“This sounds exciting. Are we going to your parents’ house tonight?”
“Yes, I can’t wait for you to meet them. Especially, my sister Jenny.”
He pulls me into his arms and begins leaving a trail of kisses down my neck. “As much as I love this, if we don’t leave now, we’ll never get to the beach.”
He groans his displeasure. “You owe me, Brook.”
He gives in and I hurry up and get ready before he changes his mind. If I wanted to spend the day in bed, I could have stayed home. It would have been a lot cheaper.
When we get to the beach, it’s everything I was expecting and more. The sand was like powder and the water had just the right amount of waves. Benjamin’s friend made sure he had everything set up for us: lounge chairs, umbrellas, towels, and cocktails. There’s a slight breeze coming off the water. I look over to Benjamin and he’s sitting on his chair, facing me with a smirk that makes me tingle all over. “Can you put some lotion on my back, please?” I ask. He has a towel wrapped around him and I notice his suit is on his chair. I turn onto my stomach while he gets up and climbs on my lounge chair. He’s got one leg on each side of the chair. His cock resting on my ass. I feel him slowly untying my bathing suit top. The slower he goes, the harder I feel my nipples getting. Something so simple ignites a fire deep inside my soul. My suit has ties on each side which he swiftly unties.
“Babe, I know this is a private beach, but there are people here.” He tilts the umbrella like that is going to do much.
“Who do you think might be watching us? We could put on a show for them, or we could ask someone to join us,” he suggests.
“Remember my rule, I don’t share . . . ever.”
He laughs. “Just kidding, hon.”
I begin to relax again, enjoying everywhere his fingers are exploring. He slowly enters me from behind as I get into a plank position. He’s trying to maintain his balance while slamming into me. Hopefully the umbrella covers us enough but, in reality, I really don’t care. The more we have sex with the threat of others watching, the more I think I’m becoming addicted to it. The thrill of being caught brings my nerve endings alive. “Come on, babe, give it to me harder. Are you afraid someone might hear you yell?” He begins to really pound into my pussy.
“Hard enough for you, hon?”
I don’t get a chance to answer. My release takes me further than ever before. He slows down and I know he hasn’t found his release. Maybe being outside really doesn’t do it for him. Maybe it’s just the thought of people watching, like in our apartment. He pulls out and I flip over, thinking he wants to enter me from the front, instead he pulls me up and while he pumps his cock, he puts his hand behind my head. He’s pulling my mouth closer, so I slightly part my lips and let him in. It’s not long before I get all the signs that he’s ready to come. But I also hear a whistle blowing and it’s getting closer.
“Fuck, Brook, make me come now!”
I let him hit the back of my throat and with that he finds his release. He jumps off of me and throws on his bathing trunks while tossing a towel over me. All I could do is laugh which only earns me a glare. The lifeguard runs over and threatens to have us band from the beach. Thankfully, Benjamin is a great talker. He’s explaining how the passion just overcame him. I’m smiling as I slowly run my tongue across my lips. The lifeguard rolls his eyes as Benjamin’s face flushes.
“Benjamin, I think you’re getting a sunburn, we should probably get inside before it gets any worse.” I get up with my towel wrapped around me and offer him my hand. All the while trying not to laugh. He gathers up the rest of our stuff as the lifeguard reaffirms his warning. We wave goodbye and head back to the hotel.
Amelia
Thankfully, the flight was uneventful. Doug got the rent a car and it dawns on me he knows exactly where we are going. “Doug, how did you get Peter’s address?”
“You might as well tell her the rest, Mitch; you’re fucked anyway.”
“Wait—what the fuck—there’s more?!”
Mitch rakes his hand through his salt and pepper hair. Turns toward me and I just know this is big. Part of me wants to punch him in the face, but the other part of me wants it all. Every last secret. “Spit it out, Mitch.”
“I have a friend high up at the DMV. After nine-eleven, all of the computers were linked. I gave him Benjamin’s name and the state that he lives in and my friend did the rest.”
