by JC Szot
“Well,” Cara laughed nervously.
Val cut her off. “Are you with Mick Terrel?”
“Yes. He wanted to leave, and relocate. He asked me to go with him.” As soon as the words left her mouth Cara realized how bizarre it all sounded.
“He’s always had a thing for you, you know,” Val giggled. “I’m not surprised. He’s been itching to get out of here for years. “Oh Cara.” Her sigh gusted over the line. “I was just so worried.”
Cara filled her in on all the events as well as the ups and downs of their journey. “I’m sorry,” she paused. “I didn’t mean to freak you out, I just, I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea,” Cara told her, pinching her eyes closed. Her emotions gripped her for a moment.
“I give him a lot of credit. What he did, what you both did, isn’t easy,” Val said. “How’re things going? Can I tell people I’ve heard from you?” She asked.
“Yeah, I don’t care. Things are a bit weird at the moment,” Cara confessed.
Cara ran through the progression of what her relationship with Mick had become and her current concerns, leaving out the incident involving Cara’s choice of reading material.
“He’s under a lot of pressure. He’s been striving to be successful his entire life. Like I said, that guy loves you, always has,” Val conveyed. “It sounds like you’ve both been through so much. Don’t turn away from it all now.”
“I won’t. I just needed to call you. Hearing your voice makes it all better,” she said, swallowing hard. “How’s my mom?” Cara asked, gnawing on the tip of her finger. Her mother was probably furious, missing her weekly paycheck.
“She’s okay. I was at your place twice. Once she was there, the other time she wasn’t,” Val said. “Should I tell her that you’re okay? I take it that you’re not coming back?”
“Tell her I’ll contact her soon. No,” Cara shook her head. “I’m not coming back. I can’t.”
“Yeah, one thing Mick Terrel doesn’t want to be known for is a failure,” Val chuckled.
“When we settle permanently I’ll get back in touch,” Cara told her. “It’d be great if you could come and visit.”
“Exactly where are you?”
“We’re in southern New Jersey, near the shore points,” Cara said. “Just don’t tell anyone where I’m at.”
“That sounds fantastic,” Val’s voice rose with optimism. “I’d like that. I miss you, but I wish you all the best, and Cara?” Val paused, taking a breath. “You did the right thing. Stay strong. Once you get through the muck of this transition it’ll all work out. The hardest part is already done, taking the risk and making a change. Don’t give up now. Running back to what’s familiar is a mistake so many make.”
“Thanks,” Cara said, her tone tight. “I’ll call again soon.”
On her way out she thanked Peggy profusely.
****
During her walk back to The Sandpiper Cara ruminated over what had transpired, dissecting the sting of Mick’s betrayal. Cara looked at the reasons why Mick might have been driven to do what he did. Was he afraid to ask her why she engaged in reading romance erotica? If he’d asked, would she have been honest?
Did Mick read the book prior to their first encounter or after? Did he really want her or just the idea of what he’d read?
Cara shook her head, dragged down with the heaviness of doubt and indecision.
After a hot shower, she slipped between the crisp sheets, staring into a darkness that almost felt as lonely as being back at The Hollow. Cara reviewed Val’s counsel, knowing it would be foolish to run back home.
****
“I’m sorry to hear that,” John said softly, his mouth a flat line. “Give her space. While you do that, it’ll give you time to think of how you’re going to approach it so you can repair the rift.”
Mick shook his head, lifting the skimmer out of the pool.
“I don’t think that’s possible,” Mick told him. His stomach clenched into a tight ball, like a curled fist ready trying to fight. John’s voice changed pitch, emphasizing his point.
“Do you love her?” he asked, sitting down on the edge of the diving board.
Mick leaned on the skimming pole. Bright sunrays glared off the calm surface of the water, making his head ache even more. John spoke again.
“The answer I’m looking for shouldn’t require that much thought,” John said, adding a smile into what was a serious discussion.
