by T. Torrest
I brush a strand of hair from his damp forehead. “Yeah. Wow.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Well, that was certainly worth waiting for.”
“You have no idea.”
He slowly rolls to his side, his arms still wrapped around me, the both of us laughing.
I snuggle in closer, running my fingertips along his smooth chest. It may sound ridiculous, but I could almost cry right now. I don’t know what I was expecting, but that was just... so much more than I bargained for. Hot and sweet and serious and fun all at once. I never knew sex could be like this.
I rest my head against his chest and listen to his still-rapid heart and swift breathing. After a few minutes, they both even out and relax. I start to sink alongside him, barely aware that I’m falling asleep.
Jack adjusts his body more comfortably next to mine which knocks me out of my almost-slumber and leaves me feeling a little more exposed than I’m used to. In more ways than one.
The covers had come undone during our debauchery, and I try to look laid-back as I grab a sheet from the disarray at the foot of the bed, pulling it over us both.
Jack finds this amusing.
“Really? After what we’ve just done? Livia, I would never have expected you to be shy at a moment like this.”
“Sorry. I can’t help it.”
That brings a wicked gleam to Jack’s eyes. He assumes a sinful grin as he slowly slips a hand under the sheet. “Neither can I.”
CHAPTER 33
Monday, July 3, 1995
8:06 AM
My Bed
Heaven
I’ve been tired before.
One time, I visited Sammy at Rutgers during her rush weekend. That was a pretty grueling and nearly sleepless couple of days spent on the floor of her dorm room. Another time a few years back, I had to work a twelve hour day after being out all night, showing up to my job that morning straight from the party in the clothes I was wearing the night before. Last year, I babysat for Monty’s crazy nieces, who sucked the very life out of me, requiring a four hour nap upon their departure.
But this morning, I am simply exhausted. After a horrible night’s sleep on the beach, then a busy day with the Tanners, followed by a full night of unrelenting sex with Jack, I feel like I’m part of some sinister sleep deprivation experiment.
I only dozed in tiny spurts all night, Jack interrupting my much-needed sleep with more important needs of his own.
The boy is positively insatiable. I now know why he eats so much. He needs a lot of fuel because apparently, he does everything to the extreme. The man is indeed a machine. But an adorable one at that.
I have no idea how long he’s been awake, but his shower roused me even from my dead slumber. This prewar house with its paper-thin walls has plumbing that may as well date back to the Stone Age. On a quiet morning, the sound of the water groaning through the pipes is loud.
As tired as I am, I make myself stay awake to watch Jack get dressed. There’s a certain intimacy watching a man go through his morning routine. Almost more intimate than how we’ve spent the past ten hours. Besides, I’m planning on passing out hard once he leaves. I can keep my eyes open until then.
I watch as Jack tucks in his button-down shirt against his slim waist and zips his pants. When he ducks down to fix his hair in the wall mirror, he catches my eye in the reflection and gives me a wink.
“How long have you been up?” I ask.
He checks the clock. “I don’t know... an hour, maybe? Why?”
I give him a little smirk. “Wow. A whole hour. And you haven’t jumped my bones yet.”
His hand stills, frozen in the middle of a finger-comb through his hair. He meets my gaze in the mirror and raises his eyebrows. “I can fix that, you know.”
He hesitates for a moment, almost as if there are words caught at the tip of his tongue. He shakes it off, though, and slides back into bed, wrapping his arms around my waist, lightly resting his lips against my ear. Suddenly, I’m not so tired anymore. Spooning rocks.
“Hey, Lips?”
“Hmmm?”
“I’ve really got to go.”
“Tease.”
That wrenches a chuckle out of him, but he makes no move to leave. Instead, he snuggles against my side, slowly kissing the pulse points along my neck. He didn’t shave this morning and his stubble feels rough against my skin. I guess he’s cultivating a grunge look for the gig tonight.
