Lila knew that Chase had always been closer to his mother than his father, but she was hesitant to speak on his behalf.
“When we saw Chase dancing at the wedding we were sure we were hallucinating. Dancing!” Frank winked his approval at Lila.
“He’s a good kid,” was all Lila could say. Her eyes jumped to Jack, who was staring at her intensely.
Bitsy continued. “I just can’t thank you enough, Lila. Chase was on a dark path and you saved him. You really did.” Bitsy took one of Lila’s hands in her own and sighed deeply, looking around. “And where is he? Where’s Chase?”
Lila blinked. “Oh, well, Chase....”
Jack interjected. "He's with a study group." If he told her Chase was, for some reason, busing tables at a restaurant that he and Lila would be subjected to a flurry of questions he wasn’t sure they were ready to answer.
Bitsy’s eyebrows jumped to the top of her head and she looked at Jack. Then Lila. Then Frank. Then back to Lila. “So you two are here…” She turned to Jack. “Alone?”
Jack could only stare blankly at his grandmother, knowing that this wasn’t going anyplace good.
Bitsy fluttered her lashes at Lila. “Well when I said you were taking wonderful care of my grandson I suppose I should have made it plural.”
“It’s nothing like that, Mrs. Halloway, Jack was just giving me a ride home from the restaurant...” Lila realized how that sounded and bit her tongue, catching Jack’s eyes over Bitsy’s shoulder. He was shaking his head in defeat.
“A ride home from the restaurant,” Bitsy repeated. “Well…” She trailed off, suggestively.
Lila scrunched her nose. “I should probably go..."
Bitsy, Frank and Jack all frowned at her as if they couldn't believe she would even think of leaving which made Lila all the more anxious.
Bitsy took Lila's arm. "Oh nonsense, darling, Frank and I would love it if you came inside to catch up."
Lila smiled at her warmth. "That really means a lot Bitsy, but I know Jack hasn't seen you in a while. I wouldn't want to intrude."
"You're not intruding," Jack interjected, holding Lila's challenging gaze with one equally as strong. "Come up." His words were more of a demand than a question.
Lila shook her head. "This is family time guys. I really-- I should go." She kissed Bitsy's cheek quickly before waving and making her way down the sidewalk.
As she walked off, Jack bounded down the stairs, brushing a comforting hand against his grandmother's shoulder before sweeping past her and chasing Lila down the street.
Frank and Bitsy shared a knowing look.
---
"Lila, wait." Jack raced after Lila, taking her arm in his hand as he circled in front of her, blocking her path breathlessly. "Hey, hey!"
Lila sighed helplessly, coming to a reluctant stop. She could feel her arm heat up where Jack was holding it. "Jack," she relented, shaking her head. "This isn't a good idea."
He held her gaze steadily. "What about what just happened in the truck?" His eyes studied hers. "Love 'em and leave 'em, huh?"
A slow smile worked at her lips. "It was just the one time, right?"
"Does it count if we didn't even get a chance to finish?" he asked, bending down so they were eye to eye. He placed his hands on her waist and squeezed.
Lila smiled.
He swallowed hard. "I'm not sorry it happened."
She licked her lips. Over his shoulder, she was sure she saw the blue truck from the coffee shop the other day rolling slowly down the street. She watched it until it was out of sight.
He watched her lips as she licked them, unaware at her momentary distraction. "Are you sorry?" he whispered.
Closing her eyes, Lila tilted her head to the side, and then opened them before shaking her head no.
His eyes grew cloudy. "Come inside."
"Jack, what if Chase sees?"
"Then he sees," Jack beamed. He was so sick of all of this. Sick of hiding the way he felt. With every second that passed with her waist in his hands, allowing him to touch her, hold her, he was sick of it a little more.
Lila was shaken by the way Jack was looking at her. So open and honest. "It's not a good idea," she said, again.
--
"More tea, Lila?" Bitsy chirped.
