One More Chance (Lake Placid Series Book 9)

by Natalie Ann

  16

  A Change For Them

  Taryn walked down the stairs of her apartment and out the door toward her car. She was just ready to climb in when she noticed the silver Mercedes SUV next to it. It looked like Justin’s so she moved closer and glanced inside, saw a lab coat in the back and then looked around the parking lot.

  She moved out into the street and looked up and then down, then saw who she assumed was him walking toward the docks.

  She went back to the door of her apartment and tossed her purse on the stairs and set the security code, then went in the direction of Justin.

  He was just standing at the end of the dock looking out over the water and she stopped and stood next to him. “It’s a nice sight, isn’t it?”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “I was leaving to run to the store for a few things and noticed your car and saw you walking down here. Were you coming to see me?”

  “I was but then changed my mind.”

  “Why?” She knew this was normally the worst of the days for his father after his treatment, but they didn’t talk much about specifics. She figured if he wanted to share those things he would, but she wouldn’t pry.

  “It wasn’t a good day. I didn’t want to go back to my place and found myself coming here. Then I remembered we said this was about fun and I’m far from in a fun mood. I don’t want to burden you with it so I changed my mind.”

  “It’s not a burden,” she said, reaching for his hand and threading their fingers together. “Let’s go back to my place. Have you had dinner yet?”

  “No. I just left my parents.”

  They walked back up the road and she unlocked the door, then picked her purse up and they climbed the stairs. “Do you want a beer?”

  “No. I want this,” he said, framing her face with his hands, his mouth lowering. Yeah, she knew what he needed and a part of her was ready to give it to him.

  They were both going through things in their life and though hers was nothing compared to his, it was a change for them both. She was hoping to find her way and get past her mistakes and he was only temporary.

  But in the moment, they both could be there for the other.

  Her arms went around his neck and she held on tighter, then leaned back and said, “Let’s go to my room.”

  “I don’t have anything with me.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’ve got a condom in my bathroom somewhere.”

  He laughed. “I don’t want pity sex.”

  “Well now, maybe I want pity sex,” she said. The smile reached his eyes this time. “Maybe I’ve had a bad day too.”

  “Have you?” he asked.

  “Depends on your definition of bad,” she said. “I ruined one of the new recipes I was trying and was going to go to the store to get more ingredients. Maybe you just saved me from wasting money though.”

  “Maybe,” he said. “Are you sure? Don’t feel like you need to.”

  “Really, Justin. You are ruining this for me. I don’t have sex unless I want it and right now I want it bad. The question is, do you?”

  He grabbed her hips and pulled her against the evidence of his need. “Answer enough?”

  “More than,” she said, bringing him to her room. “Have a seat.”

  He sat on the bed while she went to her bathroom, opened a few drawers and found a condom box. Luckily it wasn’t empty. One was all they needed and that was all she had.

  She moved closer to him and put the condom on the bedside table. “I’ll need to stock up, but that is good enough for now.”

  He didn’t answer her but pulled her on his lap. Her legs went wide around his hips. “This is nice,” she said.

  His hands went under her shirt and pulled it up over her head, then went after her bra next, unhooking it and pulling it off her shoulders. “Not as nice as this.”

  She leaned back and his mouth went to her nipple, pulling it into his mouth. “Yes, that is nice. Better than nice. But you need to lose the shirt too.”

  She sat back on his legs while he lifted his shirt over his head. Holy shit, she hadn’t expected him to be in such good shape. He wasn’t chiseled, but he was lean and toned and had enough muscle to get her juices flowing more.

  He slid her off his lap and she undid her shorts and let them fall with her panties. Why not at this stage? They were both ready to just get to it. There was a comfort she was looking to give him while seeking it herself.

  He stood up and lost his shorts too and picked up the condom and rolled it on. He was big and thick and she wasn’t about to wait another minute more before she climbed back on.

  She nudged him back to the edge of the bed to sit down, then got back on his lap and lifted up, angled him just right and slid down.

  “I can’t tell you how good this feels.”

  “Glad it’s not just me.”

  She rose up more and lowered. “I don’t know what to do,” she said. “I just want to stay here and feel you stretching me and then I want to move up and down and feel so much more.”

  “How about this?” he said, gripping her hips and lifting her up and down. Taking control and letting her just enjoy it.

  Something told her that he needed to get some control in his life at the moment and she was ready to hand it over.

  Before she knew what was going to happen, he lifted her up and had her on her back, him coming down on top of her. Her legs lifted and he entered her swiftly again.

  Yeah, this was more like it.

  The guy that was always calm and in control was letting go. Maybe in the only way he felt he could.

  He was banging into her and she was taking every delicious thrust of his hips and wanting a hell of a lot more.

  His mouth crushed hers, her hips lifted up and she was trying to match his speed.

  There was a coiling deep inside of her that just needed to burst open and she couldn’t hold back a second more. “Justin!” she yelled.

