“Come on, Soph, stop it. If I haven’t shown you how I feel, then I guess I’m going to have to show you again and again and again.”
I ran my fingers down the center of his chest and played with the forest of damp curls nestling his still semi-hard cock. “Well,” I said wiggling my eyebrows. “I guess I’ll have to show you again and again and again how much I love you, too.”
All of the detox and cleanse products were going in the trash. Noah was right; I was perfect. And if he loved me for me, then I could learn to love me for me, too. Screw what everyone else thought.
“When we get home,” I said stroking my hand over his cock. “I’ll look at colleges in Texas and then tell our parents we’re together.”
“Sounds like a perfect plan.” He crossed his hands behind his head. “In the meantime keep stroking me so I can get to proving everything I said is true.”
Epilogue
Nerves hopped inside my belly. I smoothed my hands down my new blue dress—not the size twelve one, I’d exchanged that for one that fit—took Noah’s hand and strode into the gym. A Katy Perry song blared from the sound system and pink and blue streamers and balloons decorated the cavernous room. Crowds of seniors laughed and danced, and no one gasped in awe when they saw me, which was fine.
Shocked didn’t even begin to describe our parents’ reaction when we told them, but they grudgingly accepted our relationship, and lectured us about “not under our roof,” which we obeyed—mostly. In September, I was going to the University of Texas. And, next week, Noah was going back to the oil fields. During the summer, we would see each other as much as we could.
Perfect Alice marched up to me in a lurid pink taffeta dress and an exaggerated frown on her perfect face. “Boohoo, I’m so sad. Your diet didn’t work.”
Noah squeezed my hand and by the way his muscles tensed, he was about to come to my defense. I gave my head a minuscule shake.
“You’re right, it didn’t. When, and if, I do decide to lose weight, I’ll do it on my terms, not because I want people to like me. And not by binging and purging.” I leaned over and whispered. “I think you have some vomit on the side of your lips.”
She gasped, wiped a hand across her mouth and fled in the direction of the restrooms.
Noah pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Have I told you how amazing you are?”
“Only about a million times.”
A song to remember the evening by echoed throughout the gym. I giggled at the coincidence, and with a swelling heart, I draped my arms around my boyfriend’s neck and sang along to Billy Joel’s Just The Way You Are.
The End
Hidden in the Shadows
A Standalone Novella
Prologue
Briarfield Hall loomed over the landscape casting its elongated shadow across the pebbled driveway now held hostage by weeds. Moss and ivy imprisoned the once-gray mansion, which had darkened to black from years of neglect.
Menacing storm clouds tore through the sky as if telling me to run. I reached into the backseat of my car, grabbed Megan’s hand and squeezed. She glanced at me, her big blue eyes filled with disbelief and wonder.
“You really lived here, Mama? It looks scary.” She undid her seatbelt and clambered into the front and onto my lap. I kissed her forehead, finding much-needed comfort in the familiar scent of her strawberry shampoo.
“I lived here for thirteen years.” My words were hollow and thin, void of any emotion.
“I want Daddy,” she whimpered against my neck.
“We’ll see him soon. I promise.” Taking my seven-year-old on a five-hour drive to a place like this was ludicrous, but I had to come back, if only for a little while. The argument I’d had with my husband was filled with ugly words and accusations. He begged me to let go of my old life. I couldn’t. Not yet. In a fit of hot-headed anger, I walked out, taking our daughter. When we went home tomorrow, I prayed he would forgive me.
For many, Briarfield Hall was the epitome of wealth, money, and power. For me, it was a place of nightmares, broken hearts, and shattered dreams. Sadness swathed the walls and infiltrated the hearts of anyone who dared cross the threshold of the one-hundred room monstrosity. Four people had no use for that number of rooms or for a gaggle of servants. Even when I lived there, sheets of dust cloaked the hulking antique furniture in most of the rooms.
Before stepping into the unseasonably cold day, and disturbing the ghosts sleeping behind the front door, I glanced at the three-hundred-foot maze leading to what was once my stepbrother’s cottage. The thatched roof was still visible despite the overgrown hedges of the maze.
