“Who can give me an example of how the media can influence political life in America?”
“What media?” The comment from Kevin caused a few outbreaks of laughter.
She smiled. “I am glad that you asked that question. Let’s begin with one that is simpler. Do you know what media is defined as?”
Her sarcastic question had the effect that she wanted it to. Kevin ducked his head in embarrassment, and a few of his classmates laughed. She quieted the students.
“Now let’s start over. Who can tell me what influence the media had or can have on American politics?”
She finally started getting answers that she could put on the board. By the time the bell rang to end class, she was more than ready for it to. She couldn’t remember being that difficult as a senior in high school. As a matter of fact, senior year had been the best year to her. It had been the highlight of her high school days. She and her sisters had had a lot of fun, but they had taken things a lot more seriously than her current students did.
“Remember the homework assignment for tomorrow, and have a good day.”
Her second class of ninth graders filed in. They had finished their discussion on the Declaration of Independence, and now they were moving on to the subject of the U.S. Constitution. When the last bell of the day rang, she was more than ready to meet her sisters at Sam’s Café, but she had a little time to use up. She spent it watching a special on Christopher Columbus. It was interesting to know how much confusion surrounded him. There were always people questioning where he’d come from as well as other aspects about his background. When she walked into Sam’s Café, her sisters were already sitting there waiting on her. They stood up to embrace her then slid over to make room for her.
“Nadia has already been by to take our drink orders. We placed yours for you.”
She smiled at Kristen. “Thank you. Sorry I’m late. I got caught up in watching a special on Christopher Columbus.”
“Did you see the special on communism yesterday?”
She shook her head at Keirra’s question. “No, I missed that. Do you know when it is coming on again?”
Her sister shrugged. “No, but if I find out, I’ll call you or record it for you.”
“I would appreciate that.”
Nadia brought back their drinks. “You girls ready to order?”
The corners of Kayla’s mouth curved upward as she looked up at the waitress that had been waiting on them for years. Nadia was at least six years older than they were and had been a waitress in Sam’s for as long as she could remember. Even though ownership of the restaurant was in the process of being handed over to Nadia, she was still a waitress. She claimed that she loved waiting on people and would do it for as long as she could.
“Yes, we are.”
Nadia took their orders before walking away. Kayla looked at her sisters who looked just as tired as she was. “I thought that moving back to Baxley was supposed to leave us well rested?”
Kristen laughed. “It did until we met the men in our lives.”
Keirra laughed herself. “And because of that fact, I don’t mind being tired at all.”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “Believe me, it shows.”
Keirra gave her a mock sympathetic look. “Oh, are you jealous?”
She shook her head at her younger sister. “Trust me. I have no reason to be jealous.”
Kristen leaned forward to look at her. “You look very tired yourself, and you have been tight-lipped about what’s going on between you and James.”
It was her turn to be sarcastic. “Well, there hasn’t been a lot going on between us, so there is nothing to tell.”
An expression of disbelief settled onto Kristen’s face. “Yeah, right.”
Kayla smiled before putting her sisters out of their misery and filling them in on what had been going on.
Keirra arched a dark brow in Kayla’s direction. “So he and Jonah get along?”
Kayla nodded, and she was glad that was the case. It would be hard for her to choose between the two men.
“I heard that Jonah is dating Ellie,” Keirra added.
She held her response until after Nadia had delivered their food. Once Nadia was gone again, she looked at Kristen. “Yes, he is dating Ellie, and they are getting along great.”
She took a bite of her pasta marinara and closed her eyes in pleasure. She ought to be ashamed of herself for being so gluttonous. “I need to have my jaw broken.”
Kristen laughed at her, but looked across the table at Kayla. “Why is that?”
“Because I can actually feel my butt giggle when I run.”
Both of her sisters burst out laughing, but at her disgruntled look, Kristen stopped laughing. “Come on, Kayla, we all have at least one imperfection on our bodies.”
She shrugged. “Yeah well, that doesn’t mean a lot to me because this is the only body I have to look at in the mirror every day.”
Keirra had to jump into the conversation. “Well, it ought to. Trust me, no one wants a perfect person, body or otherwise. In the end, someone ends up feeling inferior. Besides, you look just fine to me.”
Kristen scoffed at the statement. “In my opinion, perfection only invites jealousy. Besides, you are beautiful.”
She laughed at Kristen. “I think your opinion is biased.”
Kristen gave her a sly look. “You think so, huh? Well, what does James have to say about that?”
That question gave her pause. James loved her body. It was obvious because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself whenever he was in her presence. She knew that he loved her mind just as much. He engaged her in questions about history. He seemed to be interested in her passion for history as well as her outlook on life. When she looked at Kristen, her expression said it all.
Her sister grinned. “That is what I thought.”