Lila looked up from her seat at Jack's kitchen table and blushed as Bitsy offered her the fourth re-fill of the night. Before she answered her eyes flew to Jack across the table, who was watching her with kind eyes. "Sure, Bitsy, thank you."
"So," Bitsy started. Having been the life of the tea party for the last hour, none of the other three patrons at the table were surprised as she began speaking. "I remember the first moment I met you," she said to Lila.
"Oh, yeah?" Lila asked as Bitsy re-took the chair opposite her. "I hope I was at least, semi-sober."
Jack and Frank laughed softly as Bitsy waved a playful hand. "You were lovely. It was our wedding reception and you and Chase had just finished dancing, rather horrifically might I add, to--"
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love," Jack finished, staring across the table at Lila.
Bitsy snapped a finger. "Yes. And I remember telling Frank that I had never seen my Chase as brilliantly happy as he was at that very moment. Didn't I tell you that Frank?"
"You did," Frank confirmed. Lila was sure she sensed tightness in his voice.
"Yes, and the moment that song ended I remember that Chase took your hand and dragged you across the dance floor towards me. He was moving a mile a minute, and you were struggling to keep up in that tiny purple dress you had on--"
"Blue..." Jack corrected.
"Was it blue?" Bitsy beamed.
"…It was blue."
"It was blue." Lila nodded, giving Jack a look.
"Well, anyway!" Bitsy's eyes widened. "Chase dragged you over to me and introduced you to me as his date."
"I remember," Lila said, softly. "I could have killed him."
"Oh you turned just about as red as a young lady of your complexion is capable of turning."
Lila chortled against her tea, nearly spitting it out. Across the table Jack was giving his grandmother a look of disbelief.
"He said you were the love of his life."
The smile had fallen from Lila's face and she was now staring at Bitsy intently.
"I told him that sixteen year olds didn't have loves of their lives," Bitsy continued.
Lila sighed deeply. "I remember."
Bitsy cleared her throat. "Now my youngest grandson has always had a flair for the dramatic... so I didn't think much of it." She paused for a moment. "But that was two years ago... he's on his way to Harvard now... and you're still here."
Lila took a moment. "Yeah."
"Having dinner with my first grandson?"
"Grams," Jack jumped in.
Lila held his gaze, and then looked back to Bitsy. "Yeah, we had dinner." She felt like she was on trial.
"So!" Bitsy took a heavy sip of her tea, "You and Jack had dinner together. How nice." Bitsy's shoulders shook. "I would just love it if all five of us could have dinner together before we left."
Jack's eyes widened in Lila's.
Bitsy placed a small hand over Jack's strong arm. "Someplace bright and festive. Where did you guys go tonight? Maybe I'd like it?"
"Bitsy," Frank warned.
Bitsy blinked innocently, but Frank knew her too well.
Lila cleared her throat. "We went to Lavo."
"Lavo... well..."
"It was a business dinner, Grams," Jack jumped in. "We were only there to discuss her submitting her resignation."
"Resignation!"
Jack nodded. "Now that Chase is going to Harvard, Lila was insistent that she put a little distance between the two of them since..." He motioned to Bitsy. "They are very close." His eyes went to Lila. "I didn’t want to accept her resignation because while she and Chase are very close I have seen nothing but improvement in him since the moment she came into his life. He would
n’t be the man he is today, nowhere near the man he is, without her.”
Lila took in his words, speechless.
Jack held her gaze as he went on. “But, despite my best efforts, she insisted that her work was done. She didn't think it would be fair to Chase to stay in his life when she knew he’d be out on his own soon."
“And I suppose driving her home in your truck was a part of her resignation?” Bitsy giggled gently. “Any special women in your life these days, darling?”
Jack’s jaw tightened. “Enough, Grams.”
"Well anyway, that was very adult of you, Lila. And very sensitive towards what's best for Chase. I'm very impressed." She nodded, before sitting taller in her seat and looking back to Jack. “Are you working tomorrow night, dear?”
Jack stopped in mid sip. “I’m always working.”