I swiped a finger under my eye to catch my tears. Megan didn’t need to see her mom cry. In her world, I was everything and it wasn’t fair to have her think any different. She was so innocent to how cruel the world could be. When she was born, I vowed to shield her from the horrors life could bring, and yet here I was outside Briarfield Hall.
I opened the car door. Megan jumped out, and I followed.
“Come, sweetheart. Let me show you the inside.”
“I don’t know, Mama.” She stood her ground, digging her feet into the driveway. “Can we stay in the car, or find a hotel?”
“It’ll be an adventure, you’ll see. I’ll show you all the places I used to hide from my mom.”
My stomach rumbled, not satisfied with a handful of dry Cheerios I’d eaten on the drive. I prayed there would be at least some tins of unexpired food in the kitchen. At one time, every type of food imaginable crowded the cupboards. And at Christmas, exotic foods from across the globe filled our tables. Theo’s dad, Charles, threw lavish parties and invited everyone who was anyone. When we were too young to attend, Theo and I would hide beneath one of the twenty-foot Christmas trees in the endless foyer and watch the festivities in wide-eyed wonder.
I was five when my mom and I moved here. Theo was eight. The last thing he wanted was an annoying little sister shadowing him. But, oh, how I idolized him. I didn’t give him a minute’s peace. He was patient and kind and answered my every question, played dolls, dress-up, house, and any other thing I demanded.
I reached for Megan’s hand and we crossed the driveway.
I traced the shape of the key in my pocket, feeling the grooves and edges. When I opened the front door, I was opening a doorway to the past. And the past was something I tried hard to forget. The day I left Briarfield Hall, I swore I would never come back.
Fat raindrops fell, and I lifted my face. Would a storm be powerful enough to wash away my memories?
“Mom, we’re getting wet.” Megan’s flawless face scrunched up with impatience, and her flaxen hair whipped around her face.
“Sorry, hun.” We walked up the familiar stone steps to the front door; I pulled the key from my pocket and slid it into the lock. Though the sound of the lock opening was no more than a click, it reverberated in my mind. Turn back! my brain screamed. Run away. I gave my head a shake and forced the stiff door to open. The hinges groaned and grated in resistance.
Stale air wrapped its musty hands around my body, urging me to enter the murky darkness. I leaned around the door and with knowing fingers, flicked on the light switch. A still-working chandelier hung from the fifty-foot ceiling, its sparkling light illuminating the foyer. The dual staircase, which I’d climbed thousands of times, swept up and met in the middle. For more years than I could recall, I ran up one side and down the other, chased by Theo. When we weren’t shipped off to school, we explored every room in the house. I could almost hear our excited laughter echoing in and out of the neglected rooms.
Chapter One
“Hurry, Addison, your brother is arriving soon. I want you there when we welcome him home.” My mom’s shrill voice sounded from the speaker on my phone. Coming up to my room was way too much effort. Judging by the way my mom and Theo’s dad were behaving, it was as if he had single-handedly saved the United States from a terrorist attack. So what if he was coming home? It wasn’t like fifteen mont
hs was a lifetime. So what if the world saw him as a hero? He’d never be a hero in my eyes. And so what if he was here for the rest of the summer? I intended to avoid him as much as I could.
Charles had gone to extremes and had organized an ostentatious welcome home party. The Fourth of July fireworks display would last for more than an hour. He had spent almost $200,000 on the fireworks alone. Probably another hundred grand on the food, marquee, and entertainment.
“Addison!” Mom’s voice screeched at glass-shattering levels. “His car just passed through the gates. Hurry up. He’ll be here in less than five minutes.”
I hung up, rolled off my bed, and ran my fingers through my newly-dyed hair. Mom hadn’t seen it yet, but I thought blue suited me perfectly. It matched my eyes. When Theo left, I was the cliché perky cheerleader with a smile for everyone. Not anymore. Mom called me surly and hated the sloppy way I dressed. Charles barely acknowledged me. My lack of ambition irritated the hell out of him.