Kristen reached out and touched her hand. “Look, we have all had our days when we feel like we are packing on the pounds. But seriously, you look great, and I can’t tell that you have gained any weight at all.”
She sighed heavily. “You are right. I don’t know what is wrong with me.”
Keirra who had been silent up to now spoke. “You have to focus on something negative when everything else is going well. So you search for something negative. That way when something bad actually happens, it softens the blow.”
She looked at Keirra in shock, and Kristen’s expression matched hers. Keirra only shrugged her shoulders. “It is just a suggestion.”
Kayla looked at her with surprise. “Is that what you used to do?”
Keirra nodded without hesitation. “At least I did until Eric. But even in the beginning of our relationship, I did it.”
She laughed. “So many awful things have happened to us in life that I didn’t feel like I could survive anything else.”
Kayla could see the pain in her sister’s eyes even though she smiled.
Keirra reached for her drink. “Lucky for me, Eric wouldn’t give up.”
Kayla didn’t know what to say to her sister’s confession. It was amazing to her how differently she and her sisters had been affected by the tragedies in their lives. Maybe she was doing the same thing that Keirra had done. Maybe she wasn’t. Either way, she didn’t feel as bad about her body anymore. The main reason she hated gaining weight was because it was too hard for her to get it off again, even though she was still young. The other was that she hated dieting and running, and preferred to do both at the bare minimum to keep healthy.
Kristen frowned as she looked at her watch. “Oh, man. It’s late.”
She looked at her own watch and grimaced. It was later than they normally stayed out. They got Nadia’s attention and boxed up their leftover food then paid their checks. When Kayla walked into her home a short while later, she thought about the day when she would no longer come home to an empty house.
“How does this look?”
Kayla moved a set of balloons to another chair, shaking her h
ead and moving it back. That earned her a growl from Keirra and laughs from Eric and James.
She turned to look at her sister. “I want everything to look good.”
James pulled her into his arms and placed a kiss on her lips before Keirra could say anything. “No, you want it to look perfect, and it is. Kristen and Randy are going to love everything.”
She hoped so because they had worked hard to put the engagement party together. Kristen and Randy thought that they were coming over for lunch. They had no idea of what was really going on. She and Keirra had worked hard to put the party together.
“They are coming,” someone whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Everyone took their spots and waited for the engaged couple. When they stepped into the backyard, a loud “Surprise” echoed around the yard. Surprise showed all over Kristen and Randy’s faces. They were greeted by all of Randy’s siblings and by his parents. Kayla and Keirra hung back and let everyone else get in greetings. Kristen and Randy finally appeared in front of them. Her sister was smiling brightly, her eyes containing a few unshed tears.
“So this is what the two of you have been up to?”
Kayla nodded and she embraced her younger sister. “Guilty as charged.”
Kristen pulled back and hugged Keirra next. “Well thank you, guys. We really appreciate it.”
Keirra gave the couple a sly look. “Don’t thank us yet.”
Kristen and Randy groaned simultaneously. Their worried expressions mirrored each other. “What have the two of you done?”
“I think the better question is what haven’t they done,” Eric corrected with around a chuckle.
It also earned him an elbow from Keirra, but she was careful of his shoulder. He chuckled and gave her a kiss.
Kayla shook her head. “You will find out later.”
Kayla announced that it was time to eat Kristen could ask any other questions. It felt like the holidays all over again. She looked over at Kristen and couldn’t help but to grin at how happy her sister looked. After everyone finished eating, it was time for the surprise that she and Keirra had planned.
She disappeared into the house to get the stuff that she needed. When she returned, Kristen and Keirra were gone. She went ahead and set up the projector so that it would show on the screen that James and Eric had set up for her earlier.
“Hey, James, could you …” She stopped speaking when she realized that he wasn’t standing there. “Eric, have you seen James?”
He nodded his head in the direction of the corner that her sisters had James hemmed up in.
She gasped as she walked over to the corner. “Kristen and Keirra!”
She was glad to see her sisters jump before turning around looking at her with guilty expressions.
“What are you two doing?”
James smiled as he answered for them. “They are making sure that my intentions toward you are good.”
She frowned and placed her hands on her hips. “And the two of you wondered why I wouldn’t bring him around you prior to now.”
James pulled her into his arms. “They have asked pretty tame questions so far.”
She gave him a look. “That is only because they haven’t had you in their grasp long enough.”
He laughed. “It’s okay. Trust me. I have been in their shoes.”
She rolled her eyes at him. So much for trying to keep him from being interrogated. “You aren’t supposed to be on their side, but since you are and since you are enjoying yourself, I am going to go ahead and start the presentation. You all stay back here and enjoy yourself.”
She started to walk off but James held onto her, aware of her agitation. “Where are you going?”
“Back to the party to enjoy myself,” she huffed.
“Don’t worry about her, James. She just gets mad when she can’t be in control.”
