by J. M. Miller
I stacked another suit into a cleared wardrobe and looked over at LJ. She was crouched in front of a trunk similar to the one that had held the first stone. Unfortunately, this one didn’t have a false bottom. She closed the lid after replacing balls of tangled yarn. The lower portion of her T-shirt was bunched high on her back, showing off a large section of skin above her low jeans. The very top of her butt cheeks were peeking out, with a gentle slope in between that was too tempting to ignore.
I snuck over, as stealthily as my work boots allowed, and grazed my fingers over her smooth skin. She flinched and toppled forward when she tried to stand. I wrapped my arms around her middle, twisted her body, and crawled over her on all fours. She giggled, smiling brighter than she had all day, and her green eyes flashed with such intense excitement I had to remind myself to breathe. I’d live every day in Hell just to see that look for a minute.
“What are you doing?” she whispered coyly.
“Taking a much-needed break,” I admitted, moving some hair off her shoulder then cupping her jaw, ready to seize her beautiful lips.
“I never said your sissy arms could take a break,” she teased.
“Oh, is that right, princess? I’m sorry, Bubbles, but these arms are useless if I can’t get a taste every now and then.”
“Knock off the names, Franklin, before I send you outside with a kite and a key.”
That got me. I laughed so hard I had to back away just so I wouldn’t spit in her face. She giggled and watched me roll onto my side. “Damn, LJ,” I managed to say, holding my stomach. “Oh, woman, that’s one reason I love you.” I tipped my head back and stared up to the rafters. The room went silent as my laughter faded. When I looked back at her, she was sitting up, no longer laughing or smiling. I realized what I’d said and rolled up to a seated position too. She was speechless. Stunned? Frightened? Most times, I could read her expressions. But this look had me stumped. Did I just screw myself? My hands started to sweat.
It wasn’t the way I’d intended to tell her, but it was true. “Is that okay?” I asked stupidly. That’s wasn’t what I needed to do. I needed to own it. I wiped the nervous palm sweat on my jeans and moved closer to her. “I love you, LJ,” I said, taking her jaw in my hand and staring into the depths of her eyes.
“I love you too, Ben,” she whispered with a sweet smile.
The sound of those words passing her lips was more thrilling than I could’ve ever imagined. I smiled back and slid my hand behind her head so I could finally bring her lips to mine.
This relationship was something I’d never expected when we’d first met, but so much had changed. And even though the well was ultimately what brought us together, it wasn’t the reason I’d fallen for her. I’d like to think we would’ve hooked up even with different circumstances. Still, none of that mattered now. What mattered was she felt the same.
With her facing me, I lifted her legs to spread them over mine, then hooked my fingers into her front pockets and slid her to me. I needed her as close as I could get her while we were vertical. If I laid her back, I wouldn’t have the strength to stop myself from taking her right here on the floor. And she deserved so much more than rolling around with attic dust and dead moths. She moved her hands into my hair and I slid mine under her shirt, treasuring her gentle skin beneath my fingertips.
“So,” I said, between breaks in kisses, “I guess it wasn’t too soon.”
“No,” she replied, tugging my hair playfully before biting my lip.
“Ow. If I would’ve known about this treatment, I would’ve told you earlier.”
“Mmm,” she hummed.
I slowed our lips to a stop then leaned back a bit, wanting to see her fully. “I should’ve told you earlier. I didn’t want to freak you out, though. I definitely didn’t want to tell you this way, but—”
“I’m glad you did,” she admitted, moving her fingers down to my chest and playing with my T-shirt. “I’ve felt this way for a while, too. I was scared you’d freak out if I said something first.”
“How long ago are we talking? Was it when we were ten? Love at first sight with the stalker behind the gazebo?” I asked and she chuckled. “No? Maybe at Janine’s will when my stalker eyes couldn’t stop staring at the way your ass looked wrapped in that black skirt?”
She gasped. “You said I looked empty that day.”
