by Lee, Liz
Patty didn’t mean to fall asleep again. When she woke, she wanted to kick herself for the wasted time. But she couldn’t be too upset. It was like she’d been carrying the weight of the world and now she was in the deep end of the pool weightless and languid and so damn happy.
She climbed out of the bed and everything in her hopped to life under his scorching gaze.
“You are so damn sexy,” he said staring at her with hot eyes.
And suddenly she felt flirtatious and free and like a kid again.
“Come with me,” she said crooking her finger.
He didn’t ask where they were going, just followed her into the shower. Their shower. The same one as always, still too small, since they’d taken up so much space with the tub.
They washed each other’s hair and bodies, and she wanted to laugh because he was going to smell like strawberries and cream and that was perfectly fine.
He stood behind her, close enough that the water poured over both of them. He kissed the back of her shoulder and she pressed into him, closed her eyes and let the water spray over her chest and neck and she couldn’t hold the words back any more.
“Sam. God. I love you so much.”
She hadn’t meant to say the words so soon. They might be true, but they added some of the weight back to the moment.
Sam ran a hand over her breast, down her side and back up. Chill bumps erupted along the path.
“Say it again,” he said, and she turned into him, grabbed his hand in hers and kissed his knuckles then his palm.
“I. Love. You. So. Damn. Much.”
In answer he pulled a wet nipple into his mouth, teased it until it peaked, and she gasped as the sensation seemed to spear through her body, at the delicious sensation that pulsed through her center.
He looked into her eyes then, his lips full, thoroughly kissed, water beading on his nose and cheeks and mouth.
“Say it again.”
She ran a hand down his wet back, over his bare buttocks then forward clasping his hard length, and she smiled.
“I love you so damn much.”
He surged forward in her hand and groaned, and she ran her fingers up and down encouraging him to continue.
“You’re just using my body,” he said, and she laughed huskily feeling so free, so incredibly happy.
“You haven’t seen anything yet.”
And then she trailed kisses from his neck to his chest over his nipples. When she took his hardness in her mouth, he hissed, but he didn’t stop her.
His hands trailed through her hair encouraging her on. She ran her tongue over his length then sucked, and he moaned, and she wanted to laugh with the power of the action. The warmth of the water only made the moment better.
And then he put his hands under her arms and pulled her up to meet his eyes, rubbing every inch of her wet body against his slippery skin. “Say it again, Patty.”
And then he pulled her out of the shower lifted her onto the bathroom counter. She wrapped her legs around him, and he pressed hard and slow inside her, and she whimpered.
He did it again, and she gasped.
The third time she cried out. “I love you so damn much, Sam.”
And again and again with every thrust she cried out, her insides clenching him tight until she finally broke apart.
Their bodies were covered in water and her hair stuck to her forehead and his chest. She turned her head so she could hear the thump thump thump of his heart, and she said it once more.
“I love you so damn much, Sam.”
He pressed into her slowly, so freaking slowly she thought she might die.
And then he slid his hand down her shoulders until he massaged her breasts, until her nipples hardened again and then he slid those magic fingers down and flicked the nub between her legs at the same time he filled her so fully she wanted to scream.
This time when she came, he did too.
Later, back in bed, they lay spooned on the sides they’d claimed so many years earlier, and she fell into a comfortable sleep once more.
Sam watched Patty sleep and committed the moment to memory. Whatever else happened he would treasure this forever.
He kissed her forehead and Patty sighed and shifted closer to him.
This was right. This was where they belonged. This was magic.
When she woke, Sam went in search of their clothes. Patty changed into sweats and pulled her hair into a ponytail, but he didn’t have the pajama look option. Not yet. His pajamas were across town in that God awful apartment. He’d fix that. Later. For now he’d slid his jeans and t-shirt back on.
“Food,” was all Patty said. No sweet nothings for his girl. She hadn’t changed a bit.
He followed her into the kitchen, and she started coffee for him while he gathered a wicked buffet of fruit.
He planned on fulfilling a strawberries and whipped cream fantasy that would make her wet every time he said the words strawberry shortcake. When she brought him his coffee, he set it aside and pulled her to him for a kiss. She didn’t fight him.
Not even when he lifted her shirt and took a nipple in his mouth again. She just arched her back into him and embraced him tighter. He lifted his mouth from her nipple and dragged the whipped cream covered strawberry over her kiss swollen lips.
“Eat,” he said, and she did. And then she sucked his index finger into her mouth and smiled saucily up at him.
“Got some whipped cream on you,” she whispered, and his dick rose to attention again like he was a damn teenager.
His knees hurt like hell from what they’d already done, but no way was he turning this gift down.
He pulled her hand to his erection, and she smiled up at him with suddenly hooded eyes.
Eyes that turned alarmed, and he didn’t understand for a moment.
“Shit,” she whispered scrambling away from him, and then he heard it. The lock turning.
“Hey mom,” Cadyn said walking in not seeing him yet.
“Guess who’s here?”
Joe and Velma Turner saw him right away, and Sam felt 18 years old again.