Slipping into my flip-flops, I left my room and strode down the corridor of the west wing. Dusty oil paintings lined the wood-paneled walls. Keeping my eyes straight ahead, I avoided the snooty faces of Charles’ ancestors. For years, thanks to Theo, I believed their beady eyes watched everything I did, and if I wasn’t careful, they would snatch me up and drag me into their ghost world.
Before Theo enlisted, he lived in a small cottage at the end of the maze. When we were kids, we would spend hours in the maze, losing ourselves and finding reasons to laugh. That was before I spilled my guts and told him how I felt. Before he rejected me and broke my sixteen-year-old heart. Humiliation seared my cheeks, and I shook my head to disperse the unwanted memories materializing in my mind. For fifteen months, I’d built a barricade of loathing around my heart.
Taking my sweet time, I sauntered downstairs and rolled my eyes at the hoard of people waiting outside to greet the returning hero. Where was a barf bag when I needed one? I jumped down the last few steps and made my way to the makeshift bar situated between the two flights of stairs.
I smiled at the dark-haired bartender, someone who looked no older than twenty-one. “Vodka and Coke, please.”
He raised a skeptical eyebrow and smiled. “How old are you?”
I bit my lower lip and pushed my hands into the pockets of my cutoffs. Flirting to get some alcohol was not beyond my limits. “How old do you want me to be?”
He leaned over the bar and winked. “You could get me fired.”
I peered at him through lowered eyelashes. “No one needs to know.”
“Young lady.” My mom marched into the foyer, the heels of her shoes clacking on the polished, tiled floor. “What do you think you’re doing?” When she reached me, she wrapped her fingers around my bicep and scowled at the bartender. “She’s eighteen. No alcohol.” Her lips thinned until they were nothing but a pale slash across her face. “What the hell did you do to your hair? Charles will have a conniption.” She swept her razor-sharp gaze over me. “Jean shorts? A t-shirt with the words Suck It is hardly appropriate. Go and change, and for God’s sake, get that muck out of your hair.”
“Give me a break, Mom. This is a farce. Theo probably hasn’t even shot a gun.”
A deep laughter rumbled from behind. “Maybe I have. Maybe I haven’t.”
Time stilled. It was as if a ray of sunshine had walked into the foyer. Theo, wearing the hell out of his fatigues, lowered his kit bag to the floor. A deep tan covered his face, and muscles filled out his once-scrawny frame. His usually messy blonde hair was shorn, and because of how straight and proud he stood, I would have sworn he’d grown at least another two inches. The boy who left fifteen months ago was now a man. Pieces of the barricade protecting my heart began to crumble.
“Theo, darling boy.” My mom, forgetting her need to give me a hard time, rushed toward him. “You were supposed to come in the front. Your dad will be so disappointed. This party was his way of telling you he accepted your decision.”
Theo wrapped her in a loving embrace, and my skin prickled, wanting him to hold me that way.
“Stephanie, I’ve missed having you fuss over me.” He released her. “I don’t need a party.”
She wrung her hands with nervousness. “Your father knows his behavior was wrong and wants to make amends.” Mom stepped away and held him at arm’s length. “Will you do something for me?”
“Sure. Anything.” He gave her a lazy smile that did nothing to stop the deterioration of my so-called impenetrable barricade.
“Go out the way you came in and come around front. It would mean more to your father than you can ever imagine.”
He looked at me as if truly seeing me for the first time. “Addy. It’s good to see you. You’re all grown up.” He tilted his head and gave me a slight nod. No warm hugs or words declaring how much he missed me. The barricade was back in place.
I held his gaze. “I couldn’t stay sixteen and stupid forever.” His soldier act wasn’t going to intimidate me. I knew him when he cried because he was afraid to ride a rollercoaster.
“Time changes everyone.” He did an about-face and left the foyer, taking the sunshine with him.
I grabbed a Coke from an ice bucket by the bar, opened it, and took a deep drink to moisten my desert dry mouth. Mom dashed out to the front steps, and I followed, hiding behind the crowds of people. I wasn’t into the pomp and pretense. Charles was a mogul in the world of cruise ships and hotels, and he did flamboyant things to impress people all the time. I didn’t notice it when I was younger. I loved every indulgence, every comfort. As I grew and learned more about the world, the more I saw Charles for what he was-an egotistical control freak.
