by Carr, Suzie
“She never told me we were going.”
“She told me, ‘Ruby can’t wait to get there.’” The pockets under his eyes drooped.
“Well, she lied.”
Grampa searched the horizon as if answers would come calling to him from the trees. “She must have been protecting you. Maybe she feared that you’d slip to your stepfather.” Tears rolled down his cheeks.
My whole reality distorted. “She planned to take us here?”
“Yes. She just needed some time to figure it all out. She even mailed me your polka dotted bedspread and matching curtains and asked me to set it all up before you arrived.”
A jolt surged through me with the image of my bare bed and windows. She had told me she was getting them cleaned.
I took it all in and let it marinate with all of the other memories I stored of her. We sat in silence, plucking blades of grass.
“I hated her. I thought she had settled and dragged me along with her.”
“Your mother loved you. She was waiting on the right time to make her mark on life. You know, he threatened to kill her if she ever arrived home with divorce papers.”
“Kill her?”
“Yes. Kill her.”
This new information poked at my heart and sent me clamoring to understand more. “Did he push her down the stairs?”
“No, dear.”
The man tortured her. “She must’ve been so scared.”
He placed his hand on my arm. “She feared the situation. She wanted to plan everything carefully, to keep you both safe. She could’ve just ran away with you to The Rafters, but her mind clouded with fears about child abduction laws and truancy and her financial responsibilities. Things that didn’t matter. But, when life is holding a knife to your throat, you can’t think as straight. So, she freaked out a bit. I told her to just come, and we’d handle everything from here. She wasn’t weak, dear. She was scared. Not weak. None of us knows how we would react under that pressure. The day he threatened her life about the divorce papers, though, her mind cleared. That very day she called me and told me you both would be arriving on the first day of spring.”
“If only she had planned our escape for winter break instead.”
“Life is full of what-ifs, dear.” He squeezed my wrist, and tears dripped from his puffy eyes.
Chapter Fourteen
Nadia
When Ruby returned from outside with her grampa, she tapped my shoulder. “We should freshen up before dinner.”
“Sounds like a great idea.”
Ruby took my hand and led the way. We passed Grampa, who was already in the living room telling stories to a few guests. Their laughter bounced off of the walls and filled the house with the kind of joy big families produced at holidays.
We climbed the stairs to the third story landing. Our rooms sat opposite each other connected at the back by a shared bathroom. She directed me to the green bedroom. “This used to be my old room. It can be yours.”
A soft light filtered in from the open shade, illuminating a path to a queen-sized bed. A chaise lounge holding a bathrobe and fluffy slippers sat under the window, which overlooked a beautiful, rolling, green field.
Ruby strolled up behind and wrapped her arms around me. “Are you going to be okay?”
I reached up for her hand. “I actually feel freer than ever.”
She kissed my shoulder. “I love hearing that.”
Ruby’s breath tickled my skin. Mind-altering quivers shot through me.
“Make yourself at home,” she said. “I’m going to jump in the shower.”
She disappeared leaving me breathless.
I sat on the recliner’s arm and scanned her old bedroom. Sage sticks, landscape books, essential oil bottles, and photos of The Rafters sat on the table beside me.
The shower started.
I sat back and took in the moment, picturing the hot, steamy water pouring down over her naked body.
“Nadia?” She called out from the steam.
I stared at the half-opened door. “Yes?”
“Would you mind grabbing a towel out of the closet in the hallway for me? They should hopefully still be in there.”
I studied the moment. We were alone with an entire floor sandwiched between us and the rest of them.
“Did you hear me?”
“I heard you.” I walked to the hallway closet and stared at a sea of fluffy towels. I chose the top one with tiny roses. I walked back in the bedroom and locked the door.
I tiptoed into the bathroom and planned to place it on the sink and walk out, then call out to her to tell her I had delivered it. As I entered the steam and saw Ruby’s naked silhouette behind the clear shower curtain, my knees buckled, and my mind lost all sense of reason. Her long hair clung to her back, and she stood under the stream of water with her arms raised and her hands massaging her scalp. Her waist, taut and firm curved like a flower petal. I just stood there and stared, mesmerized by her beauty and elegance and complete innocence to the power she possessed.
