by Iris Morland
“No, you won’t. You’ll stay until winter break, at the very least. Like you said, the charges were dropped, so legally, you’ve done nothing wrong and there’s nothing we should do. I’m just worried about the court of public opinion.”
Heath wanted to argue, but he also hated to leave Lewis in a bind. Nodding tightly, he agreed to stay for the next few weeks, although he knew it was unlikely he’d be able to keep his job in the long run.
Bitterness filled him at the thought, but at the same time, he felt oddly…free. He would testify against Johnny, and he’d have the last word anyway. Rich’s threats wouldn’t hold him back from doing the right thing—not anymore.
As he drove home, he dialed Caleb Thornton’s number. “Caleb,” he said, “can I come talk to you down at the station? I need to report something.”
15
Jubilee took out the infamous list and crossed out Lose my virginity, smiling widely. She’d been able to accomplish a handful of things on this list already, hadn’t she? Except for one, which now glared at her with seemingly neon letters.
Go skinny-dipping
Considering it was now December, she wasn’t sure how she’d pull that off without freezing off her bits and pieces. She could always wait until summer, but then she’d be in Seattle, wouldn’t she?
If only she could find a hot tub in town to use instead…
She sent off a quick text to her sister Lizzie, who would be the most useful person for accomplishing this. Lizzie texted back readily, and then Jubilee found herself waiting outside one of the swim clubs in Fair Haven for Heath to show up. This particular club sat on a hill overlooking Fair Haven, which made it feel private.
Heath did show at the appointed time, giving her a wry look as they stood outside the gates that were closed for the winter. “Are we breaking and entering to swim?” he joked.
“Kind of.” Jubilee flashed a swipe card and within moments, they were inside. It was helpful to have a sister who not only was a singer, but had fans who would do her favors for free tickets to her upcoming show. Lizzie had made Jubilee promise that they would “leave things the same as when they came inside.”
Simple enough, really.
“I’m impressed.” Heath followed her inside.
The pools were covered, of course, and the lights were off, but there was enough illumination from the streetlamps from downhill. When they reached the hot tub, which was also covered, Jubilee began to pull the cover from it. Lizzie’s contact had said they’d turn on the Jacuzzi a few hours before to warm it up, and she breathed a sigh of relief to see it bubbling away.
“All of this to sit in a Jacuzzi?” Heath helped her get the cover all the way off. “I could’ve asked my neighbor if we could’ve used his.”
“Except I didn’t want your neighbor to see us.” Jubilee grinned as she began to strip. When she revealed that she wasn’t wearing a bathing suit under her jeans and shirt, Heath’s eyes looked like they’d fall from his head.
“Oh God, it’s freezing!” She jumped into the hot tub and sighed in relief as the hot water flowed around her. She swam toward Heath, who still stood over her. “Are you coming in or not?”
He stripped out of his own clothes in record time. Setting his glasses on top of his clothes on a nearby chair, he slid into the hot tub next to her with a low, rumbling growl.
He pushed her towards him until he squeezed her ass. “This was one of her things you wanted to do, wasn’t it? On your list?”
“Originally I wanted to do it in a lake, but I didn’t want to wait until summer.” Her heart dropped into her toes as she explained, “I got into Avila, in Seattle. I’m going to move there to start classes in January.”
Heath stilled, and she expected him to—what? Be upset? Surprised? Instead, he just said, “I’m glad, Jubilee. You need to get out of this town. Live your own life.” He stroked her cheek, but unless she was imagining things, she thought his smile looked sad. “What are you going to study?”
It was hard to talk about studying with him touching her like this, his hardness pressing against her belly. “I’m not sure yet. I think I’d like to go to veterinary school, though. It was always my dream as a kid. I just had to give it up, for obvious reasons.”
“Do it. I’ll support you.” He kissed her forehead, and she laid her head against his shoulder. She hadn’t realized how much she’d needed someone to say those words to her. Her entire family was still convinced she couldn’t do it, that she’d come home in a few months with her tail between her legs, the big city having beaten any dreams she might have had out of her.
It was in that moment that she knew she needed to be completely honest with Heath.
“I love you,” she said, before she could lose her courage. “I lied when I said I just wanted this to be some fling. I think I’ve loved you for a long, long time.”
He didn’t say anything but took in a shuddering breath. His eyes were inscrutable. Jubilee trembled, waiting for his answer. Would he push her away? Laugh at her? She was close to pushing him away, only so as to preserve the tattered remains of her stupid, lovesick heart.
“I don’t deserve something like that from you.” His voice was hoarse, strained. “But God, I’m not a good enough person to say no to it.”
He kissed her then, and although her heart ached from his lack of answer, she knew that he felt more for her than he could say. She could taste it in his kiss, which was desperate for her. It was almost like he was saying goodbye to her in that kiss. Whimpering, she clung to him, the whir of the hot tub’s water barely covering the sound of their moans and heated whispers.
He cupped her breasts, flicking her nipples, and she ran her fingers through his damp hair and down to his broad shoulders. His skin was slick and hot, and when she licked his shoulder, she tasted salt and chlorine.
