by Dean, Taylor
When he finally stopped and held her arms again, it took her a minute to recover. “Are you okay?” he asked, showing just a little bit of sympathy.
“I can’t breathe,” she whispered.
“I think you’ve had enough. You’re off the hook, for now anyway,” he remarked ominously.
They smiled at each other and then their smiles very slowly died. They looked into each other’s eyes and were suddenly very aware of the fact that he was on top of her and holding down her arms. A most compromising position. All at once, Marisa felt as though she couldn’t breathe for very different reasons. He started to say something and then stopped himself. He leaned in a little closer for a second and she thought he was going to kiss her, but then he seemed to think better of it. He rolled over onto the ground and let out his breath heavily. “I’m too old for this.” Neither one of them said anything for the next several minutes.
Marisa turned onto her side, still catching her breath. He did the same. As they faced each other, Marisa imitated him, mouthing off facts about him, “May sixth. Just turned twenty-eight. Six-foot-four. Eyes as blue as the sky. And you’re never too old to have fun.”
He smiled, but his eyebrows furrowed slightly at the same time. “We’d better get back.”
Once home, Marisa ran up the stairs and closed the door to her bedroom while falling against it heavily. She took several deep breaths to steady herself. She collapsed onto her bed, letting out a sigh. A dreamy sigh, an ‘oh my gosh, is this really happening to me?’ sigh. She felt out of breath, tingly, and warm. Her stomach fluttered crazily and her heart refused to return to its normal beat. She thought about Josh straddling her and holding her arms. Truly, she hated being tickled, but if it brought Josh that close to her, she’d live through it. She hadn’t expected something to happen between them so soon. But something had happened. They’d shared a…moment. She knew it and she knew he knew it too. She’d thought he was going to kiss her and she would’ve welcomed it if he had. She touched her fingers to her lips, willing herself to calm down.
It was time to see if Bethany was up from her nap.
Meanwhile, Josh sat at his desk with his head in his hands, berating himself for his behavior. He couldn’t believe he’d taken the liberty of tickling Marisa like that. It was just an acceptable way of touching her when he so wanted to touch her. He wondered if he’d freaked her out and if she wanted to get the heck out of here as fast as she could. He wouldn’t blame her.
But she didn’t seem freaked out. As a matter of fact, she looked at him with eyes that said otherwise. He shook his head. He’d almost kissed her. For goodness sake, he’d almost sunk down on top of her and laid one on her. More than anything he’d wanted to. He’d wanted to kiss her deeply, to delve inside of her till they felt they were a part of each other. Two that have become one.
Not an appropriate first kiss.
He couldn’t take advantage of her like that, not when he’d only known her for…two seconds. What was he thinking? He admitted to himself that he’d wanted to be alone with her. He admitted that he liked her, a lot. He admitted that he found her beautiful. He admitted that he’d simply wanted to get to know her better. And he admitted that the next time he felt that urge, perhaps he shouldn’t take her out to the middle of nowhere and lie down on the soft earth with her right beside him and pretend there was nothing between them but fun and games. He tried desperately to concentrate on his work, but all he could think about was Marisa’s face looking up at him, her body beneath his, all at once both innocence and fire. A dangerous combination. They could both get burned.
Maybe they already had.
–6–
After placing Bethany down for her nap the next day, Marisa didn’t know what to do with herself. That is, until she found Josh downstairs, cooling his heels. “Ready for our ride?” he asked as if it had been planned all along. He’d been waiting for her. She tried not to appear as excited as she felt. It was then that Marisa knew their afternoon rides were to become a tradition.
They rode out on their horses. Jasper was a beautiful creature with a sweet nature. Carson, Josh’s stallion, was spirited and temperamental. Josh was the only one who could control him. Everyone else was a little wary of him. He was black as night with a shiny coat. He and Josh looked as though they belonged together and Marisa wasn’t sure who tamed who.
