The Cliff

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The Cliff Page 7

by Gucker, Christie A. C.


  “Hey, come on in.” Oh man, how was this going to go? I had no idea if Grant had spoken to him yet. He came in and plunked himself down on the couch.

  “Lanie, I just had an interesting conversation with Grant.”

  “Oh, you did? And you’re here because you’d like to talk to me about it?”

  “Yes. I think it’s only fair I hear this from you, too. I don’t understand why you didn’t come speak to me yourself.”

  “Dane, Grant said he needed to talk guy-to-guy with you first.” I didn’t mean to throw Grant under the bus, but he would understand.

  “Lanie, why didn’t you guys just tell me? I mean, I’m with Lori and it’s pretty serious. And, well, if you aren’t with me, then I couldn’t think of two people I’d like together more. It’s no biggie.”

  “Really? I mean seriously?”

  “Of course.”

  “But we broke the pact.”

  “Grant and I made that pact so long ago, I’m not going to hold him to it.”

  “You mean we all made the pact.”

  “Oh wait. Grant never told you about our pact?”

  “I don’t understand. There’s a different one?” My mind was racing. What was he talking about? Grant never said anything to me about a pact between just them. Neither of them had.

  “Well, I’m going to defer that one to your boyfriend. So would you and Grant like to come over for coffee and cards tonight? As a double date now, of course.”

  “Oh, Dane, Grant and I were planning on being alone, you know, tonight.”

  “In other words, he plans on getting you into bed tonight.”

  “Why would you jump to that conclusion?”

  “I just assumed, you know, based on Grant’s past with other women, that he was planning on getting lucky tonight with you.” Dane was referring to the time when Grant was, how shall I put this, kind of a male slut. He brought home a different girl every weekend and they would hole up at his place for the night. They never lasted past the weekend.

  “Look, that was a long time ago. I would hope he doesn’t look at me like that.”

  “Of course he doesn’t.” His tone was a little funky and I really didn’t like it.

  “So what was with your phone call last night?” I wanted to change the subject. I didn’t want to think about Grant with other women. It bothered me more now than it did then.

  “Did he tell you he loved you?” Why was he doing this if it was no biggie?

  “Dane, I don’t really want to discuss this with you right now. I want to talk about why you were so mad yesterday.”

  “I’m sorry, Lanie, I didn’t mean to upset you. I was panicking about the presentation is all.” I guess that was it, nothing to do with Grant or me, just nerves about the proposal, which was out of character for Dane. Nothing threw him.

  “Listen, I have to start getting ready for tonight. I don’t mean to push you out the door or anything.” I felt bad, but I wanted to call Grant and find out what time he was coming and get ready without having to rush.

  Dane laughed. “But it’s just Grant. He’s seen you covered in mud.” I was a wee bit stunned. Yes, it was just Grant, and he had seen me lots of ways, even more so after last night, but it was different now; I wanted to look nice.

  “Well, it’s just Lori, but you probably try to look nice for her, right?”

  “Are you jealous of Lori, Lanie?” Seriously, was that supposed to be some kind of dig?

  “That’s ridiculous. I’m happy for you.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I do say so.”

  “You go ahead and get ready for your date with Grant.” He laughed. “Oh, and don’t become another weekend romp.” Did he just suggest that Grant might only look at me like another weekend romp? I could feel my blood pressure starting to rise a bit and needed to put this conversation to an end. It was only getting worse.

  “Sure. See you later.” He gave me a kiss goodbye on the cheek and headed out the door. I watched him walk home and he seemed really tense. His fists were clenched and he was walking quickly, with determination. I tried to block what he said out of my mind. I sure could use one of Grant’s mind erasers right now. Bet I would get one later tonight. Just thinking about tonight seemed to do the trick.

  Around four o’clock, the phone rang. I checked the caller ID and it was Grant. “Hey.” I said it as sexy as one can say a one-syllable word.

  “Hey to you, too.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

  “So what’s our plan? Timing-wise. I thought we’d play the rest by ear, or whatever body part you were thinking.”

  “Lanie, you’re being naughty and I like it. I just have to take care of something, shower, and I’ll be over say around six or half past. Sound good?”

  “Sounds fantastic. I’ll have dinner ready to go by then.”

  “I can’t wait to see you tonight.”

  “If you want to see me so badly, come over now.”

  “I’d like that; I’d like nothing more. However, good things come to those who wait. I’ll be there by six-thirty.”

  “Okay, see you then.”

  Around six-fifteen, I had everything ready. Grant would be here soon and I was excited, so excited that I couldn’t stop looking out the window for him. I saw Lori walk by and head towards Grant’s. Wonder what she was doing? She must be going over to the stables; but she wasn’t exactly dressed for the stables. I careened my neck and pressed my face up against the window, trying to watch her, but lost my view. Must be nothing. I decided to spend the rest of the time in the kitchen finishing up dinner.