“So, what’s the more that you are afraid to tell me?”
“When you applied for the job with the DMV, I called my friend and he made sure you got the job.”
“Oh, for the love of all that’s holy! Didn’t you think I could get the job on my own merits?”
“It’s not that I thought you couldn’t, but I knew how hard things were at the time. I knew you had a mortgage, how much your payment was. Yeah, you had a night job, cleaning offices, but there was daycare along with all the other expenses. I wasn’t sure you would get financial help. I knew you couldn’t sell the house until Peter was legally dead. I didn’t think anyone would care what happened to you, but I cared. I wanted to make sure that you and Emma survived.”
How could I hate him for trying to help me even if he had a crazy way of going about it? “Maybe you should have told me in the truth at very beginning of all of this.”
“I didn’t think that was an option.”
“Why not?”
“I was afraid the dam that was holding back my feelings was about to burst. The lies were piling up like a house of cards about to coming tumbling down. I was not going to add adultery to it.”
“Have you thought about what you are going to tell, Brook?”
“No, I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Might I suggest you start with the truth? You are in so deep right now, that’s probably your only option.”
“She keeps trying to push me toward you. Maybe I should start with why I was in a loveless marriage. Maybe I should start with you.”
The realization of what he’s saying hits me hard. How many lives were changed by a different path that I took. I had feelings for Mitch, but then Peter blew into my life like a hurricane. By the time I came back to reality, Peter was asking me to marry him. I just aged out of the foster care system, and he offered me stability—a home and a family. Those were my dreams, not riches or fame. I was so impressionable at that time, so how could I not say yes? When the whirlwind I was on finally slowed down, Mitch had moved on to Becky. I thought he was happy, and now I know the truth. It’s amazing how one word could have changed history. What would my life be if I said no? Hindsight is twenty-twenty; however, I would do it all over again only because of Emma. She’s my world.
“So, are we just going to go in balls to the wall?” I blurt.
Doug is laughing, not what I expected. “Might I remind you, Amelia, you have no balls.”
“Funny, Doug, very funny. What’s the plan?” I ask again. He turns down a street and pulls into a parking space. “Are we here, Doug?”
“Yeah, but let’s sit tight and see who goes in and out. We’ve waited twenty years; we can wait a little longer.”
Doug is so calm. Mitch, on the other hand, is not. I would think it’s because his daughter is involved in this cluster fuck of a mess. “Doug, you need to tell your daughter the entire story before Brook tells her,” I mention.
“Shit, I never thought about that. Those two are as close as sisters. It doesn’t have any effect on Vanni, but I know she will want to support her best friend. I’ll ask Brook to let me be the one to tell her, she will.”
“You’re right it doesn’t have any effect on your daughter and realistically not even Brook. The only one who will really get hurt by all of this is Emma. She’s the one who lost out on having a father. She’s the one who will have to come to terms with the fact that he didn’t want her. On top of that, she will have siblings that she didn’t even know existed. It’s going to be a hard pill to swallow. I would appreciate it
if you would both tell your children to give me a chance to tell Emma myself. I don’t care about me but she’s my everything.”
“I’ll tell Brook not to say anything to Vanni or Emma. You have my word on that.”
“Thank you, Doug.” I don’t have a choice but to take his word for it. I sit back and try to figure out exactly what I’m going to say to Peter. I don’t want to lose my shit. I’m already the better person. I raised a great daughter. Was I that bad of a wife? Could it be I was just a challenge that he conquered and ditched? What does she have that I didn’t? What was he looking for all those years ago? Self-doubt is getting the better of me. Waiting has never been my strong suit. “How much longer do we need to just sit here?!” I sound like the whiny kid who keeps asking, “Are we there yet?” I’m about to say the hell with waiting when a bright orange Jeep Gladiator pulls up. It’s like seeing my life fall apart in slow motion. The garage door goes up and the jeep pulls in. He gets out of the driver’s side and a woman gets out of the passenger side. He turns towards us and that’s when I see him. A face that, other than in my dreams, I never thought I would see again in my lifetime. The past coming face to face with the present. I’m mesmerized. He’s got a big house, what looks to be a trophy wife, and all the expensive toys. All of this while, I worked two jobs and struggled to put food on the table. The slamming of the car door snaps me out of it. I realize Doug and Mitch are already outside the car. I hurry up and get out, trying to keep my cool. Peter is pulling coolers from the truck. Then the woman with him is helping him hose them out. Two people going about their daily lives. Mitch takes my hand and pulls me to a stop.