“Leave it to a woman to only hear the negative. Yeah, I said that, but I also said you were hot. I was staring at your ass so hard I’m shocked your skirt didn’t catch fire.”
She pinched my chest and laughed again. “No, it wasn’t then either, Cyclops.”
“An X-Men reference? You’re too good to be true,” I stated. “Hmm, okay. Maybe it was when I intruded on your bath time? I can be pretty charming with a wrench and a wired jaw.”
“I did find you annoyingly cute,” she admitted with a grin. “But it wasn’t then either. I think the first time I knew I was in trouble was when you gave me the green shirt off your back.”
“Ah, yes. How gentlemanly of me,” I agreed, even if I felt something that day too, I knew I was more focused on pulling her attention away from the well.
Her eyes drifted down to my chest, unfocused, lost. “Where you going?” I asked, tipping her chin back up.
She smiled weakly and said, “I was just thinking about every detail of that afternoon.” Her eyelashes fluttered and her smile lingered, but I knew she wasn’t thinking about my chivalry anymore. Her thoughts had moved on to the well.
I kissed her briefly, wanting to show her that she didn’t need to be alone with her thoughts. “We will get through all of this.”
She took a deep breath and sat up a little straighter. “I don’t know how it all works, but couldn’t we just tear the well down? Would that end it?”
I shook my head, remembering Pop’s words last month. “Pop told me he’d asked Janine the same thing and she told him that the well was a catalyst, but the curse would remain tied to this property no matter what.” I took her hands in mine. “Maybe we should go through Dahlia’s journal again to see if there’s something we missed.”
She nodded, a little defeated. “I’ll look later.”
“I’ve tried to wish a million times.” I tried even though I knew it wouldn’t work. We’d talked about the details enough. The wishes were specific to what the individual was lacking.
She shook her head and her hair shifted in response, curtaining her face. “Personal inadequacies or weaknesses, remember?”
“I know,” I said, tucking her hair behind her ears and wishing another hopeless time that it could all be different. There had to be answers out there. Maybe we just weren’t searching the right places. I dipped my face into her neck and trailed kisses up to her ear.
“LJ?” Carson’s voice came up the attic’s opening before we heard him take the first step.
LJ scrambled off my lap and knelt beside the nearby trunk, shifting bags around beside it. I followed her lead, moving to one of the standing wardrobes so I was half-visible from the attic entrance.
“Hey… guys,” Carson said when he finished climbing.
“Hey, Dad,” LJ answered with a glance in his direction.
“Hi, Carson,” I replied and he looked at me like he wanted to revoke the first name privilege. He’d been more leery of my relationship with LJ lately and his suspicions were in full swing last night when he searched her room. I laughed inwardly at his determination, though I also respected him for trying to protect her. He was a father who actually cared.
“Ben,” he said with a nod. He had on plain gray scrubs with a few holes in the front, making me wonder what shelter animal he’d had a fight with.
“How’s work going?” I asked, still digging through the wardrobe.
“Yeah, it’s going,” he replied with a quick look to his shirt. He continued to walk to LJ and said, “This place is looking good. Not as bad as the basement, huh?”
“Nope. Lots of clothes, less pape
rwork and decorations,” she said, securing bags and stacking them in a different trunk.
“I guess it won’t take as long to sort out then,” Carson commented and I couldn’t help hearing the implicit meaning in his words.
LJ heard it too. “Dad,” she whispered.
I glanced around the wardrobe’s door at them. He shrugged innocently, but didn’t reply to that directly. “Look, I hate to break up the party, but it’s already nine so…” he announced louder than necessary in case I hadn’t already picked up on the other cues.
LJ let out an annoyed laugh.
I didn’t want to cause any strife so I stepped around the wardrobe and grabbed my hoodie. “I should go. I forgot I have a Chem outline due.”