  6:30 - He should be here any second.

  6:40 - He must be running behind.

  6:50 - Picked up the phone and called him. No answer.

  6:51 - Decided to go over and see what was up.

  6:52 - I was out the door.

  6:53 - I was at his door knocking. No answer. And then Dane was there with me.

  “Hey. What’re you doing here?” I was really curious because he knew Grant and I had plans tonight.

  “Grant called Lori and told her he needed her to come over. She left half an hour ago, but never came back. I was coming to get her.”

  “Really? I’ll check for them here. Can you go check the stables? Maybe they’re there. Grant mentioned something about a saddle for Lori.”

  Dane headed off, so I let myself in. I heard the shower running. So Lori wasn’t here. They must have run overtime and Grant was running behind. I thought it would be fun to be waiting there when he got out of the shower. I could be an appetizer. I started to head up the stairs and the shower stopped. I quickened my pace so I could catch him with only his towel on. But when I reached the room …

  Chapter 8

  This Can’t Be Happening

  … it was Lori who I caught in just her towel.

  Lori and Grant were facing each other. She was holding her towel open and giggling. Grant wore nothing but his towel, standing there with his mouth gaping open like he just received the best surprise ever.

  “This can’t be happening.” I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but it was. My stomach dropped and I got a serious wave of nausea. My body felt hot all over, yet cold at the same time. My breath was lost and my heartbeat was out of control. My chest was burning. My heart was breaking.

  “What the hell’s going on here?” It was Dane. Where did he come from? I had no idea what was happening. The time frame of events suddenly became disjointed.

  I could hear them all. But everything sounded muted and distant.

  The gasp from Lori at seeing Dane and I.

  Her smug expression.

  Dane’s accusations.

  Yelling.

  Crying.

  I think I was the one crying, but I couldn’t tell.

  The whole time I stood there, minutes or seconds—I couldn’t tell—all I could see was Grant’s face, a look of horror pasted on it. His mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out; at least I didn’t hear
anything. Dane was pushing at him, pulling at Lori. But Grant’s gaze was focused on mine. It was like a tunnel. Dane barreled over and grabbed my wrist, and yanked me toward him.

  “Come on, we’re going. We can leave them to whatever it was they were doing. We don’t need them,” he hissed.

  I saw Grant grab his hair and he was hyperventilating. As Dane started to pull me away, I could hear Grant screaming while holding onto his towel for dear life. “Lanie, no! It’s not what you think. I swear to you! Lanie, please. Oh God. Dane, please don’t take her. She needs to listen to me! Please, Lanie!”

  I heard him all the way down the stairs and out the front door, even as Dane pulled me down the walk and away from Grant. Dane dragged me past my house, and I struggled to release my wrist from his grasp, but he wouldn’t let go.

  “Lanie, come on.”

  “Dane, I need to talk to Grant. I have to talk with him.”

  “Lanie, nothing has changed with him. Same old Grant. Last night you, a little Lori in between, and then back to you. What is there to say?”

  “No, I don’t believe it. I have to go back.”

  “You saw it with your own eyes. What’s not to believe?”

  “But he said he loved me.”

  “Oh, classic Grant.”

  “No, he never told anyone that. I know it.”

  “Lanie, you’re so naïve. When are you going to stop living in this little fantasy world of yours?”

  His words lashed out and stung. It was all too much. I could feel the tears streaming down my face. He finally stopped to look at me.

  “Lanie, I’m sorry. I’m taking my anger at the two of them out on you. It’s not your fault. You’re the victim here, just like me.” His tone was softer.

  “I get it. I just want to go home.”

  “I don’t think you should be alone right now. I’m sure Grant will try and come over or call you. You don’t need that.”

  “Dane, please, I need to go home. I want to be alone.”

  “Fine then,” he said abruptly and released me. I walked slowly to my door, looking back between Dane and Grant’s houses.

  When I got inside, the candles were still burning, and so was dinner. I had left it on warm. I turned it off and threw all the food in the garbage and the dishes in the sink.

  Woof sat nearby, watching me dismantle my romantic evening. I finally couldn’t do anymore; my emotions were a mess and I was crying so hard I couldn’t see. I slumped down on the floor against the cabinets. I felt sick to my stomach.

  Woof padded over and rubbed up against me. I pushed him away. “No, go away. You’re from him and I don’t want you anymore.” He just looked at me and gave me a small mew. He settled down against my thigh and began to purr. I knew it wasn’t his fault, and he was mine now. I scooped him up and cried into his fur.

  After a long while, the candles had almost reached their quick. I was still sitting on the floor and had no idea how long I had been there just staring. I pulled myself up and called Dane.

  “I changed my mind. Don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be alone.”

  “Come over.”

  I made some sort of noise of agreement and hung up. Dane would make it better. Dane always seemed to make the bad things go away. I locked the door and I headed over.