“Amelia, are you sure you can handle this?”
“What are you saying, I should wait in the car? No one is going to steal my thunder, Mitch, no one. I will have my say and then I’ll decide after that what direction I plan on taking this. Now, get the hell out of my way, Mitch.” I pull my hand away and continue walking. As we step into the driveway, Peter stops what he’s doing and looks up. He looks at Doug, then to Mitch, and finally me. The realization of who we are hits him. His face instantly pales. He slowly starts toward us. When we are close enough, I whisper, “You bastard, you really are alive.”
Before he can say anything more, Doug takes a swing at him and Peter quickly moves out of the way. However, he never saw Mitch’s fist coming at him from the other side. He hits him square in the jaw. He’s rubbing his jaw and Mitch is rubbing his knuckles. The woman, that I’m assuming is Peter’s wife, steps closer to him and pulls him back.
“Peter, why don’t we take this inside. We don’t need all the neighbors coming out or for one of them to call the police.” She stresses the word police. Peter broke a lot of laws and if the truth comes out, her gravy train just came to a screeching halt.
“Please, my wife is right. Let’s not make a scene out here.” He turns and heads into the garage, while we all follow. The interior garage door leads into a laundry room and then a massive kitchen with a great room. This enrages me. I know it shouldn’t, but I’m only human after all. I’m thinking of everything my daughter missed out on. Then again, my daughter grew up in the real world. She didn’t live her life based on a lie.
“Why don’t we sit in the family room to talk. I’m sure everyone has a lot of questions.” None of us move, our feet planted. I feel a rage growing inside of me that I’ve never felt before.
“Okay, have it your way. Who wants to go first?”
Mitch steps forward and I watch Peter make a fist, no doubt preparing for another blow.
“Peter, I’m not going to hit you. I needed to get twenty years of frustration and anger out of my system. You know I’m not that kind of man. Let’s start at the beginning. Why did you skip and how did you do it?”
His wife steps up next to him and puts her hand around his waist. Like she’s staking her claim.
“I skipped with my wife Kelly. She was pregnant at the time and I felt it was best for everyone involved. Actually, skipping was very easy. I met Kelly in Bensonhurst. We torched my car and drove away in hers. At first, I kept using aliases but then I realized no one was looking for me. When Kelly went into labor, I wanted to make sure that my name was on the birth certificate, not some alias I made up. After all, she was giving me a son, something Amelia wasn’t going to give me. After Benjamin was born, Kelly and I got married and that was it. No big deal.”
I can feel a flush coming over me. I’m not usually a confrontational person, but right now all bets are off. “She was pregnant! What about me? I was seven months pregnant with your daughter. How was being alone best for us? You married her, thinking it was no big deal, but you’re a bigamist!”
“Amelia, I really thought you would have figured this out by now. I married you to spite Mitch. I knew he wanted you and I was pissed that he always got what he wanted. I figured you’re a strong enough person—hell, you survived foster care. I figured you’d find a way. After all, I did leave you the house with a little surprise stashed inside. I’m sure that came in handy. So, you see it was a win-win for everyone. As far as a bigamist, that’s only on paper. At first, I didn’t want any children, but then I realized I really wanted a son, Amelia. They can help bring in an income. Daughters are a waste of time. Look at my daughter Jenny, she is more interested in school and boys, not bringing in some money to this house.”
