by Emma Nichole
“You asshole!!” I scream, pretending to be way more angry than I actually am. “You’re lucky I can swim!”
I wipe my face and push my now sopping wet braid behind my shoulder, and I can now see him laughing his ass off at the poolside.
“Come on. Don’t be mad. It was a joke,” he says through his laughter.
“Well, I didn’t think it was very funny.” I swim toward him on the side and reach my hand out to him. “Pull me up. I need to go change now that my clothes are ruined.”
“Jesus, Piper, are you really mad? I’m sorry. It was supposed to be funny.”
“What do you think?”
Our hands clasp together, and the moment I feel him begin to pull me up, I yank with all my might, sending him toppling headfirst into the water beside me.
“Karma!” I shout when he breaks the surface. I take off swimming in the opposite direction because the look on his face tells me I’m in trouble when he gets his hands on me.
I’m not sure how long we spend in that pool, playing like teenagers in the midst of a summer fling, but it’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time.
When he carries me inside afterward and straight into the steamy heat of the very large shower in the master bathroom, he fucks me against the tile slowly, groaning into my ear how good I feel, and how happy he is I’m here with him, until we both come in unison with a cacophony of moans, sighs, and slick hands on wet flesh.
I’m not sure at what moment it really happened, but without a shadow of a doubt, I’ve fallen in love with him.
Nathanial
“I’m not sure what kind of magic you put into the pasta, but it’s incredible.” I fill my mouth with another forkful as we sit at the patio table outside later that night. The sun is just starting to set in the distance, and it has cast a soft orange glow over the entire scene.
“It’s just fettuccine in a cream sauce. It’s so easy even you could do it.” She slurps up a noodle then follows up with a wipe of her mouth with a napkin.
“Oh, I beg to differ, baby.”
“Well, then I’m glad you approve.”
After our shower earlier this afternoon, she changed into a long, royal blue maxi dress that hugs her ample breasts perfectly then falls gently down the rest of her body. Her hair is in loose waves, begging for me to bury my hand in the strands.
“Tell me about your dad. What was he like?” I don’t know what possesses me to ask so bluntly, but I want to know everything about her that I can.
“Wow, you don’t waste any time do you?” She downs her whiskey sour in one large gulp.
“You don’t have to talk about him if you’d rather not.”
“No, no. I will. I just wasn’t expecting that question right now.” She looks out over the pool and begins speaking. “He loved us so much. He would have done anything for us, and he did, but he had demons of his own. Money is a beast that is hard to manage for some people. I refuse to believe he had anything except the best of intentions when he did the things he did. He just didn’t think things through before he did them. He was a very in the moment, worry about now and handle things later type of man, so when he had a heart attack and never came home from the hospital, my mom was left carrying a very large bag with his name on it.”
“Why doesn’t she just sell the restaurant and move forward? If it’s starting to become more of a financial burden than anything that is giving her joy, doesn’t it seem like that’s the right course of action?”
“None of us want that to be the case, though, Nathanial. My father died like that.” She snaps her fingers like a comic book villain. “He was in the kitchen at Kingston’s one day, then completely gone the next.” I watch as her eyes mist with tears. “We didn’t get to say goodbye to him in any meaningful way. Kingston’s is all we have left. All she has left of him. You don’t think it would be easier to sell to one of the five hundred people that offer to buy the building? Of course it would, but then what happens to my father’s dream? Everything he worked for? It would disappear as quickly as he did.”
I reach across the table and use my thumb to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I just don’t talk about him much, and now with all of this and you, I’m feeling all types of emotions lately.” She sniffles a bit. “I’m sorry for crying.”
“Don’t apologize to me for that. Not ever.”
“Will you ever talk to me about your dad?” she asks softly.
I lean back in my chair and exhale a steady breath. Talking about him isn’t something I do unless I’m absolutely forced to.
“You don’t have to. I just thought…” she adds but I stop her.
“My father is in the mid stages of Alzheimer’s disease. I wish I could say it came on suddenly, but it didn’t. It was a slow progression at first, forgetting things here and there, but now it’s progressing more quickly. Dementia is of concern now.”
She moves from her seat across from me and kneels at the side of my chair, taking my hands in hers.
“Nathanial, I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that must be.”
“It’s been a battle in many ways. Especially since my father and I don’t have much of a relationship anymore.” I try my best to sound as unaffected as possible, but she isn’t buying it.
“You say that as if it it’s not a big deal, but it really is. Whatever has caused you to not have anything to do with him couldn’t be bad enough to let this go on forever, could it?”
“What happened with my dad isn’t something I want to talk about, Piper. I know we are talking right now, about everything, but I want to leave all of that shit behind me, and focus on the now. You. Me. Us. That’s what I want to focus on, okay?”
I expect her to push back, in typical Piper fashion, but instead she rests her cheek on my thigh for a moment then rises to her feet.
“Okay. We don’t have to talk about anything we don’t want to.”
