by S. E. Rose
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” I say, feeling truly sorry for her.
“Thank you. I have something he left for you, something he must have forgotten when you were here. He was not in the best mindset the past few weeks,” she says. “Are you able to stop by tomorrow?”
“Sure,” I answer, wondering what he could possibly have left me. “What time?”
“How about you stop by for lunch, say one o’clock?” she asks.
“Yes, of course,” I answer.
“Your boyfriend is welcome to come too,” she says.
“Right, thank you. We’ll see you tomorrow,” I say, and we hang up.
I turn to Lance who is looking at me with a raised eyebrow. “That was Julia, Dr. Garcia’s granddaughter. He passed away and left something for me,” I say. I realize I’m frowning. “Weird, right?”
“Yes, that is kind of weird,” he agrees as he looks back to the road.
“Can we stop by his apartment tomorrow at one?” I ask him.
“Sure, no problem.”
“Oh, and maybe we can swing by the mall first? I need something nice to wear tomorrow night,” I grin sheepishly.
He laughs. “No worries, gorgeous. We’ll take care of that problem in the morning.” He smirks. “There are some other problems we need to take care of first,” he says as his hand grips my thigh.
I smile at him and suddenly want to rip all his clothes off right here in the car. The rapid-fire information that’s going through my head dies down to a dull roar as we pull into the driveway and I leap out of the car. My thoughts focus in on one thing, one thing that I have been desiring all day. Lance takes my hand as we walk into the house.
Chapter 13
Lily’s Playlist: “You Belong Here” by Anberlin
“Hey, Lance, you back already?” Cody yells from the kitchen. I giggle as I can physically see Lance grimace. “Sorry,” he mouths to me as we walk in to meet Cody.
“Hi, Cody,” I say as I walk over and give him a hug.
“Hey, Lily,” he says warmly and gives me a hug. “How are you?”
“Good, I think,” I answer and then seeing his confused look I explain what happened today.
“Wow,” he says when I finish. “I mean wow, that’s crazy!”
“Yeah, I know,” I agree as I let out a deep breath. “I never expected to find out as much as I have and certainly not what I have found. I know there’s more to the story though, so we’ll see what else I find after I finish up at the orphanage next week.”
“Well, I already told Lance, but you are more than welcome to crash here until you head home or wherever it is you are going next,” he says with a smile as Lance orders us pizza and cracks open a few beers.
“Thanks, Cody,” I answer with an appreciative smile as I take a sip of beer. “I’ll definitely take you up on that offer. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll stay here. I had originally planned to go to Bogota and then Cartagena, but now I’m not sure what my plan is. Once I finish figuring out all this family history stuff, I’ve got some bigger decisions I need to be thinking about before I go home.”
“Like what?” Cody prods as he sits down on a chair and takes a large gulp of beer. Lance sits down next to him and I take a seat across from them both, not trusting myself to sit too close to Lance.
“I was offered a job that looks to start in September sometime. I just, well, to be honest, I’m just not sure if it’s right for me,” I explain as I fiddle with the top of my beer can.
“Sorry, you probably mentioned it in the Galapagos, but what is it you do?” he asks.
“Oh, well, I just graduated from college. I studied horticulture and literature and minored in photography. The job offer I got was working at a nursery, a place I did some summer work at last year,” I explain.
“So, what do you want to do?” Cody asks as the front door buzzer sounds. Lance gets up to answer the door.
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” I say as I mull over his question. “I mean, I love horticulture, although working at the nursery just seems more like a job and not a career for me.” I hear Lance walk up behind me and he places two boxes of pizza on the table.
“Well, at least you have some time to think about things this summer,” Cody says. “That’s more than most of us get.”
“True,” I admit. “Although I’m not spending much time thinking about that, things have been too crazy lately.”
I help Lance pass out plates and more beer. “So, you’re still undecided on the job, huh?” Lance asks as he sits back down.
“Yep,” I say, taking a bite of Hawaiian pizza.
“Good?” Lance asks.
