Billy already knew he wasn’t going to cheat on Lizzie and they weren’t even legit yet. Yeah right, try telling that to his heart. Elizabeth Bryson was the only girl he was ever gonna love.
The kid took the easy way out of the conversation by pretending to fall asleep. Or maybe he really did conk out. After that workout and then a long match. Billy was just about to doze off when Paul pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine, instead of just popping the trunk to grab his bag.
“Aren’t y’all going on to Carol Ann’s?”
“Nope, she said it was a mess with the movers getting her furniture in today. She wants to have the new place all fixed up before I come over tomorrow.”
Billy glanced up at the window to his room and was relieved not to see a light. As much as he wanted to find Lizzie curled up in his bed, with her daddy spending the night, he hoped she had decided to stay in the house.
***
As soon as the headlights glare hit the window, Lizzie turned off the lamp and went into the bathroom to light the candles and get the shower heated up. A futile attempt at lingerie shopping had taught her that she didn’t have the patience or the personality to force her body into any of those bone laced corsets or too grown up looking sateen nighties. So she had just decided to go au natural and surprise Billy with a hot shower.
She suppressed as giggle as she heard him turn on the radio, drowning out the sound of running water. His boots thudded to the floor and he groaned like he was beat up from a hard night of wrestling. If he wasn’t going to come in the bathroom, she was going to have to go out there and get him.
“Damn. Now that’s a homecoming,” Billy gave her a wide-eyed grin of approval. “If your Daddy catches us and kills me, at least I’ll die with a smile on my face.”
“He’s not staying at the new house?”
They had to give Carol Ann credit. At least she hadn’t set foot in his home. She had been staying at a hotel until they closed on her house yesterday. He’d been staying with her, mind you, but at least it left Lizzie’s nights unsupervised to where she could be with Billy.
“Nope, he and the kid are both staying here so try not to squeal so loud tonight.”
“I can’t help it.” She wasn’t about to let on that all this time she had been faking it. “You just do that to me.”
He was still sitting, so she was able to throw her arms around him for a preview kiss before leading him into the shower.
It didn’t get any better than his Lizzie all naked and wet in that tiny shower stall. The things she could do with soap, hot water, and her mouth all over him. She let him take her right there under the warm spray of water. Her back pressed against the wall, legs around his waist, holding on to him like she didn’t ever want to let him go.
He silenced her squeals by covering her mouth with sweet kisses. It was so good he couldn’t hold back. He came hard, her little body shivering against his, leaving him weak in the knees. It was all he could do to carry her back to the bed before collapsing into a dead sleep.
***
There was nothing Lizzie liked more than drifting off to sleep with Billy’s arm draped around her waist, her face against his chest, his heart beating in her ear. She liked the tickle of his down of chest hair against her cheek. When they were curled up naked under the covers like that everything seemed right with the world.
She finally had a man who wasn’t afraid of her Daddy. With Billy she was safe. Nothing could hurt her when she was in his arms.
Or so she thought.
“Let’s go. Get a move on it!”
Her Daddy’s voice jolted her out of her early morning bliss.
Thankfully, he was outside yelling at PJ instead of her and Billy. He had dragged the poor kid out of bed to go with him on his morning run. At first she was kinda jealous that he hadn’t gotten her up to run with him. That is until she realized she wouldn’t have been in her bed if he’d gone there looking for her. She didn’t want to get out from under the covers, but she knew she had better get out of there before they got caught.
***
“What a pleasant surprise.” Paul burst through the door with the kid nowhere in sight. "Breakfast with my baby girl.”
"Good Morning,” Billy said from his spot at the kitchen table.
“Yes, it is." Paul said as he eyed the biscuits and gravy waiting on the table, bacon sizzling in the skillet and eggs beaten and ready to be cooked.
“I hope it's okay that I invited Billy over for breakfast," Lizzie said like she hadn't seen him since he'd moved in.
"Fine by me." Paul actually smiled as he sat down across from Billy with the Sunday paper.
"Billy, how do you like your eggs?”
“Anyway you want to fix them.”
This was what he wanted for breakfast every morning for the rest of his life – Lizzie standing over the stove wearing one of his t-shirts, that curly red hair swirling all over the place. His shirt hung down almost to her knees covering half her pajama bottoms. Making her look like a little girl. Good thing she really was legal or he would have been in deeper trouble than he already was.
“Where did you get that old shirt?” Paul asked as Lizzie hovered over the table filling up their plates with scrambled eggs.
“Out of your closet.” She giggled. “Well, mom’s old closet when I was cleaning it out.”
Good cover.
“Billy, when you have time, could you help me carry down some boxes? I was going to donate some of her stuff that I’ll never wear… if that’s okay with you Daddy.”
“Fine by me, Pumpkin,” he patted the seat on his other side, “Quit fussing over us and get to eating.”
“I’ll be glad to help.” Anything for his Lizzie. “We could drop them off after our lunch date.”
“Today?” She asked as if she was surprised by the idea.