Mick had never really spoken to John about things of this nature, but when John had seen him this morning, the man knew right away that something was wrong. Mick was honest, telling John Cara had left. He and Stella had been very good to them both. Mick wouldn’t screw up another relationship.
“I’ve loved her forever. Ever since I was a kid … a crush that took me through adolescence and grew into something more as we became adults,” Mick said, his admission now out in the open. His chest released a huff of air, riding the coattails of his confession.
“Then you need to declare that.” John stood, closing the distance between them. He removed the skimmer from Mick’s hands. “Sometimes it’s hard for us to speak from the heart. We have this crazy notion that it makes us less of a man.” John nodded knowingly. “What we tend to overlook is that it makes us so much more of a man.” John’s eyes stared down into him, conveying years of wisdom.
“I have to tell her why I did what I did.” Mick hadn’t shared that part with John about Cara’s reading material, and John hadn’t pried. “I did it because I was afraid to talk to her about certain things.”
“Your affections toward her,” John added, smiling.
Mick nodded in reply. “I needed help and used something else instead of approaching her.” Mick’s words jumbled and joined together.
John rested a hand on his shoulder.
“Then that’s what needs to be said. The love … if it’s there, will guide her back,” John’s tone softened, his face lined with a compassionate smile. John’s soft-natured demeanor had Mick’s chest going tight with a flood of emotions he wasn’t accustomed to feeling. John’s hand fell away.
“Thanks, John.” Mick extended his hand. John’s blue eyes lowered. Gray, wiry brows furrowed over his steady gaze.
“I’ve been married for forty-three years. That’s got to account for something,” John told him, chuckling.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Do you have a cell number? That way when I need your services between tenants, I can contact you,” Todd Conway explained, tipping back in his chair. He laced his fingers behind his neck, his stare a bit intrusive.
“No, I’m afraid I don’t have a cell phone,” Cara said, feeling inept.
“Really?” Todd’s eyes widened. “Well...” he sighed. “Why don’t you check in with me once a week then, and we’ll see what’s what.”
“Could you just give me a calendar of your rental schedule? I can still call in weekly, but if nothing changes, then I can clean the residences immediately once they’re vacated,” Cara suggested, holding her breath. She really needed to hang onto this job. She’d lost everything else.
Is Mick everything else?
“That works,” Todd said, rising from behind his desk. “Let me get a copy from Peggy.”
Cara followed him out into the front office and waited for Peggy to scan the rental schedule for the summer.
Once back at her The Sandpiper, Cara fished out her books. She fanned the pages of Down and Dirty. Her desire to read had fled like a teenage runaway.
The books she held in her hands had caused a lot of upheaval. What was once a pleasurable escape had now turned her world upside down, reality and fiction colliding.
She did miss Mick. Cara found her thoughts drifting to him, wondering what he was thinking and doing. She traced the scar on the inside of her forearm. It reflected all that they’d been through together, how far they’d come. Was she overreacting? She’d felt foolish, seeing him sitting there reading her novels with a h
ard-on. Cara shook her head. Flaming heat rushed to her face. Hadn’t the books done the same for her? She was no prude. Maybe this whole thing was just plain stupid. It was that he’d done it in secret, but then so had she. It wasn’t the reading of the material. It was how Mick had acquired it, rummaging through her things. As tough as it was to sift through it all, one conclusion kept pressing to the front of her mind. The night they’d fled from the grimy streets of their inner city, Mick Terrel had chosen her.
****
If Mick couldn’t be with her, he’d stalk her instead. He reviewed John’s words of advice over and over. Mick attempted to plan his approach. As much as he hated to admit it, his ego was severely bruised, and that was hampering his progress. Instead of looking to another’s creation for help, he should’ve gone with his own feelings, creating his own presentation. The fact that he now had Cara doubting everything he’d tried to convey only had Mick doubting himself.
She was staying at The Sandpiper. Mick wasn’t sure for how long. Will she move on without me? This was the third time he’d spied on her, hanging back in the hedgerow behind the motor inn, watching her hike down the road, on her way to work, he assumed.