Ruby opened the curtain and hid behind it. Speckles of water danced on her smooth cheeks. Her eyes glowed, and suds dripped from her golden hair. “You know, hot water does wonders for warming up the muscles prior to a massage.”
I jumped at the opportunity. “I could use a massage.”
Her eyes twinkled. We stood staring at each other with that line of reason between us. I wanted her. I needed her. This moment belonged to us. We deserved this moment.
My shirt and pants flew off before I could blink. I couldn’t pass this up. I’d deal with the consequences after. I wanted to dig into this moment and live it in its full glory, in its beauty, in its truth of being perfect and necessary and point on with what the universe pushed to have happen.
I slid in under the water next to her.
Ruby squirted some strawberry twist bath gel on a loofa. “Turn around.”
She rubbed the loofa around my back in tiny slow circles, steady over my shoulder blades. She cradled my naked hip with her other hand, pulling me closer to her. Soon we rocked our hips in the same sweet, sultry melody as she circled that loofa around my skin. Ruby dared on and traveled the outskirts of my back and over to my front. She cradled me even closer now, resting her chin on the crook of my neck, bathing my skin with her long wet hair. She circled around my tummy. I balanced against the shower wall, bracing against the breezes of ecstasy as she dared even lower and aptly tossed the loofa to the tub. She continued pampering me with her soft touch, her circular motions, and her soft kisses on my neck.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I whispered.
Ruby placed her lips on my ear. “Shh. Just enjoy the moment. Imagine yourself floating. We’re flying high together, soaring above everything in this world. Just you and me, darling.”
Ruby massaged me with increased pressure. I leaned harder against the wall, gaining footing under the whirlwind of this ride. My legs quivered against her hands. Water ran down my face. My heart lifted. My head swirled. Then, I floated. I floated on her tailwind, allowing her to guide me in her gentle wake as she steadied her massage and held me tightly, releasing me from the burdens of this world and taking me to a place where the steamy air encased us in a perpetual state of bliss and caressed us in a beauty so natural, so raw, so enlivening, even my eyelids tingled.
I wanted to please her too. I turned around and kissed her hard under the water. Ruby responded with a deep moan. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her in close so our navels danced together under the spray of hot water.
I then soaped up the loofa and turned Ruby around this time. I massaged the loofa around her gentle skin and her beautiful tattoo of roots blooming into a tree of life on the back of her neck. I leaned in and kissed the branches and leaves spread across her skin, tickling it with my tongue, and enjoying her twitches as I licked her body. I turned her around and traveled down to her chest. When I landed at her breasts, I stayed for a while, flicking her nipples w
ith the tip of my tongue and watching as she bucked and rolled under my tongue’s caress. Ruby ran her fingers through her hair like a supermodel, stretching her torso. I cupped her breast in my hands and savored their softness, purity, fluidity. I knelt down against the tub’s floor and went down on her. I pushed past the water and journeyed to the recesses of her soul, tasting her sweetness, reveling on her swollen wetness. She grabbed my hair and raked her hands through it as I fed a hunger too powerful to ignore. Her legs trembled, and before long she groaned and called out my name telling me to never stop. To never stop making her feel so fucking good.
* *
We took a nap under the fluffy comforter in her old bedroom. Our naked bodies entwined and became one, as we drifted off into a restful sleep. I dreamt of purple and yellow flowers dancing along a rolling green hill. We tumbled down the hill, giggling and kicking our feet out in front of us, stopping only at the bottom of the hill. I looked up and admired how fluffy the clouds hung against the brightest blue sky I’d ever seen. The air smelled like fresh cucumbers and watermelon. The fresh day, sprinkled in sunshine and bliss, bathed us in the kind of joy one could only find when clearheaded and supremely fulfilled.
When I drifted back to reality and stared at Ruby’s pretty profile breathing ever so lightly, my heart leapt. I deserved this moment. We deserved this moment.