A look of surprise fell over James’s face at Kristen’s statement. “Really?”
Her sisters laughed when they realized why James was surprised and why she, turning red in the face, glared at her sisters. Their laughter died down quickly.
Kristen finally stepped forward and hugged her. “We know that this was probably not the best time to do this, but it has been our first opportunity.”
Keirra gave her a leveled look. “As you pointed out yourself, you have kept him from us.”
When Kristen pulled back, Kayla was still a little upset, but not as much. Kristen was right. This was the first time that they had spent with James since the two of them became involved. Still the fact that they were questioning him and not her was nerve-wracking.
“So now, where is my surprise?’
Keirra shook her head. “It is not only your surprise.”
Kristen smiled. “Okay then, where is our surprise?”
Kayla pointed in the direction opposite of which they were standing. “Over there.”
Kayla and Keirra led the way up to where the tables were set up. When everyone was seated, she started the projector and the music. She and Keirra had arranged a compilation of pictures of Kristen and Randy over the years together. The last and most recent was one that she’d managed to sneak after the two had become engaged. Her sister’s smile sparkled just as much as her engagement ring.
When the projector and the music stopped, Kristen had tears in her eyes. Kristen stood up to embrace Kayla and Keirra. “Thank you. I have no idea where the two of you found all of those pictures, but thank you.”
Randy stood up next and gave Kayla a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for giving me another reminder as to why I would be a fool not to marry your sister.”
Kayla laughed. “And thank you for reminding me of a reason why I shouldn’t kill them.”
Chapter Thirteen
Pulling away from James’s tight embrace, Kayla gasped for air and tried to regain control of the situation before it got out of hand.
“We have to stop.”
He groaned as he tried to move closer to her again. “Why?”
“Because I can’t get the door open.”
It took him a moment to realize what she was saying. “Where is the key?”
She deposited it in his hand, and a moment later, he had the door open. “There we go.”
He backed her into the house and closed the door behind them, not giving her a chance to say anything. His mouth found hers again, and he stripped her of her jacket then took care of his own. He scooped her up and carried her upstairs. They hadn’t been able to take their hands off each other since James had convinced her to sneak out of the house with him. Well, for her, it hadn’t really been sneaking. For James, it had, even though he’d informed his father that he was going out after he’d put the kids to bed. By the way they had began steaming up the town with their romance, it was not a shock to anyone to see them together no matter what time it was. James was also busy raising a family and didn’t have a lot of time to spare during the week. That was one of the reasons that she’d agreed to meet him tonight. They had gone for a drive that had ended back at her home with them making out in his SUV.
When she’d suggested that they go inside, he’d followed her happily. After James entered her room, he stood her on her feet. Their clothes disappeared quickly, the next time their bodies touched, they aligned perfectly. She jerked against him, enjoying the sensation of feeling his skin against hers. Her hands automatically came up and touched his chest. She was addicted to the sexiness of his body already. She traced the muscles of his chest with her hands and moved toward the tightness of his abdomen. When she roamed lower, he grabbed her hands.
“You are getting into dangerous territory.”
She looked up at him, passion rushing through her and smiled. “Good. I want to.”
He tried to pull her into his arms, but she stopped him. “I want to pleasure you this time.” She almost shocked herself as she made the bold statement, but she meant it. “I want to pleasure all of you.”
He responded to her
desire by pulling her close for a kiss. “You always do,” he stated when he lifted his head. He let her hands go, and she eased them down his stomach until she found his erect manhood. A groan escaped him at the sensation of her hands surrounding him. She seemed to know how to pleasure him simply from his response to what she was doing. She continued to torture him with pleasure until he pulled away from her.
“That’s enough, baby,” he whispered.
She let him go even as she shook her head. “We are just getting started.”
He didn’t have a chance to ask her what she meant because she knelt before him. He emitted a guttural sound at the first tentative touch of her lips. When she opened her mouth and took him inside, he shuddered hard against her.
He put an end to the pleasure she wanted to give him when he reached down, lifted her up, and then placed her on the bed. She couldn’t blame him for lack of gentleness. She felt extremely turned on. Somehow, she ended up on her stomach. He covered her with his body, not giving her a chance to roll over. He reached for some of the pillows on the bed and slid them under her stomach until she was arched sexily toward him. He entered her slowly, and her body gripped him greedily. She moaned, and he closed his eyes.
“Baby, you feel so good,” he whispered. He slid deeper into her before stiffening. Kayla arched into him, and he grabbed her hips.
“Be still, baby.”
“I can’t. You feel too good inside of me,” she moaned.
He eyes, closed an expression of pure torture on his face. “I am sorry, baby, but I forgot protection.”
It was her turn to stiffen once she realized what he had done. The statement should have completely doused her arousal, but it didn’t. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. “What are we going to do?”
Her Every Fantasy Page 10