“Yes ma’am,” Billy said all polite like, “I’d like nothing better than to spend my day off with you.”
“Oh no, I can’t. I’m supposed to show some houses to a new client. Carol Ann recommended me to one of the nurses she works with and I’ve already got five different houses picked out to show them today. It’s her husband’s only day off.”
“That’s my Lizzie. Business before pleasure.” Paul smirked at Billy. “Why don’t you both join us for dinner tonight? I was planning on getting some steaks to grill, nothing fancy since I’m taking Carol Ann to the country club for lunch.”
“You’ve got some nerve.” Lizzie’s face reddened. “Couldn’t you take her somewhere else?”
“Why? Lois was the one cheating on me with that smarmy looking tennis pro. It is embarrassing, but as much as I pay in membership dues, I might as well get something for my money.”
Who was he trying to fool? Paul wasn’t the least bit embarrassed over taking Carol Ann anywhere he damn well pleased to go.
“Well, then, Billy can we have lunch tomorrow? That is if we survive dinner with Daddy and his mistress.”
“Carol Ann is my fiancée and you will not speak of her in that tone of voice.” Paul slammed his mug down on the table. “I love her and I want us all to be a happy family.”
“If you want me to be happy, you would let me date Billy.”
“I invited him to dinner and I’m letting you have lunch with him,” Paul stood to where he towered over Billy.
“I’ll be glad to have dinner with y’all,” Billy said, not about to sell Paul’s tough guy act, “and I’ll visit with Lizzie on her lunch hour tomorrow too.”
“Fine by me. There won’t be any hanky-panky with Billy heading off to Greenville with me that afternoon,” Paul said. “Now if you love birds will excuse me, I have to get ready for church.”
“You’re going to church?” Lizzie said in disbelief.
“Carol Ann wants me to go with her. It’s her birthday and all. I’m just going to see if the minister can keep up with my mic skills.”
“I doubt it. You’re the master,” Billy said.
Lizzie leaned over and kissed Billy as soon as Paul was out of sight. “Thank you for not letting him intimidate you.”
“I love you, and I don’t care what that old fart thinks one way or the other.”
PJ came in right after Paul went up the stairs. He'd obviously been waiting outside to avoid his daddy and not get chided for taking so long on his run.
“Don’t let Daddy scare you.” Lizzie grinned at him. “He’s really just a big old teddy bear.”
“A tough as nails, bad ass teddy bear,” Billy added.
“I don’t want to hurt his feelings,” PJ looked at them imploringly, “but I really don’t want to be a wrestler.”
“He’s just trying to make up for lost time, and wrestling and working out is all he knows. I would have loved to have gotten to spend time with him like that but no, I’m a girl, and girls aren’t allowed to go to the matches. Just watch - he’ll be the same way with your mom.”
“She doesn’t like to watch him wrestle. She always says she’d love him just as much if he was a garbage man or a fry cook.”
“Daddy’s full of contradictions. He’s always complaining about quitting because they won’t let him be world champion. Not that it will ever happen. He just likes to have something to gripe about and now that mom’s gone, I guess it’s going to be William having the title he wants.”
“Why does he care so much, when it’s all so fake?”
“Don’t ever use the 'fake' word around your Daddy or any of the other boys.” Billy warned the kid. “This business paid for the house you’re sitting in and the food on this table. There’s nothing fake about any of those things. You’d better learn real quick to respect kayfabe and protect the business with your very life.”
“I… I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
“Billy wasn’t trying to scare you,” Lizzie jumped in, “and you’ll find that Daddy is a lot easier to get along with if you just pretend to do everything his way.”
“Then what am I supposed to do about him wanting me to be a wrestler?”
“Just give it a shot,” Billy laughed, “Once he figures out you ain’t got the desire or talent for it, he’ll drop it. You can’t make it in this business if it’s not in your heart to do it.”
“I wasn’t the least bit happy about moving down here and getting a new dad and all, but I like being around you guys,” PJ admitted.
“The way I see it is, you and me didn’t have any control over our parents carrying on like they did, so we might as well make the best of it,” Lizzie said, “Daddy always wanted a son and it is kinda cool finding out I have a little brother to boss around.”
Chapter 12
“Does liking Carol Ann make me a bad person?” Lizzie asked.
“Under the circumstances I’d say it makes you more of an angel.” Billy always knew what to say to make everything seem okay.
“I can’t believe Daddy is in the kitchen helping her clean up. It’s like he’s a different person around her.”
“You know how they say everything happens for a reason,” Billy said, “Well, maybe she’s his reason.”
“Just like you’re mine.”
Billy glanced towards the kitchen to make sure the coast was clear before giving her a kiss.
It should have felt weird, being in the home of the woman her Daddy had sneaked around to see all these years, almost her entire life. The thing was, it didn’t. It felt right sitting here on a worn sofa with a fire burning in the hearth and candles flickering on the coffee table.