I can’t believe how sad I am that he has to go back up north. I know I’m being ridiculous because he’s only going to be gone for one stupid day. But a sense of foreboding is already weighing down on me and he hasn’t even left the house yet. He hasn’t even left the bed yet, and judging by the direction his hands are taking under my PJs, he might never get out of here.
Just as I’m untucking his shirt, I catch the hesitant look on his face again and ask, “What?”
His teeth clench, but before he can answer, his pager starts beeping. He gives me an apologetic shrug as he checks it, then picks up the nightstand phone to make the call.
Anyone that knows Jack is aware that he works nights and therefore, might be sleeping late. Anyone that knows him well is aware that he’s on vacation this week and might be sleeping with me right now. What psycho would call him at eight o’clock in the morning?
“Yo, Ronnie. What’s up, kid?”
Well, there you go.
“No, it’s okay. I was already awake. Yeah, Liv’s right here. Why? What’s going on?” Jack sits up at the edge of the bed and listens for a few seconds. Then his hand goes to his forehead as his jaw drops to the floor. “You did what?!”
Crap. Now Jack is going to have to swing by the jail, probably making him late for his meeting with Lutz’s guy. What the hell did Ronnie get himself into now?
I grab Jack’s wallet off the dresser and pull out a credit card before asking, “How much is bail?”
Jack’s expression turns amused as he relays my question to Ron, “Livia wants to know how much your bail is.”
My face becomes a mask of confusion as he starts to laugh. While holding the phone to his ear, he puts his free hand over mine and gives a squeeze, letting me know the situation isn’t dire. “I know, I know, but you can’t blame her... Okay, yes, I’ll tell her.”
“What’s going on?” I ask impatiently.
Jack swings the mouthpiece away from his face. “Well, baby, I guess I’m glad you’re already sitting down. Get this one: Ron just proposed to Tess.”
“WHAAAT?!”
Jack speaks back into the phone, “What’s that? ...Oh yeah, totally freaking out... Yes, definitely, put her on. I want to—Hey, Tess! Congratulations... Yes, absolutely shocked... You, too? Ha! Yeah, hold on, she’s right here.”
My mouth is still agape as Jack hands the phone to me. “Tess wants to talk to you.”
I look at him wide-eyed as I take the phone from his hand. “Um, hello?”
“Oh my God, Livia! You thought Ronnie was in jail? That’s so funny.”
“Tess?” My head is spinning and I actually feel woozy enough to faint. “Forgive me for asking this, but just what the hell is going on?”
I hear her giggle on the other end of the line. “Ronnie proposed! Can you believe it?”
No. No, I can’t.
“How- How did this happen?”
Jack sidles up behind me and I lean into him for balance so I won’t reel over as Tess says, “He just did it last night. Got down on one knee and everything. I mean, we’d talked about it, but—oh, I don’t know. Wait until you see my ring! I’ll tell you all the details when I get down there later.”
I have to admit, she sounds happy. Giddy, actually. My brain is still processing the news, but I manage to match her elated tone. “Yes, you certainly will. And oh God, Tess, congratulations! I’m sorry, this just took me by surprise, obviously. I can’t wait to see you and hear all about it. Tell Ron congrats, too, okay?”
“I will. And Liv?”
&nbs
p; “Yes?”
“I’m really happy. I want you to know that.”
“I know. I can hear it in your voice. See you later, right?”
“Yep. Hey, don’t call your sister yet. I want to drop the bomb on everyone myself once we’re all there together. Then we can go out and celebrate. The girls and I will be down around one-thirtyish.”
“Tess! You can’t seriously expect me to keep this to myself for the next—” I check the clock and do some quick math, “five hours!”
She laughs. “Just don’t make any calls and don’t answer the phone. That oughtta help you keep your mouth shut.”
“Just get down here as soon as you can, alright? This is huge.”
“I know. Okay. See you later.”
“Yeah, okay. See ya.”
I hang up and expel a deep breath before turning to Jack. “Oh my God. Oh my God! Tess and Ron are getting married. Married, like, you know, married.”
“Sure seems that way.”