They came upon a small stand of trees and secured the horses next to a spot where they could graze. “Feel like walking?” Josh asked.
“Okay,” was about all she could manage. For some reason she was feeling a little nervous around him today. She knew something was happening between them.
He took her hand in his and they walked together comfortably as Josh told her more about the area. After a while, they sat by a tree and rested their backs on the trunk, side by side.
“Do you have commitments back home, Marisa?
“Commitments?”
“Yeah, commitments. You know, things like work, school, friends…boyfriends.” He said the last word a little too nonchalantly for her not to notice.
“I have a teaching position in the Fall.”
“I just wondered if you were involved with anyone. I mean if you are, that must be hard to be away from one another for the entire summer.”
“No,” she said quietly. “I’m not involved with anyone.” She’d never been involved with anyone in her life. She’d been saving herself for him because she’d never wanted anyone but him. She wondered what he’d say if she blurted that out right now, by the way, I’m in love with you and I have been since I was eleven. Would he laugh? What if she told him the entire truth? Not even Mary knew that. Are you kidding? If she knew how Marisa really felt about Josh, she never would’ve encouraged her to go to his home for the summer.
I don’t think.
Instead of spilling her guts and risking her sanity being questioned, she tagged Josh on his shoulder and said, “You’re it.” She ran off before he knew what had hit him. He was quickly hot on her heels, however. He tagged her and then she chased him for the next several minutes, their laughter echoing in the distance.
Finally, she threw herself at his legs, caught them and down they went, laughing all the way. It was a great football tackle. Jerome would have been proud. Their laughter weakened both of them, but she managed to straddle him and hold down his arms, even though she knew he was allowing it to happen.
“This is interesting,” she said with a grin, breathing hard.
“Yes, it is,” he said a little too calmly, but his rapid breaths betrayed him.
“The situation is reversed,” she added.
“Yes, it is, but…”
“But what?”
“Not for long,” he said as he threw her onto her back and before she knew it, he was atop her once again, holding her arms.
“We have to stop meetin’ like this,” he said cockily.
“Please don’t tickle me.” She wasn’t kidding. At. All.
Ten, twenty, thirty heartbeats later, he finally said, “Oh, all right, I’ll grant you mercy, but only because you’re so cute when you lay there trembling with fear, saying, ‘please don’t tickle me.’”
That’s not why I’m trembling.
Josh collapsed to the ground and they both lay there, flat on their backs, catching their breath. Marisa had never met a young man she could joke around with like she did with Josh. Heck, she’d never met anyone like him. He was fun and lighthearted, yet mature in the areas that he needed to be mature in. He took his responsibilities seriously. The combination was quite alluring. Marisa found herself wondering how they’d managed to find themselves on top of each other again. That’s two days in a row now. Not only that, but here they were lying down together again. Several moments passed. Their breathing returned to normal, but her thoughts whirled out of control. More than anything, she wanted to roll over on top of him and kiss him till he couldn’t breathe.
They needed a distraction. Josh ended up provi
ding it.
“I don’t know much about Jerome. Tell me about him.”
“He’s a very quiet man. I guess you would call him a man of few words. He doesn’t have much to say. But when he does, look out, it will be very important and maybe even earth shattering.”
Josh laughed at that.
“At first, I wasn’t really sure if he wanted me. I thought maybe he’d just gone along with the foster program to please his wife. I was very unsure, and a little scared of him.”
Josh turned on his side to watch her. “I can’t imagine feeling that way as a child. I mean, I didn’t have a mother, but I always had my father.”
“We warmed up to each other eventually. I could ask for his help on my homework and he would spend hours patiently helping me. He was always there for me in his quiet way whenever I needed him. He taught me endlessly about football, his one passion in life and the most excited I’ve ever seen him about anything. How do you think I learned that tackle I caught you with?”
“So I have Jerome to thank for my sore back?”
“Yep.” She faced him and they found themselves in the same position as yesterday.
