Antecedent

by DL Gallie

  “I don’t want to squash you,” he says between kisses.

  “I don’t care.” My voice is husky with lust.

  Before I know it, Nate has rolled us and I’m now on top of him. His hand slides under my top, my skin tingling from his touch. His other hand grips my ass and squeezes, a moan slips from my lips, and I giggle when he tickles my ribs. Sitting up so I’m straddling him, I gaze lovingly down at him. His hands are resting on either side of my hips. A force beyond my control overtakes my body, and I pull my top over my head. I’m sitting in the middle of a field full of cars, on a blanket, in nothing but my jeans and bra, and never have I felt as sexy as I do right now.

  “You are beautiful, Bai,” Nate whispers, my cheeks tinge pink at his words and my heart beats faster. It’s beating so fast I feel like it’s going to beat right out of my chest.

  Leaning down again, I place my lips over Nate’s. I grab his hands and place them on my boobs. That’s all the invitation he needs, he gently begins to massage them. His fingers dip inside my bra and he begins to tweak my nipples. When he squeezes, it sends tingly shockwaves between my legs. I rub myself on him and the friction causes us both to groan.

  “Nate, please?” I whisper.

  “Bailey, we’ve only just met—”

  Placing my finger on his lips I shush him. “Nate, I know it’s crazy, but I feel like I’ve known you forever. I want this. I want you.” As I’m saying this, I reach behind me and unhook my bra, the straps fall down my arms and his eyes drop to my bare breasts. The cool night air hardens my nipples to form taut peaks. Nate swallows deeply before leaning forward and taking a nipple into his mouth. My eyes close. My head drops back, effectively thrusting them forward into his face. He lifts his hand and massages the one he’s not currently sucking on. He alternates between them; I’m ready to explode. “I’m ready,” I whisper moan as I stand up and remove my jeans and panties.

  Nate leans back on his arms and stares up at me. His eyes open wide as his gaze takes in my naked form. Squatting back down, I shimmy up his legs and make quick work of his undoing his jeans. He lifts up and helps me pull them down his thighs. His cock springs free, the tip glistening in the moonlight. I swipe my finger over the tip and lift it to my lips and suck. I shuffle forward and push Nate down to the blanket. Lifting onto my knees, I hover over his cock before I slowly sink down. We both moan, he fits me perfectly. We begin to rock back and forth, our eyes locked on one another. He grips my hips tightly, while I throw my head back in ecstasy as I continue to ride him. Suddenly my skin is alight and my orgasm ricochets through my body. I moan into the night sky, and as I’m coming back to earth, I feel Nate tense beneath me. He closes his eyes and he lets go. I’m mesmerized, watching him come and the immense pleasure on his face makes me smile. His body goes limp, and when he opens his eyes, he reaches up, cups my head, and kisses me. Wrapping his arms tightly around my back, I do the same and we lose ourselves is this kiss—I never want this moment to end.

  Lifting off Nate, I snuggle into his side and lay my head on his chest. This moment is perfect, and it’s one that I will remember for the rest of my life. We fall asleep together and when we wake again, the sun is shining and it’s all quiet on the stage. The next artist won’t appear until later this afternoon, so Nate and I redress and head back in. We walk around for a bit and chat about our lives. With each word that leaves his lips, I fall more and more in love with him. He has a heart of gold, and when he looks at me, he really sees at me. It’s like everything around him fades away, and I’m the only thing that he sees. I’ve never felt so special or wanted before in my life. And it’s exactly how I feel with Nate too.

  Another night passes, and I realize that I haven’t seen my friends since yesterday. I have literally been wrapped up with Nate, and if I’m honest, I haven’t missed them at all. “What do you say we get some food and then try and find your friends? It’s been a while since we have seen them.”

  I look at him and laugh. “Are you in my head? I was just thinking about them.”

  “You’re in my head, I can’t stop thinking about you, Bai.”

  My cheeks darken at his words and I become shy. I’m not a fan of the attention but with Nate, I kinda like it. “Okay, let’s get burgers and then we can go find Wendy and Nancy.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” He laces our fingers together and we head off in search of burgers, which—by the way—are the best cheeseburgers I have ever eaten.