“Thank you, and actually, when we finish up dinner, I’d like to take you for a walk on the beach, if you want.”
“That actually sounds incredible. I love the feeling of sand between my toes.”
“Good thing we have that in abundance just a few blocks away.”
***
If I could bottle up any scent in the world, it would be Piper’s shampoo and the ocean, both of which are whirling around me as the incoming tide kisses at our feet while we walk along the shoreline.
I’ve my slacks rolled midway up my calf because she demanded I walk barefoot with her, which I happily obliged.
There isn’t a single person on this beach right now, giving us the illusion we are the only two people on earth. It’s a nice thought.
I’ve learned so much about her just from this walk in the sand. She loves chocolate, but hates dark chocolate. She prefers live music over any other kind, and loves going to shows in the city, especially bands she doesn’t know. She calls it musical exploration.
She’s always wanted a puppy, but has never been brave enough to fully commit to raising another living being. A basset hound puppy, to be more precise.
“Come on. You can’t tell me they aren’t the cutest animals you’ve ever seen your life? Think about their rolled up skin and saggy eyes. Every time I see one, I want to squeeze it then eat it, it’s so cute.”
“You want to… eat… it?” I take her hand and pull her to spin around so we are facing one another.
“Yes. It’s like my mind doesn’t know how to process the cuteness, so it goes primal. It’s the only extreme enough reaction I can think of.” She shrugs.
Christ, she’s so adorable.
“What would you name this edible basset hound puppy?”
“Pepper Jack,” she answers quickly, without hesitation, and completely confident in her response.
“Pepper Jack? Why?” I chuckle.
“I just think it would be funny and so damn cute to have a big, lazy, droopy dog named Pepper Ja
ck.”
She bends at the waist and picks up a perfectly shaped, blue seashell and examines it closely.
“It’s beautiful,” I tell her. “I always liked looking for the perfect ones when I was a little kid. I would give them to my mother to keep anytime I did.”
“That’s a sweet memory.” She takes my hand and places the shell in my palm. “For your mother’s collection.”
I’m not sure what I did in my life to make it so this incredible woman wants anything to do with me, but I don’t want it to stop.
If I had my way, I’d keep us right here, on this isolated beach, forever.
When we finally tumble into bed for the night, she’s on top of me, with the moonlight beaming in through the uncovered window in our bedroom, rocking slowly while my hands explore every inch of her skin, I know, deep in my gut, this is more than a deep infatuation. It’s more than a passing fling or an itch I need scratched. I’m addicted to her… mind, body, soul… and heart.
Chapter 20
Nathanial
For the first time in longer than I can remember, I actually sleep. It wasn’t a full night by any stretch of the imagination, but I can’t balk at getting six full hours.
I lay beside Piper in bed, watching her sleep, for longer than I’d ever admit out loud, tracing her beauty marks and freckles that dot her pale skin.
My favorite is the freckle that resides directly underneath her right breast. I have made a quick habit of kissing it any time I’m lucky enough to be offered her body.
When I checked my phone and saw it was half past nine, I actually decided to get out of bed and let her sleep for a while longer. She clearly needs the rest, and I could use an hour or so to try to get some work done before she wakes.
Coffee has become a life source for me the past six months. Honestly, I may as well mainline it directly into my veins at this point. Piper is acutely aware of this because when we made the grocery order yesterday afternoon; she made sure to include the exact coffee I prefer and the oat milk I put in it.
It’s the small things that don’t matter in the grand scheme that matter the most sometimes.
I knew last night, about the time she fell asleep curled into me with her head right over my racing heart, I wanted to tell her that I want to try something… more… with her.
I don’t want to sneak around like children. We are adults, and I want to and am willing to try something more serious with her.
She’s the first woman I’ve ever considered this with in my entire life. I’ve never relished the idea of a “girlfriend.” It always seemed like nothing more than a hassle and a distraction from what really matters in life.
I’m able to finish two cups of coffee and work for a solid two hours when I finally hear footsteps padding across the living area and into the kitchen.
“I was wondering when you’d wake up.”
I turn around, expecting to see Piper standing before me, maybe naked, maybe in my T-shirt, but instead, I find my mother and father.
“Nathanial? What are you doing here?”
Piper
I’m sore in the most delicious way.
I stretch my arms high above my head, delighting in the ache I feel in almost every muscle I have. He wasn’t gentle with me last night when he had me bent over the kitchen table, and I certainly wasn’t gentle with him when I rode him with every ounce of energy I had inside of me.
It was the best sex I’ve had in my life. Hands down.
I know it’s because the emotions are running so real and so raw between us.
I sit up in bed, letting the sheet pool at my waist and realize I am completely alone. The bathroom light is off, so I know he isn’t in there. I was hoping he’d sleep at least a little last night.
Taking my cell phone from the nightstand, I open my email app to see that I have a new message from Ida.