  It was as if he was waiting for that moment to just go into overdrive. Her bed was squeaking and hit the wall and she hoped to hell no one downstairs in the spa could hear but then wondered if she even cared.

  He gave a few more thrusts and then collapsed on top of her. She could actually feel him throbbing inside of her, which was a first.

  “Am I squishing you?” he asked.

  “Just a little, but it’s fine. I’m still trying to figure out if I want you to move.”

  He laughed. “I’m just trying to find the energy. Sorry if I was rough.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I think we both had a little bit of a buildup there and needed the release.”

  He shifted and she realized it seemed wetter down there than normal and wondered if he knocked more fluid out of her since she’d never come so hard before.

  But when he moved off of her and said, “Shit,” she looked down.

  “Did it break?”

  “It looks it.”

  Her head fell back against the pillow. Just what he needed to worry about next. “It’s fine,” she said right away.

  He got up and went into the bathroom and she went into the one down the hall after grabbing her clothes off the floor. By the time she was cleaned up and dressed, she was back in the bedroom where he was zipping his shorts. “It wasn’t much there,” she said. “Don’t worry about it. It will be fine.”

  “It only takes one swimmer to escape,” he said. “It’s probably my fault. I put it on and I was a bit rough on top of it.”

  She went into his arms. She wasn’t going to worry about this and didn’t want him to either. The chances of something happening were slim in her mind.

  “Stop. Don’t even think of it.” She tried to figure out when she got her period last in her mind and just couldn’t focus. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

  “You’ll tell me if it’s not,” he said.

  “Of course.” She pulled him down and gave him a kiss. “But put it from your mind. Now how about some food? I don’t want what
we just shared to end on a negative note.”

  “No,” he said. “It won’t. Thank you.”

  “I should thank you,” she said. “I guess I was worked up pretty damn good myself.”

  “I don’t want you to think I came here for sex. That wasn’t on my mind.”

  “I don’t think you did. But we did say fun and, well, that was pretty fun, don’t you think?”

  “Absolutely.”

  17

  My Stance

  “How is he doing?” Justin asked his mother the next morning. He was half awake and normally didn’t mind if he didn’t sleep much, but he’d taken a physical and emotional toll on his body yesterday.

  The drama with his father.

  The sex with Taryn and the broken condom he had to put out of his mind since it was done and over and no going back in time.

  Then they’d ordered pizza and when he went to pick it up, he stopped at the store for more condoms that they put to use with no breakages and he passed out and spent the night.

  He rolled out of bed at five, had breakfast with Taryn since she was up and baking, then went home to shower and change and come relieve his mother for her to go to work.

  “Better. We talked last night and he’s going to take these tablets again. He said they taste like crap and give him a massive headache and dry mouth, but he’d rather deal with that than feeling drugged.”

  “Good. Nothing is without side effects, but if he understands that we can get through this.” At least something else good came of yesterday. He wanted to count his night with Taryn but knew that was just spontaneous. “Is he still sleeping?”

  “He was up and then went to lie back down after he showered. That’s fine. I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

  “About what?” he asked.

  “Taryn Miles.”

  He was wondering if this would come up. His mother and Ashley had seen him out with Taryn but hadn’t said a word since.

  “What about her?”

  “Are you seeing each other?”

  “I don’t know what we’ve got,” he admitted. The last thing he was going to do was admit what he’d done in bed with Taryn last night. There were some things you just didn’t admit to your parents.

  “Do you think it’s wise when you plan on leaving?”

  “I’ve been upfront with her. She knows my stance on things.”

  He’d brought it up again last night. Not in a direct way, but more slyly. Saying something along the line of missing this when he was back in Rochester. Or missing the view from her balcony when they were sharing a beer.

  She just grinned at him and made no comment back. It was probably overkill on his part to bring it up again, but better safe than sorry. He had enough on his plate to worry about communication right now too.

  “Best laid plans,” his mother said and he felt his face flush.

  “What are you getting at? My life isn’t here.”

  “I know. I’m sorry about that. You know I’d love nothing more than for you to be closer to home. It’s great having you here even if you hate it.”

  “I don’t necessarily hate it,” he admitted.

  “It’s not for you, I get it.”

  “Do you? Why can’t Dad?”

  His mother sighed. “He’s never known anything else and he wanted that for his kids. I know it’s not in the cards for you. Not just the golf resort but the area.”

  He wasn’t so sure about the area. Though he felt like there wasn’t much here, he wasn’t itching to leave it as much as to leave the nonstop fighting and disappointment in his father’s eyes.

  Maybe if he got some more support or backing—even understanding—he wouldn’t have left so fast and refused to even consider returning for more than a holiday where his father and he barely spoke or if they did it was terse words.

  Not from him. Not much nudged his control. Only his father had the ability to do that when he was younger. As an adult, he just knew where he stood and it wasn’t worth the aggravation for a short visit. Not when his mother and sister looked forward to seeing him.