How long would she stay apart from him? Was she considering going back home? That thought rotted in his stomach, prompting a hunger strike that was paired with a raging headache that’d already lasted for days.
Her ponytail swung behind her, grazing across her back as it kept in tempo with her strides.
He needed to get his shit together and fast. He thought he knew her better than anyone, but she was angry. Anger caused people to do rash things. If Cara left, Mick would have to chase after her. He would not let her slip away.
If Cara went back home, he’d have to return to a place he vowed to never see again.
****
Later that afternoon, after loitering around town like a stray dog, Mick returned to his post in the thickets, watching and waiting. He was going to put an end to this problem, and it was going to happen today.
When an older model Saab pulled into The Sandpiper with Cara in the front seat, all bets were off.
Who the hell is that?
An attack of emotions scurried through him, frustration, pain, and defeat. Mick’s stomach swirled with them all. This lethal cocktail could alter everything.
Though the windows were slightly tinted, Mick could see the faint outline of a man in the driver’s seat. It appeared to be Todd, Cara’s boss. The passenger door opened and out came Cara. She shifted her pack on her shoulder, still leaning into the car. He was saying something Mick would’ve paid to hear.
Cara stepped back, still holding the door. She smiled faintly and shrugged a shoulder. Mick knew that look. He knew Cara’s expressions better than any memory of his own life. Mick noted the confusion and hesitation, but couldn’t hear the conversation. As if trying to decipher a silent movie with no subtitles, he didn’t like the looks of things. Her boss was asking her to go out with him, Mick was certain. He’d seen this guy before from a distance while dropping Cara off at the real estate office. He could tell a man’s thoughts by observing his glances.
Mick’s thoughts drifted back to the motorcycle, something that had sat frozen in time since she left. He had no desire to ride it. It wouldn’t be the same without her on the back, her chest pressing into his back, the way her breaths had felt against his neck.
The slamming of the car door reeled him back. Mick watched as Cara fumbled for her key and let herself in, closing the door behind her. Had she turned him down? Not knowing for sure meant that time was of the essence.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sky the color of charred ash opened up, hurling rain at the windows like a tidal wave. Torrents of water slapped at the glass panes.
Cara sat back, picking at her salad. She’d eaten more sandwiches since she’d left home. Tonight she’d treated herself to a large chef salad with a side order of soup and bread. She reached into her pack and pulled out Down and Dirty. She set down her napkin and leafed through the pages, skipping ahead to the end.
She contemplated whether Erin and Tim’s story had a better ending than hers. Thunder cracked outside, the windows flashing with an electric blue light. Anything to escape her uncertain future. Cara dove in.
****
“What’re you up to?” Erin asked. Her glossy lips curled into a smirk. She crossed her shapely legs, her skin a smooth sheen of what Tim knew was appetizing flesh. How she enticed him.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Tim winked. He slid her legs over as he sat down on the lounger. Erin’s eyes flashed as she shifted her body closer to his.
“Do tell.” Erin’s naughty laughter filled the air like amplified music. A music Tim wanted to listen to for the rest of his life. He fingered the large emerald-cut diamond in his pocket. Tonight was the night.
Tim wanted her, and for life. Erin was gorgeous and gutsy. She thrilled him, always eager to take the ride with him. It wasn’t all about the physical attributes of their relationship. It was about deep trust and unconditional love, but most importantly, they were best friends. His father had always told him, “Find a woman you can be friends with.”
Tim knew, deep in the core of his being, that Erin was an essential he didn’t want to live without. She would decorate his life forever. She was exciting, upbeat, and always saw the brighter side of things.
She reclined back, lifting one of her legs. A temperate breeze ruffled the hem of her gauzy skirt. Tim eyed her nipples as they stiffened into tasty little beads beneath her snug, white tank top. He licked his lips, holding her gaze. Her brow lifted.
“Well?” she asked, her voice lowering. Tim’s body began to twitch with excitement. Her lids lowered. “I think my body’s calling you,” she said softly. The gruffness of Erin’s whisper was driving him wild.