“Not tomorrow night you aren’t. You, Chase, Frank, Lila and myself are all going to have dinner. Make reservations. Someplace decorative.” Bitsy shook her shoulders in delight.
Lila and Jack met eyes, both trying to think of a gentle way to tell his grandmother just how much that was not going to happen.
“So it’s decided,” Bitsy concluded, tossing her head back and standing tall. “I’ll set up Frank and my things in the guest room. We’ll be staying until Monday morning. This was lovely Lila but I'm positively exhausted and must sleep. See you at six." Bitsy kissed Jack on each cheek, gushed over her “gorgeous friggin’ grandson” and began out of the kitchen, calling for Frank as she went.
Lila stared at Jack, astonished.
---
"Why did you lie to her?" Lila asked later as she and Jack washed the tea cups in the kitchen sink. Bitsy and Frank had since retired to the guest room. "Is it just some horrible tick that all lawyers have? You just can't help but lie about everything?"
"I know my grandmother, Lila. Trust me, I was just saving us all a very long and uncomfortable conversation. She knows how Chase feels about you." How I feel about you, he thought to himself, handing Lila the clean dishes so she could rinse them and put them on the drying rack. “And unlike us, she’s not afraid to acknowledge the elephant in the room.” They stood shoulder to shoulder, their arms a breath away from touching. Jack yearned to lean in and close the space as he looked down at her with the sleeves of her white button down rolled up and her eyebrows curled into an adorable frown. "She was about to cross examine the shit out of you. Where do you think I learned all my best moves? It wasn't at Harvard, I'll tell you that."
"The University of Bitsy," Lila whispered, "I'm sure she'd give the Ivy’s a run for their money."
Jack’s face grew frustrated. “You know, she always does this. She shows up out of the blue, drills her way into my life, up-ends everything and expects everyone to yield to her.”
“She sure loves you,” Lila said dryly, looking up at him and laughing out loud when she saw the distressed look on his face. “Oh, come on, we should all be so lucky to have a grandmother who worships the ground we walk on.”
“Don’t let that silver hair fool you. Grandma has many a trick up her sleeve.” He stared down at her. "I shouldn’t have lied… but I was just trying to protect you."
Lila tried to focus on rinsing and keeping her hands from shaking. "Well... you don't have to do that. The truth always comes out and I don't want to lie to your family. I knew it wasn't a good idea that I come in."
"I'm glad you did," Jack said. They need to get used to seeing us together, he thought.
Lila opened her mouth to speak and, thinking the better of it, snapped it closed.
But Jack was watching her too closely. “What is it?” he asked.
“Did you donate that money for the kids at school?” she blurted, staring straight ahead at the kitchen wall instead of him. Eventually, her eyes met his.
Jack looked confused. “What money?”
Lila knew Jack was a lawyer, but she’d never known him as an actor. A small smile crossed her lips. “Nevermind,” she said, going back to the dishes. “Forget about it.”
He dropped the soapy teacup in his hand back into the water and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her to him. The soapy suds dripped from his fingers and penetrated her shirt immediately. He tugged her body to him and sighed contently when he felt it mold to his.
Lila held her arms out in surprise, craning her neck to look behind her at his dripping wet hand on her back. “Why do you always seem to be getting me soaked and wet?”
“Because you’re so much more pleasant that way. Why fix what isn’t broken?” He pressed his body against hers tighter. Like he knew she would, Lila tried to step away.
"Jack, what are you doing?" She pointed a thumb at the kitchen door. “Your grandmother is right down the hall.”
"Do you have any idea..." He ran his wet hand down to the small of her back, lingering just above the swell of her ass. "How hard it was to sit across from you, sipping tea, after what you did to me in my truck?"
"Okay, I get that." She nodded. "I do. But not here."
"Where?"
She stared into his eyes, smiling, but her smile quickly vanished when she saw how serious he was. "I don't know, Jack. Maybe this is all a mistake."
"A mistake." He looked to the closed kitchen doors over her head. "Okay... A mistake."
"I'm serious."
