by Lauren Marie
Kate looked at Jay and expected to see disappointment or pity on his face. She found he just watched her. The look on his face was sympathetic, but she didn’t want sympathy either. “That was eight years ago. When I could get up on my own and the staples were removed from my chest, I walked out of the hospital alone and hit the road. I dyed my hair dark brown and used to put on a lot of make-up. I did everything I could think of to change my appearance.
“At one point, I read about my disappearance. My mother said I’d had a mental collapse due to the pressures I’d been under at Nationals. They were very concerned and offered a reward for any information. My name is Stacy Douglas, but I haven’t answered to that name for a long time. I don’t know if my mother still looks for me, but if I keep moving, I think I can keep one step ahead of her.”
She stood up and moved toward the door. The tears rolled down her cheeks again. “Jay.” She looked back at him as he stood. “It’s a lot of baggage and I’ll understand if you’d rather not be involved with me. I’m not looking for pity. Frankly, I’m not sure what I’m looking for. Thank you for this evening. It was fun and a little mind-blowing.” She laughed. “I didn’t mean to break down. When I was seventeen and left the hospital, I swore I’d never cry again. I guess there were a few years stored up. I’ll need a ride home, if it’s okay.” It surprised her when Jay stepped up to her and lifted her into his arms.
“Babe, I do feel sympathetic, but really want to beat the shit out of a couple of people. Preferably with my hockey stick. Up until now I’ve never wanted to hit a woman.” He gave her a tight hug.
Kate wasn’t sure, but she thought she might continue to cry all night. He acted so sweet and although one of her major fears was being judged, he didn’t. He held onto her.
“I think the first thing we need to do is get an attorney and make sure for some crazy reason that bitch you called mother doesn’t have any legal hold on you. How old are you, anyway?”
“Twenty-five.” She leaned back. “Jay, I can’t afford an attorney.”
“I have a friend I grew up with and I think he’d be glad to help for a cut rate. In fact, he’ll be at the rink for Broom Ball.”
“An attorney who plays Broom Ball?”
“Yep, he’s great with a broom. I’ll arrange to talk to him before the game, all right?”
“Jay, you still want to do that and introduce me to your friends?”
“Of course. This doesn’t change anything between us.”
Kate got him to let her down. “I’m going back inside. It’s cold out here.”
They went into the living room and she sat on the couch. Jay grabbed a blanket off an overstuffed chair and put it over her legs. He leaned over and kissed her. “I’ll be right back. Someone stole my sweatshirt.”
“I can give it back.”
“No, I have more. Stay put.”
Kate put her feet on the edge of the couch and wrapped her arms around her legs. She heard him move around upstairs. She rested her chin on her knees and closed her eyes.
Something clunked in front of her and she opened her eyes. Jay set two glasses on the table and poured whiskey from a bottle into them. He handed her a glass and sat back.
“Drink this,” he said and tapped her glass.
Kate took a sip and felt the warm alcohol run down her throat. “Thank you, that’s good.”
“Now, please explain to me why I wouldn’t want to introduce you to my friends.”
She set her feet on the floor and took another sip. “I have a tendency to let people down and...”
“No, stop right there.” He set his glass on the table and put hers there, too. He took her hands in his. “It seems to me that a lot of people who should have supported you let you down. I think you know that, too.” He turned on the couch and looked straight at her. “I really think your mom should be held accountable, but I’m not sure about the legalities. We’ll see what Frank can tell us about all of that tomorrow night. Where was your dad in all this?”
“After my mother and I moved to Colorado Springs, he sort of dropped off the map. I think I only saw him once after we left Portland.” She tightened her hold on his hands. “Jay, I need to apologize to you. The other night when we did the skate around I lied to you again.” She saw his eyebrows crease and he frowned. “You asked if I’d ever skated in the Nationals and I said no. I just didn’t want to go into the whole story and I’m sorry.”
He put his hand on her cheek. “That one I can understand and you don’t need to be sorry.”
She nodded. “What you did to me upstairs was incredible. I’ve never felt anything so amazing and it was wonderful. I’m really sorry you thought my reaction came from what you did.” She started to feel choked up and her eyes filled again. “No one has ever been so kind to me and...” She looked down at their hands. “I think it would be very easy to get addicted to that feeling and you.”
Jay leaned his shoulder against the couch. “Do you want to know something funny?”
“Sure.”
“Remember I said I knew you?” She nodded. “I saw you skate that short program.”
“What? How do you know that you saw it?”
“The other night when we did the skate around, I recognized the making friends with the ice thing. When you said your real name, it clicked completely. Kate Beck just wasn’t what I remembered. When the Nationals were on TV, they showed you kneel by the ice and I remember when you gave it a pat. I thought the announcer was going to have a stroke when you did the triples.” Jay smiled and sighed. “Now, let’s go back to that part where you become addicted to me. I liked that part.”
