His parents had arrived on the scene first and gave him a good tongue-lashing—not to mention a list of warnings of what was going to happen to him if he ever decided to do something so stupid again. But when Beth’s parents arrived, they had gone completely bonkers over the incident and had punished her for two whole months. Not only that, but they had gone out of their way to see to it that she had felt humiliated by what she’d been caught doing. The fact that they had been just kids at the time seemed of no consequence to her parents or to old man Wilibee. Soon afterward Beth’s parents had split up for good and he remembered now how the whole episode, including her parents’ breakup, had been pretty tough on her. She had changed after that incident, and for a long time she had kept even him at arm’s length. He hadn’t blamed her, though. He probably would have done the same thing if something similar had happened to him.
Wilibee’s pond. It held a lot of old memories for them—some good, some bad—although, he thought that even Beth would have agreed most of them were good. In any case, it was the perfect setting for what he had in mind for them for the rest of the night.
Without a doubt, he liked the idea that he and Beth were going to have the rest of the night all to themselves. That was how he liked it anyway...when it was just him and her, sitting somewhere—anywhere—together, side by side, with all their hopes and dreams tucked in all around them.
Yeah, that was how he liked it, all right. Just him and Beth and that comfortable, satisfied feeling of knowing he was her best friend in the whole wide world, and that when she needed anything—even a father for the child she wanted to have so badly—he was the one she turned to.
Once they were settled again in his Chevy, Jack headed out of town, their hair blowing wildly in the warm, nighttime breeze. The moon was so full and bright that it’s light overshadowed the stars, and it was only every now and then that one could be seen twinkling above.
Eventually Jack turned his car off the main highway and headed down a narrow lane through a small patch of woods until he reached a clearing. Glistening in the moonlight as though waiting for their return was Wilibee’s pond, just as they remembered it.
“Oh, Jack, it’s the same,” Beth said, a lump forming in her throat.
“Yeah, it is,” Jack replied in awe. A second later, he opened his car door and got out. Turning back to look at Beth, he said, “Come on, what are you waiting for? Let’s check out the water.”
“The water...?” she said, dumbfounded. “Jack, surely you’re not thinking of—”
But her words died on her lips because Jack was already way ahead of her and apparently not listening to a thing she said.
She opened her car door and got out, trying her best to catch up with him. Finally she gave up and just followed at her own pace. She was glad that she had thought of coming here. The feel... the smell...was just like old times.
Well, almost.
Some things had changed.
For instance, she and Jack were no longer kids.
“Look over there,” he said, pointing toward a tall tree on the edge of the bank halfway around the other side of the pond. “Remember the old vine we used to swing on? I wonder if it’s still there.”
“Surely not,” Beth replied, watching him hurry toward the tree to check it out for himself. Lucky for them, there was enough moonlight that they could see where they were going.
Before Beth could gather her wits and follow him, Jack was already at the tree, tugging on something that resembled a vine. Of course, it was questionable whether or not what he’d found was actually the vine they had used as kids. For heaven’s sake, that had been twenty-some-odd years ago. But she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that. He seemed to be having too much fun thinking that the vine they had used and the one he had just found were one and the same. Who knew, maybe they were.
Beth cupped her hands around her mouth. “You’re going to get all dirty,” she warned from where she stood.
Jack stopped tugging on the vine and turned his attention to the tree itself. He began to examine it closely.
“What are you looking for?” she yelled.
He didn’t answer her for several moments. Then, suddenly, he turned and began motioning with his hand for her to join him. “Come over here, Beth, and see this,” he shouted.
“What is it?” she asked.
Again, he motioned with his hand. “Come here.”
It was obvious that he wasn’t going to tell her what he’d found. Apparently he wanted her to see it for herself.
Taking a deep breath, Beth began strolling along the pond’s outer bank, all the while watching her step as she headed in Jack’s direction. But within seconds it was apparent that her casual stroll wasn’t getting her there quick enough for him. Hurrying in her direction, he met her halfway. “Close your eyes,” he said the moment he was near enough.
“What?”
“Just do as I say and close your eyes,” he said.
She shrugged nonchalantly and then closed her eyes. “This had better be good, Jack.”
“It will be,” he said, taking her by the hands and leading her in the direction he had come from. “Now just follow me.”
“I’m trying,” she said rather dryly. “But I could do a better job of it if you just slowed down.”
“Just don’t peek,” he replied.
Who was he trying to kid? she wondered. As if she had time to worry about peeking. She was just trying to stay on her feet, for heaven’s sake. “You’re going too fast,” she cried out.
Finally he slowed down.
“Thank you,” she said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” he said a few moments later.
Beth’s eyes fluttered open, but all she saw was the trunk of the tree Jack had been examining. Finally, though, her eyes focused on what she thought he was talking about.
“Do you remember when we did this?” he asked, pointing to a particular area of the trunk. He brushed his fingers along a faint carving. It read, Jack & Beth.
Her heart began to pound. Of course, she remembered.
Placing his hands on his hips, Jack turned to study the water. “You know what I think?” he said. “I think we ought to go in for a swim.”