Joe Turner looked like the vet he was. His face was craggy with deep lines that spoke of hard work. His hair was more silver than dark now. His eyes, usually full of sparkly mischief, slammed into him. Vera Turner was just as put together as always with her pressed white shirt and black pants and a necklace of a million different colors. Her white blonde hair reminded him of Cadyn’s. She wore chunky glasses that kept him from seeing her eyes, but he could still feel her censure, and he cringed.
His ex-in-laws obviously knew what they’d interrupted. Cadyn, thank God, didn’t.
“Dad–cool,” she said walking into the kitchen, and tossing her athletic jacket on the bar stool and looking with interest at the food he and Patty had laid out. “Strawberries? I love strawberries.”
Patty thought her parents might jump to the rescue, take Cadyn to Golden Corral or McDonald’s or anywhere but here. No such luck.
So full blast ahead.
She hugged her parents then stepped away and rubbed her hands on her sweatpants all the while hoping her obviously well-kissed lips weren’t a dead giveaway of what exactly she and Sam had been up to.
“I thought you guys were going on a cruise,” she said.
“We are, dear,” her mother said worriedly. “We just wanted to see you first. Make sure things were okay.”
“Which they obviously are,” her dad said before turning to Sam.
“Son, maybe we can have a word outside.”
Oh crap.
“Dad,” Patty said pointedly, but Sam surprised her, stepping forward.
“You bet, Joe.” His limp was more pronounced now and guilt hit her. She hadn’t even remembered his injury until this moment.
“It’s okay,” she tried again, but her ex-husband and father were already at the door.
“Grandma,” Cadyn called from her room. “Come look at the video the school paper did over the cheer
competition. You can see Nick in it, but just barely.”
“I’ll be right there, sweetie,” her mother yelled then she looked at Patty with a frown. “You sure you know what you’re doing, hon?”
Patty couldn’t lie.
“I love him, Mom.”
Her mother nodded, but she couldn’t hide her worry.
“You always have, sweetheart. That’s never been the problem with you two.”
She was right. But everything had changed now. Everything.
Except everything hadn’t changed at all. Not really.
Sam stood beside his father-in-law looking at the car Joe and Patty had rebuilt before she could drive, before he was part of their lives. The ’67 Mustang had always been a symbol of who Patty was. Strong and sure and fun-loving. It had also been a bit of an albatross, making it clear Patty could get by without him. And she’d proven that this last year.
Sam told himself he was okay with that fact. That he didn’t want her helpless. He wanted her to want him not need him.
Joe didn’t say anything and Sam knew that meant something. That Patty’s father trusted him now in a way he hadn’t years before.
“I’m going to do right by her, Sir.”
Joe met his eyes silently before he finally spoke. “I think we already established you were to call me Dad.”
Sam’s heart sang, and he nodded. “She’s my wife, Dad.”
“She’s my daughter, Son. And I’ll give you a little advice. If you really want Patty, you have to connect with her on something other than the physical. You know that. She knows that. Physical isn’t the foundation for forever. You two have already proven that fact.”
An emotion close to pain balled up in Sam’s throat and he nodded.
Sam knew Joe was right, but physical was easy. And right now, he’d settle for easy. The hard part would come after. Maybe even tomorrow. But for now he and Patty were two people in love, ready to take on the world, and that was a good thing.
Joe interrupted his thoughts with his last words on the matter. Words that meant the world to Sam.
“For what it’s worth, Sam, I’m on your side.”
Chapter 13
Friday morning Patty set out the condiments for her parents’ coffee and made sure dishes were out if they wanted to eat breakfast at the house.
Fridays were always amazing because they were spirit days and she could wear jeans and a spirit shirt. This Friday was amazing for so many other reasons.
Sam had gone home. He hadn’t even asked to stay, which was a good thing even though the bed felt too big without him. She’d held his pillow all night inhaling his scent. But him staying would have sent all sorts of conflicting messages to Cadyn.
Rushing things would create bigger problems. Of course yesterday had definitely changed everything.
Cadyn had left for school an hour earlier to start gym decorations for the pep rally.
Patty felt completely at odds. A little lost. She didn’t like the way it seemed something was missing. That something–she felt–was Sam. Sam who had an interview for a teaching job in Fort Worth.
“Hey sweetie.”
Her mom walked into the kitchen with a smile, a quick kiss and then the normal concern.
Patty wanted to ignore the negative, but that would never fly with her mother. So she tried evasion.
“Hey, mom. I’ve got morning hall duty, so I need to…”
“Patty.” As if she hadn’t spoken at all.
Patty sighed and gave in to the inevitable. Her mom’s bracelets clinked against the side of the coffee mug as she spooned in the Splenda. She wore black leggings, a long blue shirt and ballet flats, and she looked like a million bucks. Her hair was done, her makeup was flawless, which Patty noticed when her mother stared at her with that no nonsense look she’d perfected. “Honey, I’m worried.”
Patty wanted to groan. She didn’t want to talk about this. She wanted to live in the delicious denial and sore muscles and dreamy memories of yesterday. “Mom, it’s okay. Really.”
“Sweetie, if it were okay you wouldn’t be divorced from Sam.”