At this moment, I’m wrestling with my conscious. Part of me wants to kill him and the other part is telling me to walk away, he’s just not worth it. “Peter, I have no idea what you left me or even where it is. Whatever it is, I don’t want it or need it. I raised my daughter on my own. She’s a good, honorable young lady, no thanks to you and your lies. You can keep your other family.” Filled with a rage I never knew I was capable of, I reach back and swing at him. My fist connects with the side of his throat and he stumbles backward. I’ve never hit anyone in my life, yet, for the second time in one day, I’ve hit someone. Kelly comes at me but Doug steps in between us.
“Kelly, I know you have a stake in all of this, but Amelia has a bigger one. She’s waited twenty years for answers. Answers that she has a right to, so back the fuck off.”
Peter steps in front of Kelly and pushes Doug aside. “Wow, you really have no idea what I’m talking about. Amelia, I left you a couple of diamonds. I left them behind one of the panels in the drop ceiling in the bathroom. You were always talking about how you wanted to renovate it, so I thought you would find them soon enough.”
“You’re pathetic, do you know that? I wasn’t thinking about renovating anything, I was thinking about how I was going to keep a roof over our head. I was living paycheck to paycheck. I was drinking lemon water so I could focus on having food for Emma. I worked two jobs so we could survive.”
“Well, if things were that bad why didn’t you just sell the house?”
I’m so mad that I’m shaking. I can’t even dignify what he is saying with an answer that doesn’t tell him to just fuck off and die. Mitch takes a few steps toward Peter, and I’m hoping they don’t start fighting. I don’t think I could take any more.
“Peter, you’re a total selfish idiot. Amelia couldn’t sell the house because your name is on the deed with hers. You would have had to sign the house over to her. You vanished in the middle of the night, never to be heard from again. Oh no, wait, I’m wrong; we realized two days ago that you were alive. Do you want to know how? Don’t answer that, I will. My daughter’s name is Brook. Is that ringing any bells for you?” He grabs Peter by the throat and pins him up against the wall. Realization hits him as his face pales, and his body slumps. His wife Kelly lets out a gasp.
“That’s right, Peter, your son is living with my daughter. I hope you know I will fight that union with everything I’ve got. My daughter will know everything you’ve done, and I mean everything. Not only will she have no respect for you, but I will make sure she understands that the same blood that runs though you also runs through Benjamin! I will expose you for the ch
eating two-faced thief and deadbeat dad you really are. I’ll watch you burn in hell before I let you or anyone in your family near my daughter!”
He’s about to go on when I notice Brook in the doorway with Benjamin. “Mitch, stop. Brook is here.” I don’t know how much she’s heard but it must have been a lot. Tears are running down her cheeks.
“Brook, honey, I’m sorry. I can explain everything,” he says in desperation, his face is pale.
“Why are you even here? How did you know where Benjamin lived?”
“Remember I told you about my best friend Peter who disappeared in the middle of the night, leaving Amelia alone and pregnant? Well, say hello to Peter, Benjamin’s father.”
Brook begins to shake and sob. Benjamin tries to pull her into his arms, but she’s looking at him and back to Peter before she races into her father’s open arms. While Mitch is trying to comfort his daughter, Doug finally finds his opportunity to say what he has to say to Peter.
“Nothing you can say to me would ever explain why you did what you did. Where are the jewels?”
“Oh, Doug, you were always the level-headed one. I sold most of them and invested what I got for them. I held out a few pieces for my kids. The rest is . . . gone.”
“Gone where, Peter? I want what I’m due, what we’re all due.”
He waves his hand around as if he needs to make a point.
“Twenty years of living expenses. Investments in start-ups that flopped. My current business, the Diamond Reef food boat—fitting name, don’t you think? My kids’ education. Stuff, Doug. Besides, what are you going to do, go to the police? You have no proof we were ever involved in the robbery.”
“You want proof, well I’ve got the photo with the jewels, remember that?”
“That’s not proof. Besides, who would believe you? The internet is a wonderful thing, Doug. You should try using it. As far as anyone in Cannes is concerned, the heist never happened. You’d look like an old fool, spinning tall tales.”
The Heist Page 12