“Yes,” I snicker. “I don’t get why Hawaiian pizza is popular here. Seriously, it’s not even that popular at home and Hawaii is a state.”
Cody and Lance look at each other and shrug.
“What do you two lovebirds have planned for tonight?” Cody asks, opening his second beer.
Lance swiftly punches him in the arm without missing a beat.
“What?” Cody manages as he chokes on the beer.
“Subtle, real subtle, Cody,” Lance says. I burst out laughing. As a twin, I realize there’s a conversation going on between them that is not even vocalized. They both stop and look at me.
“Guys, seriously? I’m a twin too, remember,” I say with a smirk.
I see them look at each other and then me. I wink at them and take another bite of pizza. They laugh simultaneously and then immediately go back to eating their pizza.
We eat the rest of our meal while chatting about Cody’s work and some funny stories from their past travels together. I help Lance clear the plates after dinner. Cody excuses himself to go work in his office for a while.
As he walks out of the kitchen I call out after him. “Hey, Cody, tell Zoe I said hi.”
He stops in his tracks. “Why do you think…,” he starts and then shakes his head as he laughs and walks out of the room.
“’Cause girls just know these things,” I call out after him. “And I also graduated in the top of my class.”
I see Lance glance over at me. I turn to him and smile. “Didn’t know I was super smart, too? Did you?”
Lance sets down the last plate in the drying rack and pulls me against him as I squeal. “Oh, darling, I know you’re smart,” he murmurs against my lips. “And sexy,” he says kissing me. “And funny.” He kisses me again. “And gorgeous.” He kisses me a final time and then grabs my hand and leads me up to his room.
I sit on his bed as he shuts the door and turns to me. In three strides, he reaches the bed and places his hands on either side of my thighs, so that his face is level with mine.
“Did I mention sexy?” he whispers against my lips. I smile for a split second before his lips crash against mine and his tongue probes between my lips seeking entrance. I feel his hands moving me further back on the bed until I’m lying down. He straddles me while not breaking our kiss. I feel his erection against my abdomen while his fingers slowly begin removing my clothes. Our kiss only breaks momentarily as clothing is pulled over my head.
He takes his clothes off while kissing my breasts, my stomach, my thighs, and my feet. He makes his way back up my legs, spreading them with his hands until I can feel the heat of his breath against my sex.
“So sexy,” he murmurs as he spreads me open with his hands and his tongue caresses my clit. I cry out as I feel him suck harder against me while his fingers slide inside of me. “You’re so ready for me, baby. But I want you to come for me like this first.”
He removes his fingers and replaces it with his tongue, his fingers pinching my clit. I feel the heat building inside of me and then the sensation is too much, and I cry out his name as I feel myself come on his tongue. He laps up my climax and then slowly makes his way back up to my breasts.
“You taste so sweet, gorgeous,” he murmurs against my nipple. I thrust my hips against him, wanting to feel him inside of me. “Slow down, we h
ave all night.” And then he slowly pushes into me.
We spend the whole night fucking, making love, and exploring each other’s bodies. He takes me on his bed, against the wall, in the shower, on the floor and on a chair in the corner of his room. I’m stretched and pulled in ten different directions that I didn’t think was possible. By midnight, I’m telling him he’s a sex god as he makes me come for what feels like the millionth time that night. He laughs and says he’s my sex Jedi since I was the one who had called him Obi-Wan Kenobi. This leads me to start on a rant of silly Star Wars innuendos that leads to another several rounds of amazing sex. By 3:00 a.m., I’m exhausted. I can’t keep my eyes open. I feel Lance get up and he comes back with a wet, warm towel. He gently spreads my legs and cleans me before crawling back into bed and pulling me tight against him. The act is so intimate and a few weeks ago it would have made me blush, but now it just makes me feel cherished. And then I fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Chapter 14
Lily’s Playlist: “Politik” by Coldplay
My eyes still don’t want to open when I wake. I ignore the sure sign that I’m coming down with a sore throat. I’ll deal with that later. I feel Lance’s arms wrapped tightly around me, his leg in between mine, his chin is on top of my head, his chest pressed tightly against my back. I can feel his breath against the top of my head and his heart beating against my spine. He feels like the surface of the sun even in the air conditioning. I can tell it’s light out, but I have no concept of the time. After a few minutes of enjoying the quiet and comfort of lying here, I open my eyes. The sun shines in through the window and I can see the blue sky and white puffy clouds outside. Considering the enormity of yesterday, I feel oddly at peace and a little sore. I need to call Nick, I think to myself. I look over at the clock and see it’s 8:00 a.m. I gently peel myself from Lance and I tiptoe over to my bag and throw on a t-shirt and yoga pants. I head downstairs and find that I am the first one up, so I put on the coffee and walk out back. I FaceTime Nick.