“I’m glad Mary found Jerome. Mary and my dad, they never got along. They seemed to always be arguing and I quickly learned to disappear when it became heated, which it often did. I think she knew there was nothing left for her at the ranch, except maybe a life of spinsterhood. I’m surprised she stayed as long as she did. I would’ve left the day I turned eighteen, if not sooner. I know she stayed for me. ‘Josh,’ she said to me before she left, ‘you’re twelve years old now, practically a man. You can take care of yourself, I know you can. Stand up to your dad, don’t let him push you around. You’ll own this ranch one day and I know how much you love it. It’s in your blood. Take the good you can get from your dad, but don’t become like him, angry and bitter. Promise me, Josh.’ I was sullen and non-communicative. I didn’t want her to leave. I didn’t even say goodbye, I just ran off and sulked. I must’ve made it so difficult for her. She probably had a major guilt trip over it. But she was there for me when I needed her the most. I’ll never forget that.”
“She thinks the world of you. She might even believe you walk on water, I’m not sure, but I imagine so,” Marisa commented, lightening the mood.
In silence, they held each other’s gaze for several moments. All at once, the situation felt far too intimate. Josh, seeming uncomfortable, sat up quickly. “Let’s ride,” he said, and off they went, the Texas wind in their hair and the summer sun on their faces.
Later that night, Marisa had plans with Bethany. They were partners in crime. It was time to exact her revenge.
“Marisa?”
“Huh?”
“It’s your turn.”
“Oh, sorry.” She fumbled through her turn, not really concentrating.
They’d spent the afternoon reading storybooks, bike riding in the Folly, and then swimming in the pool. Marisa found that Bethany loved the water, but she was afraid of it. She’d kept her water wings on the entire time and floated in a life preserver—double safety measures. She seemed scared at the thought of removing them. Bethany didn’t know how to swim and Marisa had every intention of teaching her. Very soon, she hoped to have her swimming like a fish. Marisa’s thoughts wandered to their conversation in the pool that afternoon.
“Bethany, I want to ask you a question, but you can’t tell your dad. It will be our secret, okay?” As an educator, she never asked children to keep secrets from their parents. This time, she’d make an exception to the all-important rule.
“Okay, Marisa.”
“Do you know where your dad is ticklish?”
This caused Bethany to burst into giggles. “Oh, yes, I know. He’s ticklish in the weirdest places.”
She and Bethany waded in the pool for the next half hour planning their strategy. Bethany was with her one-hundred percent and more excited about their plans than Marisa.
Suddenly, Bethany jumped two feet in the air, startling everyone as she was shocked by the game of Operation and they all laughed, bringing Marisa back into the present.
Bethany was already giving her an eyebrow raise, the cue for their attack to begin. Marisa was a little nervous. How would Josh react? She cast an eyebrow raise towards Bethany, indicating she was ready.
“Daddy, are you tired? You look very, very tired.”
Josh looked up at her questioningly.
“Why don’t you lie down?” Bethany said to him in her breathy little voice, the sneaky smile on her face giving her away completely.
“What’s goin’ on?” Josh asked with suspicion.
They both looked guilty and Marisa knew it. Bethany looked like she was ready to pounce and she was pretty sure she looked like she wanted to eat him alive. How does one go about erasing yearning for a man from one’s countenance? How can he look at me and not know?
“Nothing, what do you mean? Please lie down, Daddy, take a little rest.”
Marisa smiled. An academy award winning performance by Bethany Kensington. Give that girl an Oscar.
It was obvious Josh knew something was up, but he clearly decided to go along with it. He collapsed down onto the floor, flat on his back and said, “Oh, I am really tired.” He stretched his arms and began to fake a snore. Before Josh knew what hit him, Bethany was at his head and Marisa had grabbed his arms and handed them to Bethany. Josh allowed it to happen and didn’t resist.
“Get his arms, Bethany,” Marisa yelled. It was a smart move. Marisa had guessed correctly that he wouldn’t fight against Bethany.