  When I got there, Dane was waiting for me. He moved aside to let me in. He looked around before closing the door like someone was watching.

  “Hey, thanks. My head is all over the place right now.”

  “I know, mine, too. Maybe we should just sit and talk about how we’re going to handle this whole thing.”

  “What’s to handle? Grant and I were barely together. I mean, things just happened. What about you and Lori?” I lied. Of course there was plenty to handle with Grant.

  “Lanie, he used you. He lied to you. He slept with you and it meant nothing at all to him.” The weight of his words hit me like a ton of bricks.

  “It’s not true.” I shook my head.

  “Stop it, Lanie—stop sticking up for him. Things just happened and it didn’t take him but hours to cheat on you. Or maybe his entire intention was only to get you into bed until someone better came along.”

  “Are you saying Lori is better than me?”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Then he whispered under his breath, “Not to me.”

  “I just have to figure this all out in my head. There are pieces missing and I need to talk to Grant. Don’t you want to talk to Lori?”

  “Not really, no. I don’t want to talk to either of them.”

  Dane’s phone rang. “Hello? What do you want? She’s here, but she doesn’t want to talk to you.” I started to protest but he put his hand up to stop me. “I don’t want to hear your lies, Grant. Not from you or Lori. You made your bed, and now you can sleep in it with her.” And he hung up. The phone rang again and Dane switched off the ringer.

  I wondered if Lori was still there with him. I looked out the window and her car was gone. Coward. Bitch. She hurt Dane and was too self-absorbed to even try and talk to him. At least Grant tried to find me.

  “Looks like Lori left.”

  “I’m sure she knows there’s nothing more to do here.”

  “What do you mean, nothing more to do here?”

  His answer was quick, “Meaning she did enough damage. Anything else would just make it worse.”

  Dane went over to the bar and reached for a glass. “You want a drink? Because I can’t think of anything else I want to do more right now than drown my sorrows with you.”

  I considered this. A few drinks would make me numb, and if I drank enough, I possibly might pass out instead of thinking too much. “Yes.”

  He grabbed two glasses. “What’s your poison?”

  “Something strong. And bring the whole bottle.”

  “Slow down over there. I don’t need a throwing up Lanie, just a calm one. Pace yourself.”

  He poured some pretty colored liquor over ice and handed it to me. He sat down close to me on the couch and put an arm around my shoulder. I leaned into him and took a sip. It didn’t taste pretty, but I could tell it was strong. I downed it.

  “That’s how you pace yourself?”

  “I needed a quick fix,” I choked out.

  He poured me another, and then it was gone. My glass had become endless as he poured drink after drink. Soon we were chatting about anything but what had happened. Deep down, the hurt was so raw I couldn’t even think about it.

  “Finished that one off,” he said as he held the bottle upside down and grabbed our glasses. He went to find us a new poison. When he returned, he handed me the glass. This one tasted different, tasted funny. I didn’t care. I just wanted to be numb. Soon my vision started to blur and I felt so tired. I couldn’t focus on Dane anymore, and all I wanted to do was shut my eyes and sleep. I felt him stroking my hair and cheek as I drifted off.

  I thought I heard voices. A man? A woman? I wasn’t sure. My head was so fuzzy and I couldn’t focus my eyes, so I just lay there drifting in and out of sleep. I must have been dreaming about Grant, because he was there with me then. I felt him touch my cheek and say my name. I reached for his hand and pulled him down to me.

  “I missed you, Baby, kiss me,” I mumbled to him.

  “Yes, Baby, I want you, too.” I felt a soft kiss on my lips.

  “I want to feel you. Show me you want me.” I felt my clothes being removed, soft kisses on my neck and brushing my lips. I opened my eyes, at least I think I did, and Grant was there. My shirt was being unbuttoned.

  He was telling me everything was going to be okay. My bra was taken off.

  He was telling me we were meant to be together. My pants were being pulled off.

  He said he wanted to show me how much he loved me. My panties slid down my legs. His tongue was moving up my thigh.

  My body was cold. I tried to reach out for something to keep me warm and then I felt Grant’s body cover mine. I moaned slightly and moved my
legs apart so he could slide himself between them. I felt his hot breath on my neck. I tried to kiss him, but ended up running my tongue down his neck.

  “That’s right, Baby. You know we’re supposed to be together. Show me you want me. Let me make love to you.” His voice didn’t sound right to me, but my Grant was here, with me, not Lori. He wanted me and I felt warm and tingly. I tried as hard as I could to open my eyes, but the room was swaying. My head felt fuzzy. I tried to say something, but the slurred words I heard come out didn’t have any meaning. Through my mostly-shut eyes, I thought I could see Grant’s face, his sweet, beautiful face. But then I felt him twist my nipples, and nip at them. He was grabbing me all over and then settled between my legs. His hands were rough, moving too fast. It was not the same as last night. I tried to tell him to be gentler.

 

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