Heath moved them both toward the perimeter of the hot tub so he could press her against the wall. Jubilee giggled when one of the spouts of water hit her right on her left ass cheek.
“I’ve always heard using one of these is a great way to get off,” she mused as she moved a few inches away from the spout. “That, and a detachable shower head.”
Heath groaned. “Don’t put that image in my mind. You’re killing me.”
“Oh, we wouldn’t want that.” She dipped below the water to wrap her hand around his cock. She smoothed her thumb over the tip, which made him shudder.
“You’re way too good at that. You sure you were a virgin just a few days ago?”
“Flatterer.” She squeezed him like he’d shown her how he liked it, which made him dip down and take her mouth with a searing kiss.
His hands were everywhere on her at once, it seemed like. He cupped her breasts; he pinched her aching nipples. His fingers caressed her belly and then he was delving down to find her already wet for him. She quivered as he stroked through her folds, finding the aching bud of her clit at the crest of her sex.
He worked her body like a musical instrument, and she was on the edge of climaxing when he stopped. She whimpered.
“Don’t stop,” she groaned as she tried to get him to keep touching her. “I’m so close—”
“I need to be inside you. God, Jubilee.” Heath sat on the step that ran around the circumference of the hot tub and placed her in his lap. His cock bobbed between them, rubbing against her lower belly.
“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted, blushing a little.
“I’ll be here. Sit up and take me in your hand.” His nostrils flared as she did as he instructed, placing his cock at her entrance.
Slowly, she sat back on him until he was fully seated inside her. She gasped. It didn’t hurt, but he was so big that she felt almost too full of him. It took her a moment to adjust. Heath didn’t push her, even though she could feel the tension running through his body as he kept himself from taking over.
Jubilee rose up and back down. Holding on to Heath’s shoulders, she rode him in a tentative rhythm at first bef
ore quickening her hips. Heath kept his hands on her hips, his fingers digging into the bones of her pelvis.
She loved the bite of pain from his hands, the feeling of his cock stretching her. Moaning aloud her pleasure, she rode him faster, chasing her release once again.
Everything overwhelmed her, and it was like a flood of emotions coupled with physical sensation boiling inside of her. She wanted to tell him again how much she loved him, how she couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone but him, how she loved how he kissed her and touched her and made her come. Mostly she wanted to beg for him to come with her to Seattle, or for him to beg her not to go—at this point, she didn’t care where she went, as long as Heath was with her.
Heath tipped his head back, his jaw tense. As Jubilee got closer to her orgasm, he grunted something under his breath before hoisting her up and against the wall behind him. Hitching her legs around his hips, he thrust inside her and took over completely. Her eyes widened as he pounded into her, and she loved that he didn’t treat her like she was something breakable.
Who else in her life had ever thought of her as strong and capable? Only Heath. It’s always been him.
Jubilee dug her nails into his shoulders as he thrust. The water in the hot tub splashed over the edge with each stroke, and if Jubilee weren’t so preoccupied, she’d laugh at the mess they were making.
This time, she wasn’t nervous about doing something stupid. She moved with him, chasing her own pleasure, desperate to find that release she’d been denied earlier. Heath increased his rhythm until Jubilee could barely breathe, her body tightening until it was almost painful.
“Come for me, baby. I can feel you tightening around me.” Heath reached down and thumbed her clit as he filled her.
Jubilee’s eyes flew open, and they watched each other come. Crying out, she writhed in his arms, her orgasm slamming into her. She felt Heath’s cock twitch inside her before he came, too, his pupils blown so wide that his eyes were almost black.
The water undulated around them and slowed down as they clung to each other. Jubilee felt tears prick her eyes—stupid, foolish tears. I love him so much, but he doesn’t feel the same.
He cared for her, that was for certain. He lusted after her. But did that mean he loved her? She didn’t think so. She also knew she wouldn’t be able to keep doing this without getting her heart trampled on in the process.
Right then, however, she wrapped her entire body around him, unwilling to let go. Just this one night. Let us have this one night before it’s all over.
* * *
Heath struggled to catch his breath, especially as Jubilee curled up next to him in the hot tub. The night was calm, but his mind hardly was.
I love you. I think I’ve loved you for a long, long time.
He didn’t deserve her love. That didn’t mean he didn’t drink it up like finding water in a desert. Hearing those words…they were everything.
Jubilee hummed under her breath before looking up at him. Her eyes sparkled in the low light, her cheeks flushed.
But she was leaving Fair Haven, wasn’t she? Seattle wasn’t that far, not really, but it would be a parting regardless. She would most likely meet someone more suited for her: someone her age, someone without a past like his. His stomach twisted at the thought of her with someone else. He didn’t know if he had the strength to let her go, even if he knew it was the right thing to do.
“How did you manage all of this?” he asked, gesturing at the hot tub. “Should I be worried?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I have friends in high places.”
“Really? Like who?”
“Okay, my sister knows people who are easily bribed with concert tickets. Happy?”
He kissed her, a loud and smacking kiss, which made her giggle.
“Deliriously,” he admitted. And it was true. Jubilee made him happier than he could remember being.
Suddenly, the words he knew he could never say hovered on the tip of his tongue. Did he love her? Oh God, I do. I love her.
