “I promise you tonight will be worth it, my love,” he whispered over my collarbone.
Shane pressed his weight onto me and began kissing and nipping every bit of my exposed skin. My heart rate sped up and I closed my eyes, letting him take the lead. He kept his promise, making me scream out as he took me rough and feverishly followed by an encore of making love more slowly and passionately than ever before.
CHAPTER 32: WEDDING PREPARATIONS
Elise and Casey came down to Delaware in early March to go dress hunting with Ally. I knew Ally had done a lot of preliminary searching before they arrived which made our shopping trip a little easier. Rachel and I were dragged from store to store by the Decker women searching for pale pink strapless dresses and matching shoes for the bridesmaids. Ally showed us her choices for wedding gowns and she looked fantastic in every one of them.
Colin was also in town to accompany the men to their tuxedo fittings. They were all staying in the house with Rachel and I since Ally and Jack’s apartment was too small to host guests and Shane couldn’t take them in his dorm. Elise had assumed they would find a hotel for the night but I insisted. They had done so much for me over the years. Ally’s old room still had a full bed in it and Casey slept on the sofa.
I couldn’t sleep at all that night. It was the first time I’d had to sleep without Shane next to me since the semester began and I was missing him terribly. We were up until almost midnight on the phone but it just wasn’t the same. After saying goodnight I placed my cell phone on the nightstand and pulled Shane’s manuscript into my lap. The night he’d given it to me we’d read the first chapter together. I read the next three alone in my bedroom at Lenny’s house over winter break on the nights Shane and I couldn’t spend together. His writing style was unique and interesting, capturing my attention immediately. Once the love story started to unfold I felt as if I had a front row seat to Shane’s thoughts. I was certain this was far more insightful than his listening to my sleep talking.
Since I knew I couldn’t fall asleep without Shane I sat up in my bed and continued reading his story about us. When I finally put the
pages down it was after two o’clock in the morning, my face damp with tears. It was true Shane had changed the names to protect the innocent but for the first time I saw myself through his eyes. The Brendan character bears his soul, completely exposing himself to the reader. Brendan was taken by surprise by the way he felt after kissing young Ramona for the first time. Innocent as the kiss was, a comforting gesture after her grandmother passed away, it awoke something inside him that he wasn’t expecting. I thought back to the first time Shane had kissed me and compared my feelings to the boy in the story. It seemed the night of New Years Eve, all that time ago, Shane had been just as affected by our brief encounter as I had been. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I read further.
Chapter six detailed the night Ramona walked in on Brendan kissing a girl in his father’s barn, which brought back the terrible memories of Shane and Wendy in the basement of Sigma Phi. Unexpectedly, Brendan’s description of how he felt as he watched Ramona run away through the corn fields made me agonize for him. Had Shane truly felt so remorseful that night? More importantly, had he already been starting to suspect his real feelings but didn’t know what to do about them? When Ramona walks in on Brendan with the other girl he describes feeling embarrassed, as if his sister had caught him in a moment of passion; but as she ran away crying she resembled a beautiful woman with a broken heart.
I couldn’t take any more revelations that night. I was already longing for Shane to hold me after reading his beautiful words. I tossed and turned thinking about what I’d read over and over until I fell asleep.
*~*
The next morning I made my house guests a big breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, and fresh fruit. Shane was supposed to meet his family at the house around ten so I only had another hour to wait until I was in his arms again.
“Good morning, darling,” Elise greeted.
“Good morning. Did you sleep alright?” I asked. Most of the food was prepared when she entered the room. I was just finishing up with the eggs.
“Yes, just fine. Breakfast looks wonderful. Can I help you with something?”
“I’m almost done. I was thinking we’d set it up buffet style over here and I need to get one more chair,” I answered.
“How is everything between you and Shane?” she asked sweetly. “You both seemed very happy in January when you were home.”
I blushed remembering how Elise found out Shane and I were officially together. I kept my eyes glued to the frying pan as I tried to come up with a parent approved answer to her question. The only thing that came to mind was how having an intimate relationship with Shane was mind-blowingly fantastic.
“We’re really happy,” I finally said. “It took longer to get to this point than I would have liked but your son is a wonderful man and I feel very lucky.”
“I think Shane is the lucky one,” she said. “Ally tells me how much his mood has improved in the last few months. I was starting to worry about him for a while there. Now I can see it in his eyes how much you’ve changed him.”
Her words were so reassuring, I couldn’t help grinning ear to ear. The past few months had felt like a beautiful dream. Hearing Elise confirm that there was a discernible change in Shane made it feel more real.
“We’re in love,” I gushed, unable to contain my happiness. I looked directly into her eyes for the first time since she started talking about her son.
She stepped closer to me and patted my shoulder. “I couldn’t be happier with my son’s choice, Hannah. He’s finally found the right girl.”
“Thank you, Elise.”
She kissed the side of my head and then went into the living room to find the extra chair. I heard her waking Casey up from the sofa. I chuckled under my breath when Casey groaned asking for just a few more minutes. I felt like it was just yesterday my mother was doing that to me.