LJ frowned, but didn’t comment. We were all silent climbing out of the attic and walking downstairs. Carson moved into the kitchen to give us a minute alone, but we knew he was keeping tabs.
LJ stared through the front foyer, into the kitchen’s open entryway. Carson stole another glance around the corner, holding a dishtowel. She glared at him and looked back to me while I put my hoodie on. “I’m so sorry, Ben.” She stepped closer to me and ran her fingers along my hoodie’s open zipper. “I found out last night why, after weeks of him not particularly caring, he’s concerned about us now.”
“Really? And why’s that?”
She took a deep breath. “Someone, I don’t know who, told him that you were pretty active before we moved here.”
I processed her words, clenching my jaw irritably. It wasn’t a lie. But the fact that someone was talking shit to her dad really pissed me off. “Are you upset by it?” I asked. She already knew the gist of my relationships before we’d met, yet stuff like this often made girls go a little insane, even if it happened before their time.
“Not by your past, no,” she admitted, not entirely convincing. Her eyes peered up at me as her fingers continued to play with the zipper. “I wish I knew who said it, though. It’s making my dad a little crazy.”
I grinned down at her and gripped her waist. “Don’t worry about it. He’s your dad, he cares about you, and I can’t blame him for that. I’d be worried about letting you around me, too.” I added, cocking a brow.
“Shut up,” she said with a giggle. Carson passed by the kitchen entry again. LJ rolled her eyes. “Ugh.”
“Come here,” I said and opened the front door. I grabbed her hand and pulled her outside with me. It was a little cold, but I didn’t plan to keep her long. I just wanted to show her again, without her dad staring at us, how much she meant to me. I glanced around to make sure there were no window views for her dad to spy on us. The thought of someone talking about me was irritating. I could only hope that Carson wouldn’t let gossip affect his opinion of me too much. It could cause more unwanted problems between LJ and him, and they’d already dealt with enough.
LJ shivered when I eased her back against the stone wall. I moved one hand to her waist and I slipped the other into her hair. The porch light shone across the silky strands and glinted in her expectant eyes. This girl had me. All of me. “I love you,” I said, staring into those gorgeous eyes. They crinkled when her lips smiled. “I want you to know that I’ve never felt this way before, and it’s completely true. No one else. I don’t care if someone drags my name through piles of shit. I want you to remember that I will always tell you the truth.”
“I believe you,” she whispered, pushing her arms into the opening of my hoodie like she wanted to climb inside with me.
I leaned closer and took her lips so gently it hurt. But I knew I had to go home. When I stepped back, she sighed. I let out a breathy, sympathetic laugh. “Yeah, I hear you. I’ll see you in the morning. It’s Halloween.”
“You aren’t dressing up for school, are you?” She looked frightened and mildly embarrassed.
“No. Definitely not.”
“Good, because I hadn’t planned to either.” She gave me a quick peck on the corner of my lips and moved to the door, cracking it open. I could see part of Carson’s face looking at us from the kitchen.
I shook my head. “I’ll see you in the morning, babe.”
Most of the student body didn’t dress, but there were a few who really went all out. Trolls, minions, and a headless horseman were among my favorites. Then there were the standard angel/devil hookers that happily straddled the dress code line. It was always nice to see some flesh, though this year I found myself mentally picking apart their flaws as I compared them to LJ. I’ve got it bad.
LJ’s request for Co-op got accepted late in the day and we went to the office to pick up her new schedule after the final bell.
“So Chemistry and Trig are now in the morning after English Lit.”
I looked over her schedule as we walked out to my bike. “None of them are with me.” The parking lot was practically empty by the time we got there. “I guess you’re going to have to drive your dad’s car from now on so you can leave early. Unless I sign up, too.”
“Oh, that would be fun,” she said after strapping her bag over her jacket and pulling on her gloves. “But don’t you want to save some hope to get into a school?”
“You know my plans.”