* *
Right before dinner, Robby called again to tell me he had dropped off Jessica at our home. “She’s going to be just fine,” he said.
“Well, I’m sure that thrills you.”
“It’s not like that,” he said.
“Thanks for the update.” I hung up without a trickle of remorse for what I’d just done with my sweet Ruby.
She and I shared a glance and then walked into the dining room to join the others. We ate dinner taking in the laughter and the new friendships brewing, all the while holding hands under the table.
Her grampa had us all in tears with his stories. The man was a natural storyteller and transformed from a feeble old man to a man of purpose. The more we laughed, the younger he looked.
By nine o’clock, his eyes were fluttering. “Time to get some shut eye,” he said. He hugged us all. As soon as he left, all of the other guests decided to retire to their rooms, too.
“I’m pretty tired, too.” I stood up and stretched.
Ruby followed suit. Shawna and Eloise remained seated on the couch. “Not interested in a game of Cribbage?” Shawna asked us.
“God no.” Ruby yawned.
“I’ll play,” Eloise said.
Shawna lit up like a firecracker.
We left them alone and climbed to our third floor oasis.
We went to bed that night back in Ruby’s old room, snuggled under that same soothing comforter with pretty flowers and lace. We listened to a cat purr on the rocking chair and admired the way the moon danced on the window.
* *
The next morning I woke to find Ruby lying supine on her bed. Her beautiful breasts were resting on the edge of a comforter softer than feathers and her long, curvy body was stretched and ready for pleasure. Caught up in the moment, comfortable under her own caress, she reached down to between her legs and gently massaged herself, climbing steadily to heated passion as I stared into her eyes.
“Roll over,” Ruby commanded.
I rolled over and bore my back to her. She straddled me, and her wetness turned hot against the curve in my lower back. I stretched my arms above my head, and played with my hair as Ruby eased my shoulders with a light, soothing touch. I moaned under her caress, as she raised its intensity with each firm knead. Her skin, warm and tender, soothed me.
Ruby leaned in closer to increase the intensity of her touch. I moaned louder and swayed my hips, enjoying the feel of her wetness against my lower back. She kissed my neck, traveling to my ear and whispered, “This is so unprofessional of me right now.”
“Who cares? Who wants professional? Did I say I wanted professional?”
“What do you want, darling?”
I moaned again, this time rolling over to face her. Ruby twirled my hair as I said in the sexiest manner I’ve ever talked to a woman before, “You. I want you.”
Ruby cupped her hands around my face and placed her lips on mine, fervently kissing me. An intense heat pulsed between us, setting us on fire.
We rolled over so I now straddled Ruby and gazed into her eyes. She wrapped her legs around my waist and slipped her hands onto my ass, gripping it, pushing herself closer to me, gasping as she kissed me even harder.
Ruby rocked below me, and I responded by grazing her neck with my tongue, traveling from one freckle to another as I headed to her nipple. I opened up my lips and took it into my mouth, enjoying as it grew larger against my tongue. She clawed at my ass, squeezing it, leaving her mark. The more she clawed, the harder I sucked. Our movements turned symbiotic. I fed on her lust, her boldness, and her desires like a starved animal. She stroked me with the artistic touch of an artist, knowing when to feather, when to increase the pressure of her touch, when to stop and take in all she had created, a spent and relaxed woman with cheeks surely reddened and eyes hazed over in lust.
Ruby commanded the scene, taking me on a thrill ride that most anyone would envy. Her eyes only left mine to seek me out. This tingled my skin and sent my heart fluttering.
“I can’t get enough of you,” Ruby whispered.
I placed my finger over her lips. “Shh.” Then, I slid off of her and pulled her up to her knees. I circled around to her backside and massaged her shoulders. I leaned in and blew hot breath on her neck. “I’ve wanted to massage you naked like this ever since that first night you massaged me.” I guided her muscles to relax under my firm touch.