Beth’s heart skipped a beat and she laughed nervously. “Not me.”
He turned and grinned at her. “Why not? The water looks great. I bet it’s cool.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “It doesn’t matter to me what the water temperature is. I’m not getting in. Not this time.”
“Give me one good reason why not.”
“There’s a million reasons why not—all of which start with the fact that I don’t have a swimsuit with me.”
“Who needs a swimsuit?”
Somehow she had known he was going to say that.
As if her lack of an answer in that moment was all the answer he needed, Jack began to unfasten the buckle of his belt.
“What are you doing?” Beth asked, horrified to see him going ahead with his plan in spite of her objections.
“I’m taking off my clothes,” he said matter-offactly. “Come on, Beth. Be a sport. Jump in with me.”
Jump in, indeed. Not in her wildest dreams would she do something like that... again. The one and only time she had decided to strip naked with a male had been to go swimming with Jack in this very pond when she was ten years old and it had turned out to be disastrous. Yeah, sure, times had changed. She was all grown up now, and so was Jack. But who was to say that getting naked with him this time wouldn’t be another catastrophe? In fact, in one way or another, she was almost certain that it would be.
All of a sudden, in one quick move, Jack pulled his shirt off from over his head and tossed it to the ground.
Beth’s breath locked in her throat. She gaped at him, at the ease in which he felt comfortable stripping off his clothes right there in front of her. Not that she hadn’t seen him bare-chested before. She’d seen hi
m that way more times than she could remember. But suddenly it was as though she was really seeing him for the first time. His skin glistened in the moonlight. Worse, the deep shadows that fell around them only made his partial nakedness seem all the more alluring... all the more dangerous...all the more sexy. Swallowing hard, she scanned down his body, paying close attention to the lean muscles in his chest and abdomen. A sparse patch of light brown curly hair covered the center of his chest In that moment she could have tried to deny it all she wanted, but there was a definite part of her that liked what she was seeing. Liked it a lot, in fact
She felt almost dizzy, trying to make a decision about what she should do. With all the pulse points on her body throbbing to an all-time high, she dragged her eyes away from Jack and glanced out over Wilibee’s pond in an effort to gather her thoughts. Surprisingly she found that she very much wanted to get naked and go skinny-dipping with him.
For old times’ sake, of course.
Or perhaps to prove a point. An old point.
Of course, that was it in a nutshell.
She hadn’t done anything wrong all those years ago when she had gone skinny-dipping with him, and she was ready now to prove it to herself. And to Jack. And to the whole world, if necessary.
Or was she?
Of course, she was.
Suddenly making up her mind faster than she would have ever dreamed possible of herself, Beth brought her hands to the button at the top of her blouse and began to unfasten it.
She glanced up at Jack and saw he had stopped in his own efforts to get undressed. He was grinning at her.
A second later, she grinned, too.
Chapter Five
Not wanting to disrupt the momentum that held her spellbound for fear of losing her courage, Beth breathed in as little oxygen as possible while working her fingers down the front of her silk blouse, unfastening one button at a time. Jack stood watching her, a slight grin still lingering at the corners of his mouth. With every moment that slipped by Beth knew she was pushing herself closer and closer to the point of no return. If there was ever a chance of reconsidering her actions, it was now. Five minutes down the road was going to be too late.
But since her mind was already made up, Beth continued to unfasten the buttons of her blouse.
After fumbling with her last one, she lifted her gaze to meet Jack’s and smiled. A moment later, she slipped her blouse off her shoulders and let it fall to the ground behind her.
She heard Jack suck in his breath. The grin that had lingered for so long on his face suddenly vanished.
“Look at you,” he said reverently, his eyes burning with an intensity she’d never seen in them before.
Suddenly brave beyond anything she could have imagined for herself, Beth reached out and ran the tips of her fingers down the center of his chest, feeling the different textures of his body, his skin...the hard muscles that rippled over his rib cage. She was on fire. “Look at you,” she said in a throaty voice.
Using the backs of his hands, Jack pushed her long hair behind her shoulders. Then he drifted his touch lightly down her shoulders and arms, causing a cascade of chills to rake over her body and causing her bra straps to fall.
“We shouldn’t be doing this, Jack. We both know it’s dangerous.”
“Then what should we be doing?” he asked, his eyes glistening, his voice velvety smooth. In that moment she knew that even if she were to have an answer for him, he wasn’t planning to pay attention.
Surprisingly she didn’t want to pay attention, either, but they had to. Her plan depended on it. It was a matter of rules and principles—and just plain survival.
“Let’s just put our clothes back on,” Beth said, dropping her gaze to the ground in order to find her blouse.
But Jack immediately grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her attention back to him. “Not yet, Beth,” he said.
Their eyes met and held. A chill passed down her body. “I’m scared, Jack,” she said, trembling in spite of herself.
“Don’t be scared,” he replied. “I’d never hurt you. Not in a million years.”
“No, you don’t understand. This kind of behavior could ruin our friendship.”
“Don’t be scared of that. I have everything under control. And so do you. We’re okay.”
He might be okay. But she sure wasn’t. So why didn’t she just stop this madness...this...this insanity?