She shrugged because she knew there was no sense in pressing the matter. My life was the property. It was home and work to me, and I was completely fine with that. “You’ll have to convince the warden,” she said, joking about Simone like I had to her.
I got on the bike and helped her behind me. “She let you. And she doesn’t even like you,” I teased before pulling on my helmet. A muffled grunt came out of her helmet and she hit me in the back. Her arms weren’t mad for long because they darted around my stomach immediately after I started the bike.
The afternoon ride mimicked the morning. No matter how fast or slow we rode, the wickedly cold air sliced through our clothes as if it were winter already.
When I stopped in front of her house, LJ leapt off the bike and bounced around. “My toes are numb.”
“I’m sorry, babe,” I said, killing the engine. “Randall told me that he plans to hand over the Cuda sometime this weekend, so tomorrow will probably be my last day riding the bike too.” I stepped off and hugged her. “We’ll wear more layers.”
“I’m actually sad that tomorrow’s the last day of riding.” She pouted. “I love being wrapped around you.”
I dipped my face into an exposed area of her neck, biting it playfully. “I love it when you talk like that.” I kissed up to her ear, knowing no one was watching. Her dad was at work for an earlier shift again. “We don’t have to work since the decorations are done. Do you want to take a trail ride with me on the Honda?”
She frowned again. “I told Dad I’d make him lasagna for dinner. It’s his favorite, and it takes a little while to make. He’ll be home before trick-or-treat starts so I need to get it started. Do you want to come over for dinner?”
I slid back onto the bike. “I’d better not crash your dad’s favorite dish. Can I come over to help you hand out candy? Pop’s got our house covered.”
“Sure. Dad will be here, though.”
“I wasn’t planning to do anything dirty while handing out candy. That’s a treat I’m not willing to share.” She smacked my arm and I started my bike. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
I tore up some trails without her, taking advantage of the clear days before winter turned the earth to concrete and put it to bed with a blanket of ice. After I returned to the house and took a shower, I ran into Pop.
He emptied a bag of candy into a plastic bowl on the dining table. “Are you hanging out with LJ tonight?” He sliced open the next bag and sampled one of the mini chocolate bars before dumping the rest into the bowl.
“That’s the plan. Unless you need me here to stop you from eating all of those,” I said as he popped another chocolate into his mouth.
He scowled, which twisted his mustache as he finished chewing. “No need to be smart.” His thick fingers fiddled with the empty
wrapper before dropping it onto the table. “Any luck with the search?”
I ran a hand through my wet hair and turned for the kitchen to avoid eye contact and to snatch some dinner. “No luck.” The thought of eating lasagna made me grunt at the soda and Pop-Tart I’d grabbed. Maybe I should’ve crashed Carson’s favorite meal.
“There are hotdogs in the fridge. I didn’t get done early enough to make anything,” he called from the other room.
“No big deal.” I chose to stick with the Pop-Tarts.
“Are you still searching the basement?” He wasn’t going to drop it.
I stuck the tarts in the toaster. “We’ve moved up to the attic and we’re using the clothes for tomorrow’s party.”
“And that’s probably all you’ll find up there,” he said, knowing all too well.
“Yeah, I’m agreeing with you on that one,” I said after returning to the dining room.
“You know,” he started, swirling the bowl of candy mindlessly. “I’d suggest Genie’s office again. I know we went through the room once before, but she spent a lot of time there before she got too occupied with painting.” He glanced at the well painting above the fireplace.
It had always been her hobby, but Janine painted more often the further she slipped away. Pop had said it was like she zoned out in front of the canvas, not fully aware of what happened around her.
His idea about the office was good, though. LJ and I were too focused on the larger areas. “Maybe I’ll try to convince LJ to look in there tonight if we have some time.” Pop still thought LJ didn’t know about the curse, and that we were doing what she wanted, which was cleaning and searching through her ancestry. I stuffed my mouth with the tart so I couldn’t speak again, fearing I’d spill some info.