“Hey,” I say to him as his face fills my screen.
“Morning,” he says, chipper as usual. Normally, this would drive me crazy, but I’m oddly at ease this morning. “You seem, well, calm,” he notices.
“I am,” I say. I bite my lip.
“You found something,” he states, examining my face.
“Yes,” I answer.
“Mom?” he asks.
“Nick, you should sit down,” I say, sucking in a big gulp of air. I watch as he moves over to a chair and takes a seat. He looks at me.
“She’s dead,” he says in a resigned manner before I can even say the words.
“Yes, it’s true,” I say, confirming what we had always suspected but weren’t one hundred percent sure. I launch into the story of everything I’ve found and then announce that we have grandparents and they want to meet him. I’ve watched his face go from a stark seriousness to a smile.
“Yes, I’d love to meet them. I wish I had time to get there by Sunday,” he says. “Maybe I can try flying out next week?”
“Sure,” I say. “Oh, one other thing,” I add.
“You have a boyfriend,” he says.
“Uh, yeah,” I answer.
“Zoe,” he explains. I shake my head in disbelief. He laughs.
“I take it I can crash with you, if you’ll be staying there after you leave the orphanage next Thursday.” I had already texted my mom and Nick about my earlier departure from the orphanage. But I hadn’t explained what I had found out, at least not in detail.
“Sure, I’ll double-check with Cody, since he’s renting this place, but I think they’d love to meet you,” I say. We say goodbye and I feel Lance behind me.
I slowly turn around and see him sitting at the kitchen table watching me while he drinks his coffee. I smile at him and stand, brushing off my pants as I walk over to the slider door and open it.
“Good morning,” I sing as I walk through the threshold and shut the door behind me.
“Morning,” Lance says. “Nick?” he asks, nodding to my phone. I nod and sit down on his lap, straddling him.
“I told him everything,” I said.
I see Lance raise both eyebrows and I laugh. “OK, not everything,” I restate, rolling my eyes.
“Did I hear that Nick is coming next weekend?” he asks as he lazily traces my lips and cheekbones.
“Yep, maybe Friday or Saturday,” I say. “Do you think Cody would mind if he spent the weekend here?”
“I think it’s fine,” he says.
“Yeah, sure,” Cody says, walking in with just a pair of running shorts on. “Seriously, get a room, guys.”
I stick my tongue out at him and he laughs as he pours himself some coffee. I nestle my head against the crook of Lance’s neck, my arms wrapped around him. I feel like a small child, sitting on my parent’s lap. Lance runs his free hand up and down my spine in what is becoming an oddly comforting routine.
“Tired?” he murmurs against my ear. I nod, assessing that I am indeed coming down with something. I let myself relax, smelling his scent and feeling the ripple of his muscles each time he brings his coffee mug up to his lips. I hear Cody sit down at the table and begin typing on his laptop. We all sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“Nine thirty,” Cody says.
I begrudgingly raise my head up and look into Lance’s eyes. “I should grab a shower and get dressed,” I say. I put a finger to his chest. “You owe me a mall trip this morning,” I say.
“Oh really,” Lance says, his lips fighting a smile.
I crawl off his lap and take my coffee mug as I head up to his bedroom. I’m washing my hair when I feel Lance’s arms come around me. I jump.