“Did you have any—”
“Nooo. Uh-uh. No way. Well, I knew Ron hasn’t been seeing anyone else in a while, but no one could have seen this coming.”
“What do you mean, ‘hasn’t been seeing anyone else in a while’? He just hooked up with some bimbo a few weeks ago! The night we met, remember?”
“Yeah, but no one since then.”
“That was only six weeks ago! How does he go from Mr. Swinging Johnson all around town to proposing to my best friend in just six weeks?”
“I don’t know, babe. Who’s to say? Look at where we are after only six weeks.”
I try to determine if there’s a hidden meaning in his last comment. Not enough to go on. “And where exactly are we, Jack?”
He puts an arm over my shoulders and nestles us both back against the pillows. He takes his free hand and laces it with mine on my lap. “C’mon, Liv, you know what I’m talking about. Who could have seen this coming six weeks ago?”
No one. Least of all me.
He’s right. Who am I to judge? In only six weeks, we’ve managed to become indispensable to one another’s lives. Who knows what those two are feeling after years of being together, however erratically.
“I hope Tess knows what she’s doing.”
“Look, Ronnie’s a good guy and they’ve been seeing each other on and off for like, what, three years now? Has Tess been with anyone else in that time?”
I try to remember if she has, but I can’t come up with a single name. My friend could talk a good game, but I guess ‘talk’ is as far as it’s gone for a while now.
Huh. Go figure.
“No, I don’t think she has. For at least the past few months, anyhow. Do you really think they’ve been more to each other than just the occasional hookup all this time? She’s my best friend. You’d think I would have been kept informed of something like that.”
“Well, maybe some things are just too personal to talk about. I mean, are you really going to blab to all your girlfriends about the intimate details of our entire night last night?”
Yes. “No, of course not.”
“And it’s not like you went out of your way to alert them ahead of time about what you were planning to do once you got me down here all alone in this secluded old beach house, right?”
Wrong. “Right.”
“And you certainly don’t think you’re actually getting away with bullshitting me right now, do you?”
Whoops. I bite my lip and scrunch my nose. “Hopefully?”
He shakes his head in the negative. “Nope. Now you owe me for lying.” He checks the clock again and practically leaps off the bed. “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to collect on your debt later. I gotta go or I’m gonna be late.”
“Well, good luck today and break a leg tonight.”
“Ah, spoken like a true fan.” He leans in and plants a lingering, full kiss on my lips. When I start to slide my hands up his arms, he breaks free, laughing. “Oh, no you don’t. Baby, I really gotta go.”
I pretend to be miffed. “Fine.”
“I’ll see you in twenty-four hours. And oooh, pick up those sausages I like from that place on Thirty-Five for the barbeque tomorrow, okay?”
“As you wish, my lord.”
He gives me a quick kiss. “And also, if you can remember, get over to Grieco’s and pick up a bottle of champagne for Ron and Tess. And what? Maybe a beer ball or something?”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
“I guess it doesn’t have to be Grieco’s, but I like their beef jerky. The kind on the counter, not the display.”
“Anything else, dear?”
He finally picks up on my sarcastic tone. “Yes, dear, there is one last thing.”
“Yes, Pooh-bear?”
He points to the empty spot next to me on the mattress. “Be in that bed waiting for me by the time I get back.”
“You got it.”
He puts a hand behind my neck as he leans down to press a goodbye kiss to my mouth. I watch his retreating form in admiration as he grabs his bag and sprints for the door.
And then I crash.
CHAPTER 34
Monday, July 3, 1995
1:34 PM
The Beach House
Manasquan
I wake up from my nap and throw my sheets in the washer just as the girls come barging through the door. Tess waits for all of two seconds before she takes the diamond ring from her purse, making a big show of sliding it onto her finger.
Everyone’s mouths drop.
Sam asks, “Where’d you get that?”
Tess looks over the four of us before answering proudly, “Ronnie.”
In the dead silence that ensues, I can actually see the steam escaping from Vix’s and Sam’s ears as their brains try to wrap around what Tess is telling them.
No steam from Isla. “Why’d he give you a ring? Your birthday’s not until—”
“She’s engaged, Sherlock,” I cut in. “Ronnie gave her a ring when he proposed. Get it?”
Finally, she does get it. She asks incredulously, “You got engaged? To Ronnie?”
Isla has no filter.
I start to feel bad for Tess, standing there looking at us, waiting on a reaction that hasn’t come. She sounds a little sheepish when she answers, “Yes.”
I finally break the awkward silence. “Girls! Our friend just told us she’s getting married.” I scan the three dumbfounded faces. “Tess is getting married!”
They all crack at the same second, going in for hugs amid shouts of “Oh my God!” and “Congratulations!”
Sam actually has tears in her eyes which makes Tess’s dam break as well.
Vix flops down onto the couch. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her trying to get my attention and don’t dare look at her for more than a split second. I can feel her silent question about Ron’s hookup at the Tradewinds that night. Twin thing, I guess.
Tess catches the exchange and pulls her hand out of Sam’s appraising grasp to put it on her hip. “Okay, you two. Let’s just get this over with. I know what you’re thinking.”
Oh no you don’t. But before I can speak, Vix offers, “Tess... we’re just blown away right now, that’s all.”
Tess gives the both of us an indignant scowl. “Bullshit. I saw that look. You’re just ‘blown away’ by the fact that Ron popped the question only weeks after screwing that bimbo at the Tradewinds.”
Okay. I guess it’s not just a twin thing.
I blurt out, unthinking, “You know about that?”
Apparently, I have no filter either.
Sam and Isla look like they’re having trouble keeping up. Vix looks like she’s ready to kill me.
To my surprise, Tess starts laughing. “Yes, Livia, I know about that.”
Vix starts in a huff, “So, what, is that the kind of ‘open marriage’ you guys are planning on? You deserve better than that, Tess. I can’t believe—”
“He didn’t sleep with her.”
Vix and I rol
l our eyes as Isla cuts in. “Wait a minute. What the heck are you guys talking about?”
Tess is still laughing when she explains, “Isla, the girls here think that Ron nailed a Thunderjug groupie a few weeks ago. The night they went to The Tradewinds and we cleaned this house, remember?”
Vix says, “He did nail her. We saw him leave with her and he said as much the next day.”
“Yes, Ronnie did leave with that girl,” Tess reiterates. “But by the time he got outside the club, he couldn’t go through with it.”
I ask, “Is that what he told you?”
“Yes,” she says. “And I believe him. I wish you would, too.”
When we don’t speak, she goes on. “Liv. Remember that night we caught Pearl Jam at the Meadowlands? The night you blew Rider MacLaine?” I wince at her words. I don’t even feel like that same person anymore, but I guess I still have a past to own. “After I dropped you off, I went over to Ron’s. That’s when he and I said ‘I love you’ for the first time. The next night, you guys all met up at The Tradewinds. He told me afterward that even though he knew how he felt about me, he still just freaked out a little. He had gotten me this ring that very day and thought that he was expected to have one last fling before proposing.”
Vix counters, “But the next morning, he said—”
“I know what he told you guys. He was trying to save face. Come on. You know how proud he is of his man-whore reputation. Well… was. Truth is, he put the girl in a cab and then spent the night on the beach alone with a six-pack.”
“Tess, you can’t really believe—”
“Why can’t I? You girls don’t know everything about Ron and me.” She runs her gaze over the four of us. When no one speaks, she continues. “Do you know that neither he nor I have been with anyone else except each other for the past six months? Do you know that almost every week for an entire year—while you guys are at work—I’ve been meeting him for lunch at his mother’s house? Do you know that the night of Monty’s party when we disappeared into the cabana all night that we didn’t even sleep together? That we’d spent the whole night talking about getting married? He didn’t propose then because he still felt so weird about almost going home with that girl two nights before. The girl he told me about that very night, crying to me to forgive him.”