“I haven’t had a massage since massage school.” Ruby bowed her head and let me unwind her some more. I reached over to the bedside, poured massage oil into the palms of my hands and rubbed them together. Then, I slid my hands up and down her shoulders, to her arms and back up again. I guided her to lie back down and rest her head on the fluffy pillow. I continued to massage. She melted below me. I traveled down her back, reached around to her tummy, and traced her navel, breathing against her neck with soft, yet commanding, breaths.
“You’re good at this,” she said, rolling over to kiss me.
I moaned, kissed her back, and spread my hands up and over her breasts, cupping them in my hands, playing with her nipples. Hot moisture pooled between my legs. Ruby watched my fingers as I tugged on each nipple, massaging them into a state of complete and utter nirvana. I kept one hand on her left breast and reached down to her wetness with my free hand. I placed my fingers inside of her, and she screamed out in pleasure. I nibbled on her ear, and in less than ten seconds she melted in my hands. Wet, quivering, and high on an orgasm, she twisted below me. I cradled my body on top of hers and rocked her until our breathing paced down to quiet whispers.
* *
We spent the morning curled up in her bed under layers of blankets like two hibernating felines wanting no contact to the outside world. At moments, I’d wake up and watch Ruby breathe in and out in perfect harmonious rhythm. Her nose was petite and straight. Her eyelashes were long and curled. Her lips arched at just the right point, and reminded me of a clementine with their smooth and dewy texture. And her hair. God I loved her hair. I could spend my life wrapping strands around my finger, staring into her baby blue eyes and enjoying the view.
Why couldn’t this be my life? I could so easily slip into this one as if my old one never existed. I could learn to fly around with her and enjoy new perspectives where life colored itself in rainbow hues instead of orange jumpsuits and gray prison walls, where my days wouldn’t be spent hiding from the awkward silence that now sat between me and Jessica.
I sobered to her name. How would my life with Jessica pan out now? I married Jessica the Burlesque dancer, the fun one, the free one. That Jessica died along with the lady she killed. A cheater replaced her. Wh
at would I do with this new version of her?
I stared at Ruby’s tattoo, envious of it, and scared that I wouldn’t get to see it for much longer. It saddled her neck and hugged her. No matter what, that tattoo would always be able to call Ruby home. That pristine tattoo was hers.
I sat up and slid my finger down the vine of her tattoo. She didn’t flinch. She bowed her head and allowed me to touch her. “I’m so sorry I’ve dragged you into this mess of mine.”
“You’re sorry this happened?”
“Are you?”
Ruby inhaled deeply and held onto the breath. It swirled in her, filling her lungs with life, traveling around her chest to her vital organs. Then, she exhaled and released the pressure, filtering out the stale with the revived.
I propped up on my knees and massaged Ruby’s shoulders. She didn’t move still. She didn’t utter a word. She just bowed her head lower and continued drawing deep breaths and exhaling ever deeper ones, as if purging her system of everything messy and heavy that I dragged into her life.
I kneaded her soft skin falling prey to its beauty, its sun-kissed glow, its divinity. I massaged my apology for turning her into a mistress, focusing my thoughts on helping to cleanse her from me so she could go on innocently, untarnished by my sins.
She moaned, and I caressed her arms, sliding my hands up and down, attempting to soothe any coming angst. “Please say something.”
Ruby rose, and my hands fell to my side. I remained propped up on my knees as if withstanding the pain of purgatory. She walked to the bathroom and stopped before entering. She pulled in her lower lip, squeezed her eyes closed, and then looked up at me. Her eyes housed compassion, not anger. Her dimples formed in the small smile that highlighted her forgiving face.
“What we have here together is perfect. Don’t you think?” She blinked heavily, showing off her long lashes. “I wouldn’t want to change a thing.” She disappeared into the bathroom and started the shower.
God, how I loved everything about this girl.
* *
Ruby walked out of the steamy bathroom with a red face. She wore her hair in a fluffy white towel and waltzed towards me naked, her breasts perky, her nipples standing at attention. She stopped in front of me, offered me her hand. I accepted. She walked me to the bathroom, wiped steam off of the mirror, and then placed an arm around my shoulder. We faced each other in the mirror.