“Jesus Christ, you scared the crap out of me!” I yelp.
“Sorry,” he says as he nuzzles my shoulder. “I couldn’t resist spending a few more minutes with you naked.”
I turn around to face him and he’s smiling as he leans in and kisses me, slowly, tenderly. I sigh.
“Don’t worry,” he says with a low chuckle. “I’m only here to clean you. I mean, it is my fault that you need a shower this morning.”
I roll my eyes, but let his hands massage my scalp as he takes over shampooing my curls. He finishes washing my whole body with loving strokes and caresses. I’m practically melting when he ushers me out and dries me off before wrapping a towel around his own waist. He kisses me lightly and then playfully slaps me on the ass.
“OK, let’s get rolling,” he says. “We have shopping to do.” And he walks into the closet as he wags his eyebrows at me.
I giggle while proceeding to get ready.
I make Lance stop at a pharmacy on our way to the mall, so I can get some medicine for my throat. The pharmacist takes a look at my throat and says it looks like a bacterial infection and gives me some medicine to take. I always seem to get sick when I travel. I ask if I’m contagious and she shrugs and says not really. Well, that’s comforting. Lance shrugs upon hearing this and whispers in my ear that if I am contagious, then it’s probably too late for him anyhow. He does have a point. Afterward, we are at the mall for a long time. At least a long time for me, I am not a shopper. By store number four, I have found absolutely nothing. I slink onto a bench and huff.
“Shopping is soooo frustrating!!” I moan. Lance laughs.
“Sure, laugh it up. You just have to throw on a suit,” I say as I stand back up and look at the mall map on a nearby sign.
I begin walking to the nearest women’s clothing store and then stop in my tracks as I see the perfect dress in the window right in front of me. Forgetting that Lance is even behind me, I walk straight into the store and up to a sale’s clerk, inquiring if the dress in the window is available in my size. She smiles and leads me to a rack of dresses and pulls one out, handing it to me to survey.
It’s a beautiful, royal blue, empire-waist dress with a halter neck that makes me think of someth
ing my great-grandmother would have worn out to a cocktail party in the 1950s. It is made of chiffon, which is layered and pulled in the middle. I take it into a dressing room, forgetting that Lance is still following me. I try it on and take a deep breath. It is amazing. And that is saying something, since I hate shopping. The dress goes down to my knees. It hugs the contours of my small curves, cinching at the waist, and then wraps up around my neck in two small ribbons that tie behind my neck, exposing my back, arms, and shoulders. The bright color complements my tanned skin and I feel like a princess. I twirl and watch the skirt twirl with me.
“How’s it going in there?” Lance asks, bringing me back to reality.
“Oh, hmmm…good. I found a dress,” I say with a smile to myself.
“Can I see it?” he asks.
“Sure,” I say. I smirk to myself as I take it off and seeing the saleswoman as I open the door, I quickly nod to her and hand her the dress. I walk out to Lance and he cocks his head at me.
“You can see it tonight,” I say and turn around heading toward the cashier.
After a brief dispute on who should pay, Lance wins, but I get to buy some fun strappy silver heels to go with my dress. We pass a sunglass place and Lance stops.
“Hey, do you mind getting us some coffees?” he asks. “I forgot I promised Cody I’d pick him up a new sunglass case.”
“Sure, no problem,” I say.
“I’ll meet you down by Juan Valdez, OK?” he says as he enters the store.
About fifteen minutes later, he meets me at the table and we sit and drink our coffee.
“Shall we head over to meet Julia?” he asks, glancing at his watch.
“Yeah,” I say, suddenly feeling a little nervous.
We knock on Dr. Garcia’s door and Julia opens it. She gives us a meager smile and a hug and kiss. I do love that about Colombians; they are so damn friendly compared to most Americans.
“Come in, please,” she says, ushering us to the dining room. A man walks out from a back room and greets us.
“Hello,” he says in a completely American accent. “I’m Mike. Nice to meet you.”