“It’s a mistake,” Jack agreed with a mock frown, backing her into the kitchen sink as he took in her wet, parted lips. He could already feel them wrapped around his dick.
Lila licked her lips, trying to calm her frantic breathing. “Yeah.” She nodded, pressing up against the moist counter and clutching it. “We were… drunk.”
Jack nodded, as well, placing his hands on the counter on either side of her. “Really drunk,” he whispered.
“We didn’t know what we were doing,” Lila said, gasping when he pressed his hips against hers, his hardness persistent against her thigh.
“Not at all,” he said, slowly, wrapping his arm tighter around her waist.
“It was just for that one fleeting moment,” Lila reminded, taking his slim hips in her hands and tugging him against her harder.
“Yeah…” Jack began to nod, but crushed his lips to hers instead, inhaling heavily when he felt her lips part beneath his before diving in for more.
“Oh god,” Lila whined when Jack’s lips went to her neck, sucking at her skin hungrily. It felt amazing. He reached up and took a breast in his hand before dipping his finger into the folds of her shirt and ripping it open entirely. The buttons of her blouse flew all over the kitchen floor and she threw her head back when he forcefully pulled down the cups of her bra, releasing her heaving breasts and desperately taking a nipple in his mouth, tasting her.
“Okay,” she breathed. “Just for tonight.”
“Mmmhmm,” Jack mumbled, suckling her softly while working her other nipple around the tips of his fingers. He released her from his mouth and stared down at the glistening numb. “You’re so beautiful, Lila,” he whispered, cupping both of her breasts in his hands before moving his mouth to her other nipple, showing it ample attention, as well.
Lila, swallowing thickly, quickly lost her grip on reality as waves of pleasure rolled through her. Staring down at Jack, licking and sucking at her, she almost let herself disappear into the amazing abyss he was creating for her, but placed her hand on the back of his head just in time.
“Wait,” she said, pushing him softly away before grabbing a chair and hurrying to the doors of the kitchen. She pushed the chair under the handles of the French pocket doors and closed the curtains she was sure had never been closed, reveling in the sight of the burgundy cloth closing the world outside completely away. Before she could turn back to Jack, he was behind her, sucking the side of her neck and grabbing her arms, placing them above her head on the door. He pushed his throbbing cock against her skirt, letting it sink into the folds of her ass until her entire body was flush against the wood.
“Oh my god,” she
cried, throwing her head back as his hands slid up and down her body, eventually cupping her exposed breasts, again. “Fuck me,” she gasped, losing any and all control. “Please, Jack. Fuck me.”
Jack had lost control, as well, his eyes clasped shut as he grinded his hips against hers, furiously undoing the button of his pants with one hand while slipping the other into her skirt and down to the soft panties she was wearing. They were already damp. She reached behind her and frantically slid down the zipper of her skirt as Jack freed himself from his pants. He tucked his fingers into her skirt and underwear, sliding them both down her legs and leaving her naked from the waist down. Crouched beneath her, he took in the beautiful sight of her plump ass and her swollen pussy, wet and throbbing before him. Taking her thighs in each of his hands he tucked his head between her legs from behind and dove his tongue into her slit, spreading her, tasting her.
Lila screamed out against the door, digging her fingers into the wood when Jack’s fingers found her clit, twirling around it while lapping at her pulsating entrance. Rhythmic gasps shook her body and begged for more as he ate her out expertly, sending her into overdrive. Her knees buckled beneath her and Jack caught her around the waist as she fell, taking her with him as he lay back against the cold kitchen floor, gripping her soft thighs when she straddled him.
"Oh Jack." Lila pressed a passionate kiss against his lips, growling when he returned it with just as much feeling. She reached behind her hungrily, taking his throbbing heat into her hand and guiding it to her moist center, her eyes fluttering shut when she felt him brushing against her entry, hard and ready. "Oh god,” she whispered as he sank slowly into her, stretching her inch by glorious inch.
Lila's Thunder: The Almeida Brothers, Book One Page 10