  After eating our burgers, Nate and I head back toward the main area in search of my friends. We are so wrapped up in each other, we don’t notice Wendy and Nancy walking toward us. Our moment is broken when Wendy tugs on my arm. “Bailey, babe, you need to come now. Jimi is about to take the stage and we have to see him live. He is the whole reason that you and I came.” She pauses and then adds, “We.Have.To.”

  Stopping, I stare at her. All of a sudden I’m dog-tired, but Jimi is about to take the stage and there is no way in hell I’m missing Jimi. Wiping my eyes, I shake my head and grin at her. “I’m coming, Wendy.” Looking to Nate, I ask, “You wanna come with us?”

  With a smile that sets me ablaze, he says, “I’d love to.” He grabs my hand; we entwine our fingers together, and follow Wendy and Nancy to the stage for the performance of a lifetime.

  CHAPTER 16

  BAILEY

  Jimi Hendrix was beyond awesome. He was definitely the highlight of Woodstock for me, closely followed by Credence. Daddy would have loved that, and I can’t wait to have dinner with him tomorrow night and tell him all about it. Or gush about Nate.

  People are starting to leave, but we don’t want to get crushed in the crowd, so we hang around and wait. It’s not like getting out of the parking lot will be any easier. “I’m just going to the bathroom,” I tell the group and walk off.

  I’m on such a high at the moment. This day, no weekend, has been beyond amazing. Not only did I get to see all my favorite bands play live, but I have met a wonderful man. A man who I can see myself spending the rest of my life with.

  I’m on my way back to the group, when someone pulls on my arm and drags me between two tents. When we stop, I look up and I see William. His eyes are feral and I can feel the anger radiating off him. He’s silent as he stares at me; it’s extremely unnerving.

  “William, what’s going on?” I ask.

  He still doesn’t say anything; he stares right through me. It like he’s here but his mind is elsewhere. His breathing is deep and ragged. His body is tense with rage and I’m really uncomfortable right now. I have never seen William like this before, and I’m beginning to get scared.

  “Bailey,” he snarls between clenched teeth. “You are meant to be with me.” He pokes himself in his chest. “Me. Not that asshole Nathaniel-fucking-Winters.”

  “William, I—” He cuts me off and steps in front of me. I can feel his breath on my face and my heart rate speeds up. My body becomes clammy and sticky as the fear spreads through my veins. The air around us is thick with hate and animosity. My eyes dart around, I glance over his shoulder, trying to find a way out of here but he has me blocked in.

  “Just shut it, Bailey, and you listen to me. He is not the one for you, I am.” He pokes himself in the chest again.

  “William, I—”

  “I said shut the fuck up.” He steps toward me, my panic spikes and I take a step back in fear. “You are too good for him. You and I belong together, we always have. If he hadn’t swooped in, you would be mine.” He roughly grabs me by my upper arms, pulls me closer to him, and slams his lips forcefully against mine. Clamping my lips shut tight, I refuse him entry. I close my eyes and try to wriggle free, but his grip on my arms is really tight. He angrily pulls back, raises his hand and slaps my face. He then sneers, “Let me in, Bailey.” Then he slams his lips to mine once again, and he loosens his grip on my arms, so I push him away.

  Shaking my head at him in disgust, the first tear falls down my cheek. I wipe it away and will myself not to cry. “
No, William. Please don’t do this.” He glares at me again, and when I look up at him, I don’t see the nice, friendly William that I know. Instead, I see monster William. He raises his right arm again and slaps my left cheek, my head snaps to the side, and I let out a yelp in shock.

  “See what you make me do,” he growls at me. “Bailey…” he says, stepping near me again. I take a step back in fear and this only aggravates him further. He grabs my arms again and pulls me to him. He tries to kiss me again but I turn my head, this only angers him more. He squeezes my arms tighter before he shoves me to the ground. I land on the grass with a thud, but before I have a chance to register anything, William pushes me down and is straddling my legs. I try and get up, but he pushes me back to the dirt. The grass is cold beneath me, and I try and focus on that, but all I can concentrate on is William and what is going to happen next.