The realization should’ve stunned him, but it only filled him with an odd sense of peace. It was a melancholy feeling, knowing he was going to let her go, but perhaps being honest with oneself was almost as important as being honest with someone else.
“What happened with your principal?” she asked. “You never said.”
The thought of Principal Anderson, the newspaper article, Rich—it was like a bucket of cold water on the entire evening. Just because Lewis had been able to get the article taken down didn’t mean it wouldn’t come out some other way, and Heath knew very well he needed to tell Jubilee.
He couldn’t tell her he loved her. He could tell her the truth about himself, though.
“Get the hell away from my sister,” a voice commanded right before a bright flashlight blinded Heath.
Jubilee gasped, and it took Heath a second to realize that Harrison Thornton stood over them both, looking like he’d happily tear him limb from limb.
“I didn’t want to believe it. Goddammit, Heath. And you.” He turned to Jubilee before looking away. “Get some clothes on,” he growled as he stalked away to give them a second of privacy.
Heath helped Jubilee from the hot tub, and he thanked Jubilee’s good thinking in having brought two towels for them both. They dried off quickly, their hair dripping onto the collars of their shirts as they approached Harrison.
Heath had known Harrison for seven years now, but he’d never seen his friend this angry before. It was in the way his jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed. How he paced, and how he kept clenching his fists, like he desperately wanted to punch someone—how he desperately wanted to punch Heath.
“I told you to stay away from her,” Harrison said. “I told you, but you went behind my back and did this.”
Before Heath could reply, Jubilee stepped forward. “You told him to stay away from me? Why?”
“Because you’re too young for him! Because he lied to me about leaving you alone, and now I’ve found you two breaking into a pool in the middle of the night, skinny-dipping!” Harrison swore under his breath as he pushed his fingers through his hair.
“I shouldn’t have lied to you,” Heath admitted, “but this isn’t any of your damn business, either. Jubilee’s a grown woman.”
“And did you tell her the truth about you? Huh?” At Heath’s silence, Harrison laughed bitterly. “Of course you didn’t. Do you know that he was arrested for drug trafficking? Did he give you that little tidbit, Jubilee?”
Heath watched as the blood drained from Jubilee’s face. “What is he talking about?” she whispered.
“You lying scumbag. You put your hands on my sister, lie to her, and then have the audacity to act like you did nothing wrong? What the hell is wrong with you?”
It was like getting caught in an avalanche. Heath tried to find his footing, except more snow and ice plunged him down the mountain until he couldn’t make heads nor tails of anything. He was drowning—and he was angry. A red haze covered his vision, and all he wanted to do was deck Harrison so hard that he crumpled at his feet.
“The charges were dropped. I was never convicted of anything.”
“And who got the charges dropped?” Harrison shook his head. “Who was it, Heath? Be honest now.”
“Don’t do this. Don’t.” Heath didn’t know if he was saying those words to Harrison or to himself.
Harrison got into his face right then, his nose only inches from Heath’s. “Tell her. Tell her who got you off. Tell her that you let your own sister take the fall for you so you could walk free—”
Before Harrison could finish those words, Heath slammed his fist into Harrison’s jaw. Jubilee cried out as Harrison staggered back, breathing hard. His eyes glittered, but as he rose up to continue the fight, Jubilee stepped between them.
“Stop it! Just stop! That’s enough.” She shoved her brother—or tried to, as he was much taller and muscular than her. “This isn’t any of your business and never has been.
Go home.”
“I’m just trying to protect you.” Harrison’s voice softened. “You’re so young, and you don’t know men. I do. He’ll use you and set you aside, and then you’ll be brokenhearted.”
“Then that’s my risk to take. Not yours. I’m tired of being kept in a bubble because you and everyone else think you know what’s best for me.” Her voice rose, and along with it, Heath’s pride in her for standing up to her family. “You’ll keep me in a tower because it makes you feel better, not me. It hasn’t been about me in a long time. I may have been sick, yes, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get to live my life. You don’t get to make my choices for me!”
“Juju-bee…”
“Just, leave me alone. I don’t need you. I’ve never needed you. I’m so tired of this family I could scream.”
Heath couldn’t help but notice the hurt on Harrison’s face, but he was smart enough to surrender when he’d lost.
As Harrison walked past Heath, he said, “Tell her the truth. Or I will.”
The sounds of the night floated around them, the hot tub humming merrily yards away. Jubilee had her back turned to him, and when he went to touch her, she pulled away.
“I’m going home. And if you’re smart, you’ll come with me and tell me everything.”
She didn’t wait for him to reply but stalked off into the night, her hair still dripping onto the concrete.
16
Jubilee stared straight ahead as she sat in the driver’s side of her car, Heath silent in the passenger seat. She’d initially thought they could talk at her apartment, but the thought of going there, where Heath had first touched her and shaken her world, seemed unbearable right then.
Jubilee shivered despite the heater going full blast. She’d tried to get the water out of her hair, but then it had seemed so pointless in the grand scheme of things.
Heath had lied to her. When she’d asked him if something was going on, he’d lied to her face without flinching.