“Show me the rest of your body,” he said in that rich drawl of his. “I’ve waited a long time to see you like this.”
“Since before puberty, I bet,” Beth said jokingly, trying to make light of the moment.
But he didn’t laugh.
This was getting serious. Too serious, in fact. She didn’t even know how to stop it anymore. Nor did she really want to, she realized. It was exciting... fun...sexy.
And she had Jack’s reassurance that they were okay. They weren’t over the limit—yet. And he’d never steered her wrong before. Therefore, she saw no reason why she shouldn’t trust him now. After all, he was her closest, dearest friend in the whole world. If she couldn’t trust him. whom could she trust?
Jack leaned forward and gave her a feather-light kiss on the mouth, then pulled away and smiled. Using his index finger, he traced the French cut of her bra, making Beth distinctly aware that the skimpy mauve satin undergarment she wore was very provocative, to say the least. Especially from a male’s point of view, she supposed. If only she had known that she would be undressing in front of him tonight, she would have worn something less revealing. Something more matronly. Something that wasn’t pushing her boobs out like two cypress knees poking out of the backwaters of south Louisiana. But, of course, she had had no waming...no sign that she was going to strip down naked tonight in front of her best friend. This was all spur-of-the-moment. No doubt, tomorrow she would hate herself for it.
Dazed from all the indecisions consuming her thoughts, Beth followed Jack’s movement as he reached just beneath her cleavage and in one easy, fluid motion unfastened the front clasp of her bra. Suddenly she was naked from the waist up. Thank goodness it was hot outdoors and not freezing cold. As it was, her nipples hardened.
Good grief, she could hardly breathe. She thought she would die from the sheer titillation of it all.
“Beth,” Jack said, his voice hoarse... hesitant. A moment later he began rubbing the back of his thumb against the fullness of her left breast, eventually running the tips of all his fingers tantalizingly slow over the mound, the nipple, and then on down her rib cage toward her waistline. Hooking one finger in a belt loop on her jeans, he pulled her closer to him. “I never knew you were so beautiful,” he said.
Beth was trembling, but she had never in her life felt more beautiful than she did in that moment. His heated gaze warmed her flesh, making her skin flush with excitement. She heard the air rush from Jack’s lungs and knew he was struggling with his emotions, too. But, heaven help her, she didn’t want him to stop touching her. Not now. Not ever.
But it was the excitement she was caught up in, she told herself. Of that much she was certain. It had nothing whatsoever to do with desire. And now that she had made the distinction, she was ready to continue with the moment.
Pulling her roughly against him, Jack began kissing her, first at the base of her neck, then right below her ear. Finally, just a second before she thought she would die if he didn’t continue, he took her lips with a sense of urgency that left her breathless.
Her arms went around his neck. Groaning, he pushed his tongue into her mouth, and it seemed to Beth that in that moment hot liquid poured from everywhere inside her. Hot, potent liquid that had her burning up. She thrust her body against his.
And then they heard something—a vehicle, perhaps—and immediately sprang apart. Sure enough, it was a deputy sheriff’s patrol car, and its blue light was flashing. It seemed they were in deep trouble now, Beth thought. And not like the first time, when it had been just old man Wilibee who came sto
rming in on them. With her luck, this time could end up being front page news.
After gathering her wits, she scrambled for her blouse, but it was Jack who found it and helped her slip it back on over her shoulders. Then he quickly pulled his shirt over his head.
The officer drove the patrol car closer. Finally he turned off the flashing blue light and rolled down his window three-quarters of the way. He had a large flashlight, which he shined right on Jack’s face. “Hey, buddy, didn’t you see the signs when you turned off the main highway? This is posted land nowadays—new owners and all. There’s no trespassing allowed.”
Jack held out his hands. “To tell you the truth, Officer, I didn’t notice anything. We used to come here when we were kids and just decided to come back tonight on a_ whim. Sorry. We didn’t mean to break any laws.”
“Well...” the cop began, flashing his light only briefly at Beth, “I can’t see where there’s been any harm done. Just be on your way.”
“Sure enough, Officer,” Jack replied.
The deputy rolled his window back up, turned his patrol car around and a few moments later drove back down the lane toward the highway.
Beth’s nerves were shot. In fact, they were double shot.
It wasn’t enough that she had just thrown herself at Jack, practically begging her best friend to seduce her with her lurid behavior, but she had just been stopped from making the biggest mistake of her life by a police officer, no less. For heaven’s sake, what had she been thinking of?
Well, she knew one thing. She and Jack had to get out of here—and fast. And not just because the police officer had said so. There were other reasons, just as crucial to their survival.
She had her blouse all buttoned up and was ready to go when Jack grabbed hold of her wrists, stopping her hurried efforts to get composed. “Slow down, Beth. The cop’s gone. And it isn’t likely he’ll be coming back anytime soon. We’ve got plenty of time to get ourselves dressed and out of here.”
But Beth was so wound up that she didn’t really hear a word he said. She pulled herself free and headed for the car. “Let’s go, Jack. Hurry up.”
Shotgun Groom Page 6
