Southern Attraction

by Kaylee Ryan

  “Interesting. So tell me, is it my little sister or my little cousin that you have keeping tabs on me?”

  “Hey, it’s not my fault if they offer up the information.”

  “Did they happen to mention that this weekend is the first weekend I’ve been away from the bar since I took over?”

  She turns to face me, looking worried. “No.”

  “Yeah, I’ve not missed a day. I’ve taken off early a handful of times, all recently.” Reaching out, I trace my thumb across the worry line in her forehead. “Never had a reason to before, you know? Then one day I let my friends, and my little sister talk me into going out to the pond—bonfire, camping, all that fun stuff. I met this girl. She literally took my breath away with her long blonde hair and her eyes, green like emeralds. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.” I cup her face and she leans into me. “A few months later, I got to see her again. And I thought for sure the intense attraction I felt with her that night was just the atmosphere, or maybe because it has been months since I had been out. Turns out it was just her.”

  “Mike,” she whispers.

  “She’s beautiful, smart… amazing. She’s everything I never knew I wanted.”

  “Kiss her!” the lady behind us yells. “All eyes are on you.”

  I don’t take my eyes off Jamie, but I hear the song “Kiss Me” and I know the kiss cam is on us.

  “Honey, you need to hold on to this one,” the lady tells Jamie.

  “I plan to,” she whispers, her eyes never leaving mine.

  Leaning in, her face still cradled in the palm of my hands, I kiss her. Not for the kiss cam, not for the audience, not for the lady behind us. I kiss her for me, for what she means to me. I kiss her to show her that she’s all I can see.

  This is my last day with him. The past two and a half days have been incredible. I love having him here, having this time with him. We usually get one full day, two if we’re lucky; this time, I get him for three and a half.

  As I lie here awake in his arms, I think about the future for us. About what it might look like. I’ve run the scenario a hundred times in my head and I can’t see it without one of us giving something up. One of us would have to make the sacrifice.

  “Mornin.’”

  I feel his lips press against the top of my head. “Morning.” I try to keep the sadness from my voice. I don’t want him to go.

  “Hey.” He places his finger under my chin and lifts so I’m looking at him. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing, I just… this is our last day together before you leave.” I sound like I’m whining and I hate that, but I hate the fact that he’s leaving even more.

  “Just for a couple of weeks, and then you’ll be home for the wedding. You’re staying the entire week, right?”

  “Yeah.” That’s still not long enough. I’m not sure any amount of time will ever be.

  “I get you for a full week.”

  “Not really. There will be wedding stuff, you know. Whit has it all planned out. She’s going to keep my busy.”

  “I know, but you’re staying with me. At the end of the day, you’ll be right here, just like this in my arms. It’s going to be hard as hell to sleep without you when I go home.”

  “Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “I guess we need to get going. I told Mom we’d be there a little early and she’s going to have lunch ready at noon. We slept in again.”

  “It’s your fault. I can’t get enough of these sweet lips,” he says, kissing me.

  “Mike!” I screech. “I need to brush my teeth.” I wiggle out of his arms and roll out of bed. Yes, I rolled. That was my only hope of getting away from him quickly. “I’m getting in the shower.”

  “I’m coming with you.” He sits up and stands from the bed.

  “Nope. Not going to happen. If you do that, we’ll never leave. You’re meeting my parents today, and I don’t want to go over there with the fresh orgasm glow. My mom will notice and I don’t want to have that conversation.”

  “Orgasm glow?” he asks.

  “Yes, cheeks flushed, smile on my face. Trust me, it’s what you do to me. I’ve seen it. Although I crave that with you, we’re going to have to table that until we get back.”

  “Yes, dear,” he laughs. “I’ll just sit here”—he takes a seat on the edge of the bed—“and think about you covered in soap, how it drips down your wet body.” He grabs his cock and squeezes, which has me squeezing my thighs together.

  “You play dirty, Mr. Wallace.” I point at him while walking backward toward the bathroom.

  He shrugs. “Only if it gets me you.”

  “You ready for this?” I ask as we pull into my parents’ driveway.

  “Yep.” He grins and reaches for the door handle. He’s almost to my door when I climb out of the car.

  “I can open my own door, you know.”

  “I know you can, but I like doing things for you.” Leaning down, he kisses me on the nose.

  “Come on, country. Let’s go meet my parents.” Hand in hand, we walk to the front door. I don’t bother knocking, calling out to my parents as we enter. “Mom, Dad.”

  “In the kitchen,” Mom answers.

  Making our way down the hall, we find Dad sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper. Mom’s standing at the island, uncovering a casserole dish.

  “Hey, this is Mike. Mike, these are my parents, Cora and James Turner.”

  “Nice to meet you, son,” Dad says with a kind smile, setting the paper aside.

  “Finally, we meet. It’s so nice to have you here. Have a seat, lunch is almost ready.” My mom smiles at him.

  “Mom, you need any help?” I ask as we take a seat at the kitchen island.

  “No, I’ve got it all under control. Dad wanted lasagna, so there’s that and some salad.”

  “It smells great. Thank you for having me,” Mike says with his southern charm.

  “So, Mike, Jamie tells us you own a bar,” Dad pipes up.

  “Yes, sir. Been in my family for three generations now. My sister, Olivia, and I run it. Well, I do most of it, but she’s slowly taking on more.”

  “You have to work a lot of late hours, nights?”

  “I do now because since I took over, the bar has been my life. It’s running smoothly and I have great staff so I’m able to be away when needed. I’ve just never felt the need to be away before now.”

  “Like this weekend,” Mom says, setting a bowl of crescent rolls in the center of the table.

  “Yeah, I know Olivia and my staff can handle it. Coming to see Jamie was more important.” He gives my knee a gentle squeeze under the island.

  Mom beams at him and Dad sits back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. “How do you suppose this is going to work?” he asks, pointing between the two of us.

  My eyes widen. “Dad! That’s none of your business.”

  “Come on now, it’s time to eat,” Mom says, waving at the island.

  I stand and Mike follows me. “This looks great, Mrs. Turner. Thank you.”

  “None of that. It’s Cora, dear, and you’re welcome. James, come on,” she says, her voice sterner with Dad than with Mike.

  I’ve never seen my dad act this way before. I don’t know what his deal is today. Lunch is great as always, as Mom is a great cook. Conversation is lighter with her guiding it. Dad watches me and Mike like he can’t figure us out.

  “Oh, I meant to ask you. