by Delisa Lynn
“Not odd at all. Here he comes, we will talk more about it later.”
“Hey, baby, I thought you could use a drink. I got you an apple martini. Is that okay?”
“That’s perfect, Heath. Thank you.” I say as I take my drink and drink it in one gulp. “Um, can I have another one?” I say looking like a child who just ate an entire Hershey bar. The smile that appears on his face makes my panties wet. Whoa, what the hell. I’m getting aroused by his smile.
“Would you like something stronger?” he smirks.
“Yes, that would be great. Maybe a Long Island Iced Tea?” I say as I squeeze my legs together.
“You got it, baby.”
I give him a little smile, he keeps calling me baby. I have to admit, I kind of love it. But it’s kind of creepy. Looking at my sister, she gives me a sympathetic look. I dig into my shrimp scampi and patiently await for my hard drink. Speaking of hard, I can see how hard his abs are through his very tight shirt. He has on a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a very pale pink Henley. He must work out several times a day. There is no way he would have a body like that without hitting the gym at least two times a day.
Seeing who Alyssa actually is breaks my fucking heart. I was looking forward to meeting her, but when I saw she was Seth’s Alyssa, I wanted to puke. My twin brother Seth was in an accident, our freshman year in college. He was hit head on by a semi and the semi driver died instantly. Seth suffered less than a week then my parents decided to pull the plug. We’d just turned nineteen, and I’d just started at University of North Carolina. He and I were always close but he lived with my mother in Rhode Island, and I lived with my father here in the Carolinas.
When Brett and Abby suggested that I meet Alyssa. It never dawned on me it would be her. Seeing her today brought back all the memories from one of the worst days of my life. The day we buried Seth, I remember the look in her eyes crushed me. I wanted to take all of her pain away. I know how much they loved each other. She was as distraught as I was at the funeral. Her father had to pick her up and carry her away from the casket. After the funeral, I came back home with my father, and never once thought about her again, until today.
“Ladies, what do you say we head on over to the property? I know y’all are tired and want to get settled in,” I say as I motion the waitress over so I can pay the bill.
“That sounds great, I’m ready to relax,” Alyssa says, rubbing her eyes.
“Okay, if you want to follow me it’s only about ten minutes from here. Did you need anything from the store? There’s a Piggly Wiggly just up the road a little ways.”
“I think we’ll be good tonight, we have some snacks in the car,” Abby says as she opens her door.
“Okay, just follow me then.”
I slide in my car, looking into my rearview mirror, I see that Alyssa’s still upset and crying. I just want to pull over and wrap my arms around her, hold her, and tell her everything will be alright. I will not let her suffer any more. From this day, I will always be a part of her life.
Pulling in the driveway of one of my most popular properties, I get out of my car and walk back to their car. I open Alyssa’s door and can see her eyes are still swollen and red. I want to hug her but don’t want to over step any boundaries. I pray that Seth and Josie won’t haunt my ass for wanting to be with her. I’m sure he would want her to be happy. Believe me, I can make her happy.
I grab her hand and walk to the steps with her, I don’t let go of her hand as I walk up and unlock the door. As we walk through the door, she still holds on to me. I start showing them around. This house sits directly on the beach. It has six bedrooms as well as a huge game room with a pool table and a few arcade machines.
“This house is one of the best on the beach. This master suite here has a deck that leads out onto the beach,” I say as I walk through and show the girls the room.
“I want this room, if that’s okay, Abby?”
“That is more than fine with me,” Abby tells Alyssa.
“Alyssa, can I talk to you in private? Maybe walk out on the beach with me?” I say as I give Abby a sympathetic look.
“Of course you can, just let me change really quickly,” she says as she grabs her bag and goes into the bathroom.
“Heath, please be patient with her. She has so many scars, but she will open up to you though. I think you are what she needs,” Abby says, hugging me before she walks into the other room. I stand there running my hands through my hair then I see the bathroom door open.
“Hey, sorry, I thought since we were going to the beach, I would put on my swimsuit so I can enjoy the water. Ready?” she says as I take her hand in mine.
“So how is New York City? I’ve been there a few times over the years,” I ask, making small talk as we walk out onto the beach. The air is perfect.
“It’s good. It’s been home for eight years.” She smiles.
“How was school? Tell me everything. I want to know about you and your life.”
“Ahh, my life. Well, it hasn’t been roses and butterflies that’s for sure. I did what I had to do to get over Seth and things that happened after him.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. After losing Josie, I wasn’t sure that I could manage.”
“How did you do it, I mean you seem okay… Now.”
“It wasn’t easy, things were rough at first. Then I realized that she’d want me to be happy.”
“I get that, when I started college. I waited for six months before I was intimate with anyone. I felt I had to; it helped me move on. I was so in love with Seth. He was my first of everything. Then he left me, we were supposed to be together forever and every day since he left, I’ve been so mad and angry.”
“He loved you, I know that. I also know he would never want you to be unhappy. I get you wanting to heal, and doing things that you thought would help.” I walk out into the water. Looking up at the sky, it was beautiful. I laugh. “Hell, I think we have more on common than we knew. Did you ever wonder about me after the funeral?”
“I know he did… Life changed so much without him. Being with a different guy was never my intensions, it just happened that way. I haven’t told a lot of people this…” She closes her eyes. “I was…raped. I was leaving a party and two guys stopped me. They wouldn’t stop, I begged…” she said turning her face away from me. I could feel my fist turning white from my clinch.
Running my hands down my face, trying to hide my anger. “I’m so sorry, baby. I hope the bastards are in jail.” I would like to go find them and beat the fuck out of them.
“It was a long time ago… They aren’t, I didn’t report it. They did get what they deserved though. One of my friends was in medical school at the time and he rearranged their man hood for them.”
“Why wouldn’t you report it? They took something from you that you can’t get back. They had no right to do what they did.” The more I think about it, the angrier I become.
“I didn’t want my parents finding out. Only two people knew, I finally told Abby a few years ago. My father would have been so disappointed in me for not fighting them off. You know, now that I’m older and wiser, I take on rape cases, and sometimes I wish I’d went to the police. But I was young and didn’t know any better at the time.”
Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, I lifted her chin. “You are a brave woman. You’ve been through so much and you’re still in one piece.”
“Please, I’m in a million pieces. I have more pieces than a jigsaw puzzle.” She tries to laugh. “Come on, let’s go for a swim.”
“Let’s go,” I say, throwing my wallet and phone into the sand. The water was warm. The moon shadows the sand and reflects onto the water. Running further into the water, I see her smiling. God, she is fucking beautiful. Her smile, her laugh. I want her. I need to know her.
“Other than running into me, how do you like it here so far?”
“I’m really glad I ran into you. Thank you for this,” she says, throwing her arms i
n the air. “This beach is amazing. I say we get some drinks after this.”
“Sounds good to me. There is a little tavern that’s open all night, or we could go to the liquor store.”
“I could go for some dancing, we could see if Abby would like to join us.”
“Okay, I’m going to go get changed. Then I’ll pick y’all up in about an hour?”
“Works for me.” Walking back onto the sand, I see the beautiful silhouette of her. I smile as she skips through the sand. Although she has been damaged, she is still as bright as the sun. “Okay, we will see you soon,” she says, running up on the deck.
“Oh, and the bar is just a little hole in the wall, so you can dress comfy.” I laugh.
“Hey, sister of mine, get your ass ready. We are going to a honkey tonk.” I laugh as I see her sitting in the middle of the bed reading. “Come on, he’ll be back in an hour.”
“Who said I wanted to go? You can go alone, I just started this book and it’s amazing. Not sure I can put it down.”
“Seriously, you’d rather read then hang out with me.” I bat my eyelashes at her. “Just a few drinks… Please.”
“Fine, just a few. I’m sleepy.” She yawns.
“Woman, we’re on vacation. No sleeping.”
“Yeah, we will see about that.” She snorts. “Is it wrong, that I want you and Heath to go alone?”
“No, we can. Are you really that tired?” I ask, knowing that we’d both made the same damn trip. It wasn’t like I slept the entire way…Well, maybe I did.
“I love you but I just want to sleep though. I know he will keep you safe.” She smiles before kissing my cheek. “Now, have fun!”
I walk into the bedroom and look for something casual to wear. I put on a pair of jean capris and a tank top. It’s like a hundred degrees here. Refreshing my make-up, I notice that my eyes are a little blood shot. I dig through my bags and find some eye drops. Leaning my head back, drip some in each eye. Blinking a few times, I see that it’s starting to help. I finish getting ready and realize that Heath is probably here. I walk out onto the patio and sure enough, he is standing next to his car.
“Hey,” I say, slowly walking toward him. “Abby is ditching us.” I laugh. “How about coffee instead of booze?” I ask, although I would love to get drunk and confess my life sins to him for some unknown reason. I think a nice latte would be the better drink for the night.
“Coffee is good. We can take my car.”
“This is a nice car.” It’s some sort of sports car. I don’t get these people and their expensive cars. I have a Chevy Impala but it is the newest model.
“Thanks, this was my dad’s and I fixed it up. I have a fetish with cars.” He reaches over and buckles his seat belt. “I guess it’s a man thing.”
“Must be, I own a car. But I use the subway or a taxi. The city is so busy.”
“Oh, I bet, there is no way I’d drive if I lived there.”
“It can get pretty bad… So tell me about yourself. What made you want to sell homes?”
“I live alone, no pets. I love to golf. I was a business major. But then I just wanted something different. Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course you can.”
“I wanted to be a pro-golfer… I knew my dad wouldn’t go for that.”
“Well, if that’s what you wanted to do. Why would it matter?”
“I tried to make him proud of me. I know he would have been even if I were to play golf for a living, but I wasn’t sure if it would pay my bills or not.”
The coffee shop is small and very well lit. I swear there are a million lights in this place. That means that he is going to be able to see all the bags under my eyes. I’ve been so stressed lately with work and with Ev…nope not even going to think about him tonight. This is me starting over. I know he was never mine, but that didn’t stop him from coming to my bed every night.
We sit at a small corner table. Heath smiles before pulling my chair closer to his. “I want to get to know you tonight. I see a beautiful woman, with so much love to give,” he says, rubbing his thumb over my hand.
“You are something else Mason, you know that?” I wink.
“So I’ve been told… But never by someone as pretty as you.” Hot damn, he is laying it on thick. I’m so damn nervous, I can feel my legs sticking to the inseams of my jeans. I can guarantee I have sweat rolling down my spine.
“I’ll be honest, I thought my sister was crazy. No way had I wanted to meet one of Brett’s friends.” I laugh “But…I’m glad I did. Thank you for this.”
“Lys, no need to thank me. I wasn’t up for it either, I kept thinking that you would be one of three things. Married, old, and or have ten kids.”
“Not a fan of old married chicks with kids?”
“They’re okay, just not what I’m looking for right now.” He chuckles.
We talk for what seemed like hours. He tells me about his childhood, and about when he moved here and had to leave his mom and Seth behind. I knew him and his brother where really close, and I always wondered why they separated, because Heath and his mom don’t get along. I can’t blame him. She is a royal bitch. I haven’t seen her much since Seth’s death, but I would love just to punch her a few times.
After noticing it’s after two in the morning, we drive back to the beach house. Saying good night is odd. He hugs me and I swear I thought he was going to kiss me. I walk into the house and Abby is sound asleep. I change into a pair of pajamas and climb in the oversized bed. As I drift to sleep, I wonder what it would be like to kiss Heath.
Not kissing Alyssa good night is so damn hard. We definitely hit it off. She is one of a kind that’s for damn sure. Everything about her makes me want to know more. I would have given anything to pull her into my arms and hold her all night. I didn’t want to scare her away. So I came home and now I’m lying here in bed all alone.
Pushing the blankets to the bottom of the bed, I grab an extra pillow and place it next to me. It has soothed me ever since I was a child. I would place the pillow next to me and I could go straight to sleep. But not tonight, I just keep thinking about the black haired beauty. Flipping the TV on, I see an infomercial for some hair product that doesn’t lather. What the hell? Who would want to wash their hair with something that doesn’t have suds? Flipping the channel, I stumble across the Food Network, yep the guy with spikey blonde hair was at pizza place in Chicago. The pizza looked good that’s for sure. Flipping the channel again, I stumble across one of my all-time favorite movies. The Water Boy with Adam Sandler. I could watch this movie over and over. I lie there watching it until I fall asleep.
Waking up, she is the first thing that comes to mind. I know she’s already had breakfast I’m sure. But I decide to grab some coffee and bagels to take to her and Abby. Shit maybe I should have called first, but I didn’t even think about that. All I can think about was seeing that smile of hers. Pulling in front of the house, I gather up the food and drinks.
Knocking on the door, I get a weird feeling in my stomach. When she opens the door, I feel like all the wind has been knocked out of me. I can’t speak. She’s wearing a towel on her head, and her make-up is fresh and light. The black shorts show all of her curves, the thin white shirt isn’t leaving much to my imagination.
“Good morning. Sorry to come over before calling, but I hope y’all are hungry,” I say, holding the bag up.
“Aren’t you in a chipper mood today,” Abby says from behind Alyssa as she grabs the drinks from my hand.
“Thanks, Heath. I was actually getting ready to call you and see if you wanted to hang out. My sister seems to want to sleep the entire time we are here,” Alyssa says, taking the bagels. “You are a saint, how did you know I liked Cinnamon sugar bagels with cream cheese?”
“Ahh, it was a guess, but I’m glad you do. They are my favorite also.”
“Shit… Sorry, I totally forgot I had this towel on my head. Please excuse me while I brush my hair.”
�
��Of course, take your time.”
Watching her as she walks into the other room, Abby catches me. “Hey, I see the way you look at her. Don’t hurt her.”
“Never, I want to be the one to protect her from it all.” And I do. She deserves more than she thinks she does. I drink my coffee and eat a bagel while I wait for Lys.
We’ve had an amazing day. We went sightseeing and snorkeling. Now we are walking along the beach, and I can’t hide my feelings any longer. “Alyssa, this may sound too forward, and if I’m out of line please tell me, baby. But I’m going to kiss you. Please tell me now if you don’t want me to,” I say as I place my finger under her chin tilting her head up a little.
“That would be really nice right now,” she says as she licks her lips. I lean forward and lick my lips just before placing them on hers. Once my tongue pushes through her lips, her tongue finds mine and dances circles around it. She pulls back breathless, looking into my eyes. I want to take all of her pain away, everything anyone had done to her, and I want to make it all better.
“I don’t know what this is but I want you so fucking bad. I want all of you and just not right now, but for as long as you’ll have me. I know you may think this is crazy because of Seth, but I want to heal you, I want to make you whole again. Please don’t think I’m crazy. Tell me you feel it too,” I say as I pull her in my arms and hug her as tight as I can.
“I feel it too. I thought I was crazy, but the minute you smiled at me my fucking panties were soaked. I know that some people will think it’s crazy because you’re Seth’s twin. But I’ve been so broken over the years. I’ve done things I’m not proud of.”
“Tell me you want me, Alyssa, let me take you right here,” I say as I slide my hand around her waist.”
“Not here, is there another house that’s empty,” she says, looking around.
“I know the perfect place,” I say as I lead her toward the empty house next to the one they’re occupying.