  He’d kept the peace for them and even tried to talk with his father. After a few years he’d given up even trying.

  “I wish things could have been different, but they aren’t or can’t be.”

  “Meaning what?” his mother asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

  “Nothing,” he said. “You can’t change the past any more than me. Dad is who he is and I am who I am. He can’t accept that I couldn’t be what he wanted.”

  “He just thought you’d be working by his side,” his mother said.

  He snorted. “Even when Dad and I got along, I’m not sure I could handle working by his side like he imagined.”

  His father had high expectations for his only son. Justin was a good golfer. How could he not be, growing up on a course?

  He’d never thought he’d go pro nor did he want to, but it’d been a vision in his father’s eyes.

  But where they lived, they’d have to travel a lot and far for Justin to be seen. It was hard to do and run a business. He was thankful for that and knew if he’d expressed enough interest, his father would have been the first one catching flights to warmer weather all winter long so that his son could continue to play outdoors.

  “I know he was hard on you. He saw so much potential.”

  “Golf wasn’t and isn’t my world. I can’t live and breathe it like him. Like you and Ashley.”

  “We don’t,” she argued. “Not like you think. It’s just our business.”

  “It’s not that to Dad. I don’t get it and I never will.”

  “He’s proud of what he’s built. What was handed down to him and how he’s made it thrive even more.”

  “As he should be,” he said. “The same as you and Ashley. You all should be proud of what you accomplished.”

  “And we’re proud of you too,” she said, moving close and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “You don’t want to admit you’re just as stubborn as your father.”

  “I do have his genes,” he said. “But at least I’m open minded. I’ll never do to my kids what he did to me or Ashley.”

  Many would think he had a great life and could have been given a free ride at a job for life. But it wasn’t what he wanted. Why be stuck being miserable his whole life?

  He wanted to say his father was a pro at being miserable, but it did seem like only his son brought it out of him. Which of course made everything hurt all the more that his father would try or at least put on a good face with other people and not him.

  “We all make mistakes as parents and look back and wish we could change things. Just remember that.”

  “Believe me, it’s not something I’ll ever forget. And you probably should get to work. Things are picking up and I’m sure Dad will be itching to show up there soon enough.”

  “Not today or tomorrow,” she said. “I told him no. That yesterday was his worst day yet and even if he feels better, the extra day of rest will do him good. I know he’s hungry, but we kept his food plain last night.”

  “How has his fluid intake been?”

  “Great. He’s been drinking more than normal and has only taken some aspirin for a headache last night. He said he didn’t have one this morning and he took the next tablet earlier.”

  “Good. Was he nauseous when he woke up to take it?”

  His mother grinned a little. “He said he was fine and didn’t need it, but I told him he didn’t have a choice. If he didn’t take it I was staying with him today and watching him like a hawk and would follow him into the bathroom every time he went to make sure he wasn’t throwing up.”

  “Maybe I should try that. But with any luck, today will be fine and then he won’t need to take the next dosage. It wasn’t so bad for him to take this and if it works we can get through the next several treatments without having some bloody wars.”

  “He appreciates you being here even if he won’t admit it.”

  “Whi
ch is pretty sad he won’t,” he said. “And you can stop saying that.”

  “I know. I’m hoping he’ll come around before your time up is here.”

  “There are such things as miracles,” he said. “But I’m not holding my breath.”

  “We’ll see how it works out. Have a good day with your father.”

  “Again,” he said. “Miracles.”

  His mother put her cup in the dishwasher and grabbed her purse to leave and he went to go watch the morning news. There wasn’t much for him to do if his father was sleeping and he was going to let him do it. The sleep would be good for him and better than a drug-induced one from the other meds.

  When he heard his phone go off, he pulled it out to see who was texting him. He wasn’t scheduled to work until tomorrow and hoped they weren’t asking if he could cover a shift.

  But it was Taryn sending a picture of a cake. She’d made a round cake this morning and frosted it white and then was dipping pretzel rods in red, white, and blue melting chocolate. He wasn’t sure what her plans were but now they were all on the side of the cake in alternating colors with decorative sparklers and sprinkles on the top. It was simple for one of her creations and he knew she was posting it on her website and hoping to get some orders for parties that were coming up soon.

  Who gets to eat that one? he texted to her.

  The police department. I promised Trevor a cake.

  Lucky dog, he typed back.

  Here I thought you were the lucky dog last night.

  He laughed and started to type back but heard, “What’s so funny?”

  He looked up to see his father standing there, finished his text to Taryn, and then put his phone down. “Nothing. Just talking to someone.”

  “You used to smile like that when you were talking to a woman,” his father said.

  Funny how his father would remember that. “How are you feeling?”

  “Fine. You don’t need to be here all day,” his father said. “Obviously you’ve got other things on your mind.”