Carol Ann hadn’t taken money from her daddy to fix up the house. She’d moved all her old furniture and had the place fixed up nice and homey. She picked this house from photos in a file on Lizzie’s desk before they even went to see it. Lizzie didn’t think it was fancy enough for Daddy’s tastes. Not in Myers Park, no big yard, no brick or ornate columns, just a simple little cottage - three small bedrooms, only one bathroom, a tiny kitchen adjacent to a modest sized living room, and a boxy back porch. There wasn’t even a garage to shelter his Cadillac and only an unfinished basement for his weights.
As soon as they had pulled up to the curb, Paul and Carol Ann had both fallen in love with the place. Daddy had said it wasn’t ostentatious or pretentious, just like Carol Ann. He’d whipped out his checkbook and made an offer on the spot. Carol Ann had been the one to go over all the paperwork and insisted on putting her name on the mortgage with a payment she could afford even if he wasn’t around. Not that it looked like he was going anywhere. Lizzie didn’t know when she had seen her daddy so happy.
“You know, the first time I met Carol Ann, she drank Jack straight out of the bottle, no chaser,” Billy said, stopping Lizzie from overthinking. “Any woman that can do that is alright in my book.”
“Considering how I get loopy on half a bottle of champagne, then I must not be all that womanly.”
“You’re all the woman I’ll ever want.”
There Billy went again making her feel better. Lizzie didn’t know what was wrong. One minute she was on top of the world and the next her stomach got all queasy, filling her with doubt. Not about her and Billy, about Daddy giving in so easy. Usually he was stubborn as an old mule. Maybe Carol Ann was getting him to lighten up a little and if he stayed busy with his new life, it would give him less time to try to run hers.
“You okay Lizzie?” He asked. “You’ve done nothing but pick at your plate all evening.”
“I guess I’m just not in the mood for chocolate.”
Here it was Carol Ann’s birthday and she’d made Lizzie’s and her daddy’s favorite chocolate cream pie. It wasn’t like her to pass up chocolate, especially a made from scratch pie.
“Why don’t you see about wrapping it up for later.” Billy checked his watch. “I was thinking maybe we could turn in early to rest up for our big date tomorrow.” He gave her a playful grin that made it clear he had no intention of sleeping once they got back to that bed.
“Good idea.”
Maybe that was just what she needed to get all these crazy thoughts right out of her head. She had taken Gran’s advice about how ‘if he not getting it at home he’ll get it on the road’ straight to the heart. As much as they were doing it, he shouldn’t even be saying hello to any of those groupies at the matches.
Lizzie stopped plate in hand just outside the kitchen as soon as she overheard their names.
“The harder you try to keep them apart the more you’ll push Lizzie away from you and right into Billy’s arms.”
“My daughter is not going to wind up married to a wrestler.” Her daddy didn’t sound like he had any intention of backing down.
“Billy seems like a nice young man. Kinda reminds me of you in your younger days.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. You know me better than anybody and you know the way I used to be.” Daddy shook his head and Lizzie backed up a step to keep from being seen. “I don’t want her ending up like her mother.”
“She could have done a lot worse than marrying you.”
“I cheated on her from the day after our wedding. I've cheated on you. I don’t know how you’ve put up with me all these years.”
“Me either.” She laughed. “But I did and we’re finally getting our happily ever after. Give your daughter the same chance with Billy.”
“If I catch him fooling around on her I swear I’ll break both his legs and maybe his arms too.”
“And I’m going to ask Billy to keep an eye on you, too.”
“No need for that. My wild days are way behind me.”
“Since?”
“Since I’ve finally got you.”
More laughter and smacking together of lips.
“Those kids are crazy about each other and I’m afraid they are going to find a way to be together whether you like it or not. Would you rather have them sneaking around behind your back or out in the open where you know what’s going on?”
“O
kay, okay… I’ll give them my blessing. Providing Billy doesn’t behave like one of the boys. And you and me turn in early tonight for some quality alone time in our new bed.”
Yikes, Daddy sounded just like Billy. Is sex all men think about?
***
If Lizzie closed her eyes and lay completely still, not daring to move a muscle - if she held on to Billy as tight as she could and didn’t think about anything at all, then the room would stop spinning and her stomach would stop churning. At least until the next wave of nausea hit.
She had puked up her dinner long before the crack of dawn. At the rate she was going their first Daddy approved date was going to consist of soda crackers and Ginger Ale. Billy holding her hair back while she hurled in the trashcan didn’t sound all that romantic.
What if her daddy was right? She didn’t want to wind up like her mom all miserable and trapped in a loveless marriage. She didn’t want Billy to wind up hating her so much he’d screw every girl in sight to keep from having to come back home. Twenty years from now she didn’t want to be locking him out of her bedroom - hating him for not loving her enough, having to stay because she had nowhere else to go.
Lizzie vowed then and there to never let Billy support her. She won’t wind up like her mother. No way. No how. Not happening. She would be tough and strong like Gran. She was going to keep her job to where she could take care of him and their kids if she had to. She would love him so much he’d never dream of being with anyone else.
Why was she worrying herself sick when everything was going to be okay? She loved Billy and he loved her. He’s her reason.
Desire Page 7