“Mm.” Tim eased the skirt over her knees, sucking in a rush of air.
Erin had no panties on. Her pussy was open, her hair neatly groomed. Tim rested one hand on her knee, letting the other slide down her inner thigh. Erin spoke to him in an airy whisper.
“God.” Her breath came out a slow hiss. “You tease me so.” She sagged back into the recliner, spreading her legs wider for him.
“That’s it,” Tim said, wanting to caress her with his words. He shimmied onto his stomach and buried his head between her legs, breathing in a fragrance he hoped to taste for the rest of his life. He felt the ring, buried deep in his pocket.
Erin’s hips wiggled, prompting him to get busy.
Sweet fruitiness filled his senses as his tongue exploded with the taste of her.
“Yes,” she murmured, arching. Tim watched her through lowered lashes. He loved how her beautiful body bowed and curved as he pleasured her. Her foot dropped onto the slatted boards of the deck. Her other leg rose into the air, opening herself completely for him.
Tim worshipped her with his tongue. He licked the tender folds, savoring her and cherishing her with his gentleness.
“Oh, baby,” Erin gasped. “What a delicacy you’re serving me tonight.”
“You have no idea,” he whispered. He kissed her clitoris, then began laving her pussy with the flat of his tongue. He slid a finger up inside her, feeling Erin’s body enclose around him.
Tim gently nudged that magical spot as his tongue caressed and tasted. Her flavor was unique, a seasoned tonic that he craved again and again.
“I’m undone, baby,” Erin cried. Her spine curled, lifting off the chaise lounge. Tim’s balls ached with a swelling that only she could cure. Erin’s hands landed on his head, her nails digging. “Ahh.” She exhaled. Her tendons loosened under his hands as his tongue sipped from a body that could feed him forever.
****
Cara diverted her gaze away from the book, her body hot and wired like a racecar engine. She released a breath, then returned to the page, continuing to read.
****
“I love it when you don’t wear panties,” Tim said to Er
in, his tone hoarse. He stared up the trail of her body, her eyes still closed. Her skirt was rumpled and pushed up to her breasts.
Tim rolled onto one hip and reached into his pocket for the ring. He grasped it between two fingers. He held the ring, tracing a line up her navel. The stone glowed under the shrouded light of the moon like white fire.
“I don’t bother to put them on anymore,” Erin said, laughing dryly. “All you do is keep taking them off.” She hadn’t noticed the ring, still sleepy with euphoria.
“Think you’d be willing to go without them for life?” Tim rose over her, the lounger creaking under their weight. Erin giggled, sensing his close proximity, and opened her eyes.
Tim held up the ring, falling into her gaze, wanting to savor every reaction that would pass across her face.
“Oh. My. God!” Erin sat up. Her eyes flitted between his and the diamond, making him dizzy.
“Well? Will you … will you marry me, Erin?” Tim asked. His chest rose and fell, his body weightless with the thrill of the moment.
“Yes, yes. God, yes!” Erin said, her words scrambled, her expression stunned. “Jesus, look at that ring.” Her eyes flew open.
Tim took her hand. They both stared as he dressed her ring finger with the vibrant, glittering gem.
“Tim.” Erin gasped, holding her hand out. Her eyes darted back to him. “It takes my breath away.” She shook her head.
“That’s exactly what you do to me,” he told her, his chest tight with the sentiment of the moment.
****
Cara threw the book at the wall. Her life wasn’t a story and neither was Mick’s. She’d often wished it was, many times, while living in The Hollow, but she needed to leave the past in the past. There was a better life here, a real life, and for both of them. Someone needed to take control. She scooted off the bed and parted the curtains.
The rain showered the parking lot with slanted sheets, hitting the asphalt like pellets. She slipped her key into her pocket. Cara took one last glimpse in the mirror.
“Tonight, I’m going to be the author,” she muttered between pursed lips. Cara spun on her heel and left her room, locking the door behind her.