“I’ve got him,” Bethany yelled proudly.
Marisa knew the only thing Josh could feel was Bethany’s soft skin against his. Other than that, she doubted he even felt any pressure. Marisa hovered over him, smiling a huge, victorious smile. “It seems you’ve been captured by your daughter. Do you have him, Bethany?” she asked with her eyes on Josh.
“I’ve got him, Marisa. He can’t get away,” she said, giggling, and tightening her little teeny hands on her dad’s.
“Hear that?” Marisa preened. “She’s got you, you can’t get away. I’m fixin’ to exact Marisa’s revenge,” she commented, using his Texan style of speech.
“The Texas state verb,” he muttered with a suppressed smile. “Help!” he yelled. “Constance, help me!”
Bethany giggled so hard Marisa thought she was going to pass out.
“She can’t hear you. No one can help you now,” Marisa told him as her fingers tickled the air over his stomach. His stomach clenched in anticipation. “Bethany’s been telling me a few family secrets.”
“Traitor,” Josh told her.
“Let’s see, where shall we begin?” Marisa said slowly, enjoying this way too much. She placed her fingers behind his ears and began to softly tickle him and to her surprise, he burst out laughing, almost uncontrollably. Bethany giggled so hard, her face turned bright red.
“I told you, Marisa. Dad’s so ticklish behind his ears.”
“Priceless, absolutely priceless,” Marisa mumbled as she moved down to his knees.
Josh watched her warily, surely wondering where she was going to strike next. She had to admit, she was finding this experience rather pleasurable. The glitter in his eyes told her that he was too; he could hardly conceal his smile. He tried to fake exasperation, but failed miserably.
Marisa grabbed his knees, tucked her fingers underneath and tickled like mad. His laughter rung throughout the household, bringing Constance in to make sure everything was okay. When she saw Josh laid out flat with Bethany holding down his arms and Marisa tickling him, she stopped short.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“No, Constance, they’re attacking me. Help me, please!” Josh pleaded.
Constance gave him one of her stern looks and turned to leave, but before she left, Marisa saw the smile that took over her face.
“I’ll remember that,” Josh yelled after her.
M
arisa moved back up Josh’s body to reach her next place of attack. “Are we having fun yet?” she told him wickedly, unable to hide her huge smile.
Josh pretended as though he was desperately trying to escape Bethany’s grasp, but simply didn’t have the strength. “After all that I’ve done for you, Bethany, is this how you treat your dear old Dad?”
“Mmm-hmmm,” Bethany said, while nodding her head in the positive and trying to control her giggles.
Marisa started to run her fingers ever so slightly over the underside of Josh’s forearms and he tried to remain stoic for as long as possible, until he completely lost it. Bethany nearly turned purple this time and could hardly catch her breath.
“What do you think, Bethany, has he had enough?”
“You forgot the side of his tummy,” Bethany whispered conspiratorially.
Josh moaned and Marisa grabbed his sides and was completely cutthroat as her hands moved up and down the sides of his torso. He exploded with laughter again until tears ran down his cheeks. It took a great deal of will power to pretend as though he couldn’t escape Bethany. Marisa was impressed. “Say, I promise,” Marisa demanded.
“I promise,” he said right away. Bethany laughed so hard, her hands temporarily left their stronghold, but Josh still didn’t attempt escape.
Marisa stilled momentarily, giving him a break. “To never tickle Marisa again, ever.”
He appeared to be thinking it over. “To…” there was a long pause, “…always tickle Marisa, every chance I get,” he yelled out quickly. She tickled his sides again and knew this was the spot that was the worst for him. It was taking every ounce of self-control he possessed to not break away from his daughter, but just as Marisa thought, he wouldn’t break away from Bethany.
She had mercy on him. “Let’s try that again. To never tickle Marisa again, ever, in this lifetime.”
“You added words.”
“They were necessary.”
She began to tickle him again. “Say it.”