Rachel emerged from her bedroom fully dressed with makeup and hair done. She was such a show off. The five of us enjoyed a pleasant breakfast together, talking mostly about the upcoming wedding. Elise gave us details about the bridal shower which was going to be in two weeks. I didn’t think I’d have a moments rest until this semester was over.
Promptly at ten am Shane knocked on the front door while we were still sitting around the kitchen table. I shot out of my chair and raced to let him in. Rachel and Casey were giggling behind me but I didn’t care. I’d spent the entire previous day in dress shops and boutiques, and the entire night alone in my cold bed hugging the pillow that smelled like Shane. I was desperate for him.
As soon as I opened that door I could breathe again. Shane’s smile warmed my skin all over and made me yearn for him in the most wonderful way. I stepped to the side so he could enter but instead he tugged on the front of my t-shirt and pulled me onto the porch. Shane kissed me with such urgency my back was forced up against the side of the house. I responded to his kiss with equal passion, threading my fingers through his wild hair pulling him closer. We only separated when I absolutely had to take a breath.
“I missed you last night,” he said panting.
“God, I missed you,” I replied equally breathless.
His lips found mine a second time and they were so soft and warm. Having Shane back in my arms was like coming home. We were standing outside my current place of residence but Shane Decker was my home.
“How have things been here?” he asked. His hands were roaming up and down my back and over my ass making it hard to think.
“Your family says they had a good night sleep. Me on the other hand tossed and turned all night without you next to me,” I pouted.
He cupped my face delicately in his hands. “They’re leaving today, so you’ll never have to sleep without me again.”
I wasn’t certain, but the tone of Shane’s voice made it seem like he was suggesting he’d be in my bed from that night forward… forever. I stared into his eyes and smirked. “You promise?”
“I promise,” he replied wrapping his arms around me in a tight embrace. My face was pressed against his warm chest.
“I read some more of your story last night. I needed to feel close to you so I could sleep,” I told him.
“What did you think?” he asked warily.
“I read the part about the barn… when Ramona finds Brendan kissing a girl. His guilt and confusion afterwards was intense.” I said.
“I hated that I pushed you away that night, right into Aiden’s waiting arms,” he whispered. “I knew I was responsible for whatever happened to you that night and I’d never forgive myself if he harmed you. When I saw how much I’d hurt you; that was when I really started thinking of you as a woman and not a sister. But I was still too dense to see why you were so angry with me.”
“My reaction was a little over the top,” I admitted. “I hated how possessive I felt over you. It hurt so much to know I had no real claim on you. That you didn’t belong to me.”
“But you were right, Hannah. I did belong to you. I always have,” he replied. His finger lifted my chin to his face and brought his lips so close to mine I could feel the electric charge between us. He asked me to kiss him in a whisper barely audible and I gladly granted his request.
*~*
Mid terms were coming up and with everything wedding related I’d fallen slightly behind in my homework and essays. Ally’s bridal shower had been a great success but it required my spending an entire Saturday in Pittsgrove. Add in the driving time and I got nothing done that day. Shane insisted I spend Sunday with him, in bed, so the entire weekend was a wash as far as studying was concerned. Not that I minded at the time.
Shane and I made a point to study in his dorm one weeknight in late March. Midterms began the following Monday and I was starting to stress just a little. Okay, a lot. He was reading his notes aloud which for us had always been a form of foreplay. I was doing my best to stay focused but his voice did things to me that I couldn’t control. Shane was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the bed. My fingers swi
rled through his auburn locks as I lay on his bed, my eyes closed as he read.
“Great hearts, my dear master, should be patient in misfortune as well as joyful in prosperity. And this I judge from myself. For if I was merry when I was Governor now that I’m a squire on foot I’m not sad, for I’ve heard tell that Fortune, as they call her, is a drunken and capricious woman and, worse still, blind; and so she doesn’t see what she’s doing, and doesn’t know whom she is casting down or raising up.” He paused. “Hannah?”
“Mmm?” I responded, scraping my nails lightly over his scalp.
“Name the work and author for that quote,” he reminded me.
“What will you give me if I get it right?”
“A good grade on your exam,” he joked.
“That’s a terrible reward. I want your shirt.” My fingers trailed down the back of Shane’s neck and dipped under the collar of his shirt.
He groaned. “Hannah, you’re the one who’s supposed to be keeping me focused, remember?”
I vaguely remembered organizing this study session. “Do we have a deal?” I insisted.
“Fine. What’s your final answer?”
“Don Quixote and Miguel de Cervantes,” I said confidently.
“Damn,” he said under his breath.
Shane turned his body around until he was kneeling by the side of the bed, his face hovering close to mine. He grabbed the back of his t-shirt with one hand and pulled it over his head. I reached out to touch his glorious chest but he pulled away before I made contact.
“One more and if you get it right I’ll give you an even better reward.” He shot me that crooked smile I couldn’t resist and I rolled me eyes.
“It better be a good reward, Decker,” I teased.
"Neither are any wars so furious and bloody, or of so long continuance a those occasioned by difference in opinion, especially if it be in things indifferent,” he read slowly.
Shane thought he was so smart, but he just read a quote from one of my favorite literary works. I had this reward in the bag. “Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift,” I answered.