He dominated my mom within an inch of her life. Before I wised up, I allowed him to control me, too. For years I did everything I could to be the dutiful daughter. Over time, I realized nothing I did met his impossible standards, so I stopped trying.
He doted on Theo and assumed he’d join the family business like his two older brothers, Edward and Alexander. He did for a while, but the day Theo announced he’d enlisted, Charles’ face turned purple. Rage shook his body, and he threatened Theo with everything from disowning him to disinheriting him. He said he knew people who could get Theo out. Theo refused. Serving his country and protecting its people was his vocation.
Standing up to Charles wasn’t easy. I’d tried. His rage, when stirred, was like a never-ending thunderstorm. Until a few years ago, whenever his temper exploded, I’d hide in the attic and wait for the storm to pass; now I rolled my eyes and left the house.
When summer was over, I was attending Georgia Tech. Charles refused to pay the fees. I’d refused to go to Vanderbilt, so he withdrew financial support. Fine with me. I’d work my way through and pay my own fees. I didn’t need his money or the conditions that came with it. Getting away from him and his overbearing control was all that mattered.
I waited on the steps with the two-hundred or so handpicked guests for the return of the prodigal son. Charles glanced around the murmuring crowd. When he spotted me, disgust flickered across his face. He narrowed his eyes and whispered something in my mom’s ear. She nodded and glowered at me.
“He’s here. He’s here,” Charles boomed.
If I didn’t know him better, I would have thought he was excited to see his youngest son. Theo strode from the maze, and his older brothers, Edward and Alexander, rushed forward and pulled him into a bear hug. Charles dashed toward his sons and hauled Theo into his arms. He turned to face the crowd. “Everyone, welcome my baby boy home.”
The gathered crowd cheered and clapped. Theo lowered his head and shifted from foot to foot. At least he had the decency to look uncomfortable.
“Thank you for coming to celebrate Independence Day with my family,” Theo said. “This is more than I deserve. I was only doing my job, what I’m trained to do.”
“Nonsense,” Charles said. “You saved five men. You’re a hero and deserve more than this. You deserve anything you want.”<
br />
Theo’s eyes found mine, and something I couldn’t quite decipher flickered across his face. “I wish I could have saved everyone.”
His words were heartfelt but tinged with pain. The crowd finished gawking and began talking amongst themselves while Charles paraded Theo around, displaying him like a winning show dog. There were many handshakes and pats on the back.
I needed to grab myself some kind of alcohol and disappear for the rest of the day. When a Stepford Wife seized my mom’s attention, I sneaked inside.
“Addy, wait.” Theo, who’d somehow escaped his father, wrapped a strong hand around my wrist. Tingles shot up my arm, making a beeline for my nipples. I closed my eyes and held my breath. I didn’t want to feel like this; I’d worked too long to stop loving him. Opening my eyes, I turned to face him. His eyes, the deep sea green of my dreams, pierced the center of my soul.
“Nice party.” I shrugged him off, but he didn’t release my wrist.
“I guess. Can we talk?”
“Nope.” I took a sip of Coke and held it in my mouth.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about-”
I yanked my wrist from his grasp. “About what?”
“What you said before I left.”
I huffed out a breath. “Oh, please. You want to talk about the lovesick words of a sixteen-year-old. We should probably talk about nail polish and pop music, too.” Breaking down and spilling my guts to him was a mistake I’d regret for eternity. “Forget what I said. I was a dumb kid.”
He grabbed my wrist again and drew circles on my skin, each rotation making me dizzier than the last. Standing on my tiptoes and kissing him would be so easy. For years, when I slept, my subconscious showed me what I wanted. I dreamed about him loving me the way I’d loved him.
His eyes darkened. “You weren’t dumb. I was wrong to say what I did. I didn’t mean to hurt you, to be so heartless.”
“Forget it, Theo. You were right. We’re practically family. We grew up together. It would be wrong on every level imaginable. It would be-what were the words you used?-morally wrong and repulsive.”
Nine Steamy Step Stories Page 15