She tilted her head. “I liked that part, too. In fact,” she said and moved her hand up his thigh. When her fingers reached his crotch, she felt his penis was still hard. “I think we have a little unfinished business.” She bit her lip and looked up at him. “Jay, have you ever made love on your couch?”
He laughed and she opened the button on his jeans. “Let’s slide these down.” He pushed his hips up and she moved his jeans down. She put her hand around his erect shaft and gave it a couple of light pumps. She moved and straddled his legs and kept her hand on him. “What was it that you said earlier today? I want to play hide the hotdog.” She moved her hips and brought his head to her opening. As she let it slide into her channel, she looked into his eyes and heard him groan.
“This is a good way to break in the couch,” he said with a low voice.
His hands moved to her hips as she began to move up and down on his hard length. “You feel so good,” she said and rotated her hips and tightened her channel around him.
“Oh God,” he said, loud. “You did that earlier and it kills me. That feels incredible.”
She put her fingers in his hair and kissed his chin and jaw. “I wanted to feel you inside me, just you.”
“It’s...Oh, God,” he moaned and tensed. “Babe, I can’t...”
She felt his warmth flood her channel and tightened around him again. He sucked in his breath and put his head back on the couch. His hands gripped her hips and he arched his hips up a little.
“Oh my Lord. Kate, you are incredible,” he said between breaths. She started to move off him and he pulled her back down. “Don’t move, not yet. I don’t want to leave you yet.”
She continued to kiss his neck and peck at his lips. He pulled her into a tight hug and then let her move back.
“Are you tired?” His hand touched her cheek.
“A little. I haven’t had a good cry for so long. I can’t imagine what I must look like.” She put her hand over his and kissed his palm. “Thank you for being so patient, Jay. I appreciate that you just listened and didn’t ask a lot of questions.”
“Just for the record, you look gorgeous, babe and I’ve been told in the past I’m a good li
stener. Let’s go get ready for bed.”
She moved off his lap and hated it when his penis slid out of her. Jay stood up and held out his hand. “Come on.”
They walked arm and arm up to his room. In the bathroom, he opened a drawer and pulled out a spare toothbrush. They brushed their teeth together and she hung the brush next to his in the holder. She crawled into the huge bed while Jay slipped off his jeans and sweatshirt. He moved in next to her and propped on an elbow. He shifted the sweatshirt she wore up and looked at the scar on her ribs. He ran his fingers over it and then leaned over to kiss it.
“Kate, I appreciate your honesty with me tonight. Thank you for sharing your story. We’ve only known each other for a short time, but remember that part about being addicted?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve got it really bad for you, babe. I want to say a certain word, but don’t want to scare you.”
“Now that you know my dirty past and still want me, it would seem I don’t have any reason to be scared of you. You’ve been patient and so gentle with me. It’s more than I deserve.”
“You deserve everything and more, Kate. I hope you’ll stick with me so I can give you all you could ever wish.” He lightly kissed her. “Damn, you’re a good kisser,” he whispered. “Your lips are killer.”
“Thank you.”
They talked until four o’clock in the morning. Kate listened to his stories of high school, playing hockey and how much he missed his brother who was in the Army and somewhere over in the Middle East. He said he wouldn’t admit that to just anyone. She told him a little about her days in the world of skating and some of the places she’d runaway to in the last several years. She let him ask questions and answered him honestly. They snuggled and kissed and when they fell asleep, Jay wrapped his arms around her body. She rested her head on his chest and felt warm and listened to the beat of his heart.
Chapter Nine
When Kate woke up later that day, she found Jay wrapped around her like a sausage case. His arms held her tight and one of his legs lay over hers. She pushed back against his chest and felt his lips on her shoulder. She smiled and listened to him breathe in her ear. She realized he still slept.
Something made a loud bang in the downstairs area of the house and she thought she heard someone move. She sat up, moved Jay’s arms from around her and heard someone come up the stairs.
“Jay, wake up,” she said and shook his arm.
“What’s wrong, babe?” he asked.
“I think someone is coming up the stairs,” she whispered.
“Jason Hager, get your butt out of bed. It’s ten o’clock for Pete’s sake,” a deep voice said and turned into the open door.
Jay sat up. “Oh, shit. I completely forgot.”
Kate swallowed and saw a tall man, who looked like Jay, only older, stand in the doorway. She became aware that she was naked and pulled the comforter up to cover herself.
“Hi Dad,” Jay said.
The man’s eyes opened wider when he saw Kate and then he smiled Jay’s smile. “I think I better go tell your Mom to make breakfast for two.” He turned and walked out of the room.
Jay looked at Kate. “How come I feel like a teenager who just got caught doing something bad?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered, again. “I never experienced that.”