  William lowers himself over me, one hand resting beside my head, caging me in. The other hand is roughly groping my breast through my top. My eyes well with tears, everything is blurry. I close my eyes and take a deep breath when I feel him slide up my legs. His erection is pressing into my stomach when he leans down and tries to kiss me again.

  Blinking away my tears, I shake my head and beg, “Please, William.”

  He mistakes my plea as me giving myself to him, and with a sinister smile he says, “I knew you’d come round.”

  Leaning down, he tries to kiss me again, when all of a sudden the pressure of him on top of me is gone, and I’m alone lying in the grass. Everything around me is muffled, but I vaguely hear someone yelling, “You asshole, get your hands off her.”

  Looking over, I see Nate and Archie dragging William away. Nancy and Wendy come rushing over to me. I roll onto my side, close my eyes, and I huddle into a ball. Wendy touches my shoulder and I flinch. “Bailey, it’s me, you’re safe now.”

  Opening my eyes, I look up and see both Wendy and Nancy crouched next to me, their faces full of fear. My brain kicks into gear again, and I register that it’s them. Sitting up, I wrap my arms around Wendy and cry. The tears flow down my cheeks as I huddle into her. Everything around me becomes fuzzy as I let the tears and grief overtake me. Nancy slips her cardigan off and drapes it over my shoulders. I look down to see my top has been torn; my bra is not in place, and my breasts are on display. Reaching up, I grip the edges of the sweater and hold it tight to me.

  I’m tugged from Wendy’s embrace as Nate pulls me into his body. His chest is erratically rising and falling, his breathing labored. “Bai, babe, are you okay?”

  I nod my head that I’m fine, but to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel right now. Nate leads me over to a table, sits down, and pulls me onto his lap. He holds me tightly and his embrace is exactly what I need right now.

  William walks toward us and I feel Nate tense under me, William is about to speak to us when Wendy grabs his arm and drags him away. I’m so thankful for her at the moment, I’m not ready to speak to him yet. I knew William liked me and prior to today, I kinda sorta liked him too, but then I met Nate and everything changed.

  From where we are sitting, I hear Wendy letting loose on William. “You are my brother and I love you, but right at this moment, I have no words to describe how I feel about you. None. What you just did is unforgivable, and if Bailey never speaks to me again because of you, I will never forgive you. Now just go, you are not wanted here.” He lowers his head and walks away, he doesn’t look up at anyone. I cannot believe it, but I actually feel sorry for him. This causes me to laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” Nate says, his face etched with a mixture of anger and sadness.

  Never in a million years will I tell him what I just felt for William. I shake my head and sadly smile at him. “It’s nothing, can you please take me home?”

  “Of course.” He stands up and instinctively I wrap my legs around his waist and snuggle into him. Pulling back, I stare into his eyes and I know that I will be fine. “Nate, put me down. I can walk.”

  “I know you can, but I like having you in my arms, Bai.”

  “I like it too, but please, I want to walk.” He reluctantly lowers me to the ground and outstretches his hand to me. I place my palm in his and he pulls me into his side. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and hugs me for dear life. This causes the dam walls to break once again and I begin to cry. “Shhhhh,” he coos. He pulls me to him and instinctively, I wrap my arms around his waist and he holds me tighter.

  “I was so scared, Nate. So scared. I never thought William would do something like that. Never.”

  “It’s over now and you are safe with me, Bai. I will never let anything like that happen to you again. I’m just glad that I was there.”

  “Me too, Nate, me too.”

  Wendy walks over to us. “Bai, I’m so sorry about my brother. He’s such an asshole, I can’t believe he did that. If you want me to move out, I totally understand.”

  “Wendy, no,” I say, pulling away from Nate. “You are my best friend and I don’t want this to ruin that. Your brother will never come between us, ever. You are the sister I never had.”

  “Ohh, Bai,” she cries, I wrap my arms around her and offer her the comfort she needs right now. Nancy walks over, I pull her into our hug, and the three of us stand there hugging and crying.

  “Come on, ladies, let’s get you home,” Nate says.