Piper,
I haven’t heard from you after our last exchange. I hope that means all things have been well?
I must admit, I’ve grown protective of you during all of this. I have a stake in your love life now. Haha.
Do we need to hatch an escape plan or has everything settled into an easy medium?
Ida
I fire off a reply to her, filling her in as best I can without divulging the things I just want to keep to myself.
Ida,
Things are more than great. I’m spending the weekend with him in East Hampton.
He said he wanted us to have a chance to really feel each other out.
Let’s just say it’s been spectacular. My life has a way of tossing a wrench into things when I feel they are going well, but maybe the tides are turning for me?
Stay tuned!
Piper
I reach down to the floor and find the T-shirt he discarded the night before and slip it over my nakedness, not bothering with panties or a bra.
There have been a few moments in my life that have embarrassed me so horrifically I wished I could crawl into a hole and disappear forever. The most embarrassing of which was when I stood behind a mannequin in a boutique on the Upper East Side for a solid ten minutes because I thought it was a real person waiting in line to pay. I didn’t even notice until the girl working there came to ask me if I was okay.
That held the number one spot in my life until right now, this very moment, because there is something mortifying about walking into the kitchen of your current boss’s family home and coming face-to-face with your former boss and his wife, whom happen to be the parents of your current boss, wearing nothing except his T-shirt and a stellar case of sex hair.
“Oh my God!” I half-gasp, half-scream before bolting back around the corner and out of sight. “I’m so sorry. Holy wow. I’m sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell us you had someone here? You should have called us to let us know you’d be using the house, Nathanial. We wouldn’t have even come up here,” I hear his mother say.
“How was I supposed to know you’d use it? You haven’t come up in months, Mom,” he replies.
I’m not able to hear the rest of the conversation because I move with lightning speed back into the bedroom, rifling through my bag for a pair of jeans and a tank top to put on. I dress quickly then pile my hair into a bun on top of my head.
I’m brushing my teeth quickly when I hear the bedroom door open and Nathanial’s full form appears in the bathroom doorway.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know they were coming,” he says with his arms above his head, gripping the top of the doorframe.
“It’s okay,” I say with a mouthful of toothpaste before holding a finger up to ask him to wait a second. I rinse my mouth out then kill the water. “It’s completely okay. This is their home. I’m sorry I just walked in there half-dressed. I should have paid better attention.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” He wraps me in his arms. “My mother has invited us to breakfast with them. She said they’d like to treat us then they’d head back to the city.”
I shake my head. “They don’t have to leave. Nathanial, that makes me feel like an asshole.”
“I told them as such but she insisted. I think she’s just happy there is a woman here with me. Look, we absolutely don’t have to go anywhere with them. Don’t feel obligated or pressured just because it’s my parents. I told you from the beginning that this would be about us and…”
I push up on my toes to silence him with a kiss. “We should go. You should go. It’s important. Spending time with your family, no matter how awkward, is important.”
I can see the reluctance in his eyes, but I’m not going to give him the out he is looking for. He wants me to say no, so he can say no without feeling like an asshole.
Well, I refuse.
I’d give anything to go have breakfast with my father, and I’m not letting him be as stubborn with him as he is with me.
“Okay. I’ll go tell them.”
“I just need a couple minutes to look more presentable.”
<
br /> “You look perfect to me,” he says, and my heart does a backflip.
“Thank you, and while I appreciate that, I want to look good for me, not just for you.”
***
I come back out to meet everyone ten minutes later, still dressed in jeans, but sporting a nicer, flowy, pink blouse and my hair is in long waves down my back.
They are all seated in the living room. Nathanial on a sofa alone and his mother and father on the other side.
His mother rises first to greet me. “Piper, sweetheart, it’s so good to see you.” She wraps her arms around me in a hug. She was always so kind to me when she would come into the office. She always wanted me to make sure I kept Mr. Lennox in line.
“It’s great to see you too, Caroline. You look great,” I tell her before looking over her shoulder at Mr. Lennox.
“Well, who is this pretty lady my son is hiding from us?” He slowly stands from his seat.
I’m taken aback for a moment, before the initial shock of his question settles in.
“This is Piper Kingston, Carlson. She worked for you at Lennox Publishing for five years,” Caroline reminds him.
I look back over my shoulder at Nathanial and he is standing just behind me with his hands shoved into his pockets. I give him a reassuring smile and turn my attention back to Carlson.
“Piper.” He snaps his fingers. “Oh, yes, yes, that’s right. Piper. You used to bring me those delicious cannoli on Fridays.”
“Well, it was panna cotta on Mondays, but I’ll take it.” I smile. “It’s really good to see you, Carlson.”
“Look at you, acting like we haven’t seen each other in a while. I was just in the office last week,” he says.
“No, Dad, you weren’t,” Nathanial chimes in, stepping up to my side with his hand on the small of my back. “You haven’t been in the office in over a year, remember? You retired.”