He rose and grabbed his pants off the floor. While he put them on, he whispered back to her, “Every other week Mom feels it’s necessary to make sure I’m eating right. She brings over casseroles, fried chicken, and other stuff, and then cleans out my refrigerator of spoiled food. I don’t always remember to eat everything. I forgot today was the day.”
Kate sat on the edge of the bed and slipped her pants on her legs, then stood up and pulled them all the way up. They were the ones with the hole in the knee and she didn’t think they looked very nice to meet anyone. She started to put on his sweatshirt and then stopped and took it off. He stopped her.
“Put it on, babe. You look great in that sweatshirt.”
“I should go, Jay. This isn’t right.”
“Kate, I know it’s a little early in the relationship to meet my parents, but I guarantee you wouldn’t make it out the front door. They’re in the kitchen right now and I’m sure Dad’s getting asked a ton of questions.” He pulled his sweatshirt over his head and smiled at her.
“I don’t know. I’ve never met parents before.” Kate felt panic work its way into her brain.
He moved over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “They’re not bad people. Their timing sucks, but for parents, I have no complaints.”
Kate put her head on his chest and heard his steady heartbeat. She looked up at him. “What if they don’t like me?”
“Sweetheart, I think they’re going to adore you. Now, let’s brush our teeth, comb our hair and meet the firing squad.”
Kate followed him into the bathroom and they brushed their teeth. Jay let her borrow his hairbrush and she pulled her Scrunchy out of her pocket. She knotted her hair into a ponytail.
“Jay, I don’t know about this. It seems too soon.” She felt herself start to breathe hard and clasped her hands to keep them from shaking. The timing for her did suck. There might still be a chance she’d have to leave Canon City. She knew it would be hard to leave Jay at any point, but he was only one person. The more people she met, the harder it would be and she didn’t know if she could take the heartbreak.
“Kate.” Jay pulled her into his arms. “I’ll be right there with you and I promise they don’t bite. I want you to meet them.”
“I just don’t know. I really should leave.” She looked up at him and for a moment felt trapped. She didn’t like how this felt one bit.
“You can do this, Kate. You said last night you believe this is real. Believe that I’m not going to let anything hurt you.” He put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her. “It’s going to be easy.”
She put her hand on his arm. “I told you, I disappoint people.”
“Not me, never me. You only let me down once when you lied to me, but we weren’t dating yet.”
“That’s not funny, Jay.” She frowned and got ticked at him.
“It wasn’t meant to be funny, but it’s the truth. Are you mad at me?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“Good. I’ll have to remember that.” He kissed her again. “You stopped shaking.”
Kate thought about it for a second and he was right. “That’s weird.”
“Come on, let’s get this over with so we can go back to bed.”
He took her hand and they started down the stairs. She could hear voices come from the kitchen that went silent when they walked in. The tall man sat at the kitchen table and the woman stood at the stove, frying bacon.
“Good morning, Mom,” Jay said and the woman turned around.
Kate saw a very attractive woman with Jay’s brown eyes and graying blonde hair. The woman smiled.
“Mom, Dad, this is Kate Beck,” Jay said. “We’re dating.”
“Son, if you’ve slept with her, of course, you’re dating. We’re not old-fashioned or dumb.” She walked toward Kate with her hand out. “I’m Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Libby.” They shook hands. “The tall guy at the table is Mike.”
Kate smiled and tried to think of something intelligent to say. “I’m pleased to meet you.” Her face heated up and she knew she’d turned red as a beet. She felt embarrassed by his mother’s remark about them sleeping together.
“Sweetheart, you don’t need to blush. Mike and I are very Twenty-first Century. Why don’t you have a seat? Jay, don’t just stand there. Pour Kate some coffee.” Libby looked at her son and pointed with a pair of tongs. “You do drink coffee, don’t you?” she asked and looked directly at Kate.
“Yes.”
Jay walked her to the table and when she sat down, he leaned next to her ear. “Mom can be bossy sometimes,” he said in a normal voice. “And very outspoken.”
“I heard that, young man. Kate, how do you like your eggs cooked?”
“Any way is fine.” Kate accepted the cup from Jay and he sat next to her.
“Fried it is.” Libby turned back to the stove.
“Where are you from, Kate?” Mike asked.
“Portland, Oregon.”
“That’s a nice town. We went through there a few years ago. I can’t remember what year.” Mike smiled.
“It was 2007, sweetheart. We were on a road trip,” Libby said over her shoulder.
“That’s right. We drove up through Seattle and then came back down along the coast all the way to California. It was in the spring and the weather was great. I think we got lucky.”
Kate smiled. If someone told her two weeks ago she’d sit at a kitchen table and have breakfast with someone’s mother cooking, she’d laugh in their face. Libby and Mike seemed nice and she could see where Jay got his easy way. The parents drank coffee and told stories while Kate and Jay ate their breakfast. They teased each other and laughed. Kate had never experienced anything so personal in her life. When she was a kid, her family never ate their meals together. It seemed weird.