  The three of us pull apart. I take Nate’s outstretched hand, while Wendy and Nancy link hands, and I find myself smiling at this. Together, we walk to Nate’s car and he drives us home.

  When Nate drops us off, I ask him to stay and he quickly agrees. After a quick shower, I change into my nightie and climb into my bed. While I wait for Nate to shower, I think about the last few days: the concert, Nate, William, and everything in between. This weekend has been perfect, absolutely perfect, even with what William did. I’ve never been so happy or content in my life. Nate comes into my room in nothing but a pair of boxers. My eyes rake over his body, and I find myself once again smiling.

  Nate and I lie on my bed together. He pulls the duvet over us and we both relax. “Are you okay, Bailey?”

  “I’m not sure. But having you here makes me feel safe.”

  “I’m happy to be here, and I can say without a doubt, I don’t want to be anywhere else right now.” He pauses. “When I saw him on top of you, my heart stopped and shattered at the same time. A force beyond my control overtook my body, and all I could think about was saving you. I’m sorry that happened. I should have protected you better.”

  “Nate, stop. It’s not your fault. I’m fine, you did save me, and I will forever be grateful that you came along when you did.”

  “I just keep thinking, what-if and all the horrible scenarios that could have taken place. I don’t think my heart could handle losing you.”

  “You won’t, Nate. I’m not going anywhere. Now that I’ve found you, I’m not going anywhere and I’m not letting you go.” I snuggle into his side, we sigh in unison, but we are both so exhausted that we don’t have the energy to laugh about it. The events of the last two days have finally caught up with us.

  “I love you, Bai,” Nate whispers into my hair before he gently kisses my temple. “Now and forever.”

  “I love you too, Nate. Now and forever,” I whisper into his chest. I place a kiss over his heart, drape my arm across his chest, and burrow into his side. The beating of his heart lulls me happily to sleep. I’m tightly wrapped in the arms of the man of my dreams…literally.

  …With a jolt, I’m snapped back to reality with my boss, Billy, yelling at me. I’m still holding the beers that I was handing to Nate. “Shit, sorry.”

  “It happened, didn’t it?”

  I nod my head, shocked that A. Nate is in front of me, and B. I was just accosted with a memory of us meeting. “Woodstock,” I murmur.

  Nate smiles. “Titanic. I remember meeting in London and being on the Titanic tog—”

  “Get back to work, Bailey. Flirt later,” h
er boss interrupts.

  When he comes into view, I realize who he is. “William Clayton,” I say.

  “Billy, but yes that’s my real name. Get back to work, Bailey, and you,” he points at Nate, “leave my staff alone.”

  Nate winks at me, before turning to Billy, “Clayton,” he says in a deep baritone voice. Both Billy and I look to him in shock, its like we have heard him say that a thousand times before. Looking back at me, he softly adds, “I’ll catch up with you later, Bai.”

  He picks up his beers and walks over to his friend, whom I later find out is Jason, Archie’s cousin. He reminds me so much of Archie from when I met him at Woodstock, they even dress the same. Must be in the family genes.

  For the rest of the night, I’m accosted with memories of Nate and me throughout the years. Meeting during the Depression, and overcoming everything to live until we were old and gray, dying within weeks of each other. Being trapped with Nate during the Great Fire of London in 1666, I didn’t see the ending of that one, but I can guess how we died then. Drinking beer together at the first Oktoberfest in 1810.

  We have met in many different times and we’ve lived many different lives together, but one thing has always remained the same, our love for one another.

  Our love is endless.

  Our love is unbreakable.

  CHAPTER 17

  NATE

  The rest of the function seems to fly by, but at the same time it goes extremely slowly. Every time my eyes land on Bailey, I feel my cheeks heat and I’m flooded with more memories. I can’t believe she’s here. That she’s real. I was starting to think I was going crazy. The dreams, well memories, were so vivid and now I know why.

  I’m watching her behind the bar, when all of a sudden my view is blocked. Looking up I see Billy standing before me. “William Clayton, once again it’s nice to see you,” I sarcastically say, lifting my beer to my lips, I take a sip and continue to stare at him.