Geez. So much for denial. “I’m 40, Mom. Come on.”
“When you’re 100, I’ll still be worried about you, hon. You know we love Sam. You know it devastated us when you called it quits, and you know we absolutely supported your decision.”
“I do know, Mom, and I appreciate that support.”
She added water and a baby aspirin to the second bunch of daisies Sam had brought her earlier in the week. She didn’t know if the aspirin worked, but she’d seen it on Pinterest and decided to give it a whirl.
Her mother moved to her side and settled her hand on Patty’s arm, refusing to let her avoid the conversation.
“For your sake and Cadyn’s you need to be careful here.”
Patty reached for a paper towel to clean up the bit of water that had missed the vase. She couldn’t say what she wanted. Couldn’t say, hey, Mom, the careful ship kind of sailed yesterday.
So she didn’t say anything. Just hit the trash can pedal with her toe and tossed the wet paper towel away.
And her mother kept right on talking which wasn’t a surprise, really, but still totally sucked.
Patty leaned against the cabinet in front of the sink and waited for her mother to finish.
“Because Sam is still Sam. And he tore your heart to pieces. I can’t tell you what to do, but I can jump up and down, scream and yell and say proceed with caution. I’m not sure you two ever faced your real issues. So I’m here saying I love you, and it would thrill me to no end for you and Sam to have a great reunion love story. But not if it ends with you devastated again. Not if you both walk away.”
Patty looked out the back window into her yard. She’d spent what felt like thousands of hours back there pulling weeds and planting flowers. The burnt orange patio furniture had been a gift to herself when she’d woken up and realized she would be okay after Sam. Only it had been a sham. She’d known it then. Yesterday simply proved that fact. She would never be okay without Sam.
But she couldn’t be mad at her mother for her concern.
“I love you, Mom. And it will work out. I’m being careful.”
Liar, her brain screamed. Time for subject change. “You and Dad going to make the pep rally?”
Her mother let the subject change go. “And the game. Wouldn’t miss it.”
Family fun night then. Patty hoped they made it through without drama.
The fact that this was a full moon night meant chances for all hell breaking loose were higher than normal already. Add game day and pep rally and–yeah–the Zombie Apocalypse had nothing on high school.
When she walked into her office Becky’s, “Red Pen Intervention take me away,” said it all.
Friday 4 p.m. couldn’t get here soon enough.
“Let me guess, gang fight?” she said as she locked her purse in the cabinet.
“I wish,” Becky said with a long-suffering sigh. “The police get involved then. We’re all on our own with this one.”
Patty raised an eyebrow as she surveyed the empty office.
“The offenders are where exactly?”
Becky handed her two passes.
“As soon as class starts you’ll want to get these two. Their mamas are in Meg’s office talking about wasted chances and stupid risks, and I think I heard one say she might never sleep again.”
Patty looked at the passes for two seniors and then back at Becky confused. These mamas were the best kind. Involved without crossing the line to helicopter parents. Momma lions if their children weren’t treated fairly. Kids like these weren’t usually trouble. “What on earth did they do”
Becky leaned forward and whispered, “They made a movie.”
Patty blinked, confused. “A movie?”
Becky nodded meaningfully and Patty got it.
“Oh! A Movie.” Patty groaned. “And we are involved why?”
“They made part of the m
ovie on a school trip.”
Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. “I’m so glad we didn’t have smart phones when I was a kid,” she said thinking about all the stupid stuff she’d done. But even with all that, never…the phones probably slowed their frontal lobe development even more. Made them more impulsive. Ugh.
With that she headed to the guidance office to face disaster one.
Sam refused to take the elevator to the office where he’d meet the curriculum coordinator, Ida Mae’s brother the principal, and the teacher who would decide if he had what it took to make it in the classroom. And hell if he weren’t more nervous than when he’d gone on his first embed assignment. His knees hurt, his shoulder hurt and he was crazy to think he could do this. He wasn’t a teacher. He ran into disaster zones with a notebook, camera, iPad and phone. Not into cinderblock classrooms with chalkboards and desks in neat little rows.
He made it to the receptionist’s desk, swallowed the worry and handed over his driver’s license.
Seconds later he was a verified visitor complete with badge and instructions to sign out before leaving. He followed the receptionist’s instructions and stepped into a long empty hallway and started the trip past display cases of sports trophies that warred for space with school photos labeled National Merit and AP Scholar. He was out of his element in a big, big way.
He passed a hand-painted poster with the words “We Believe!” scrawled in blue paint and wondered what exactly the kids believed in. And then the bell rang and holy geez, this was worse than some war zones he covered.
Scrawny kids bowed over with backpacks, giants who looked too old for these halls, cheerleaders in blue and gold uniforms, kids of all shapes and sizes and ethnicities – most sporting blue and gold.
Tough guys owning the halls whistled calls to each other and clasped hands in elaborate greetings as if they hadn’t seen each other in years instead of the 45 minutes between passing periods.
He made it to the office door, rescued from the masses when the door opened and a man who looked like he belonged on a basketball team instead of in the office laughed.
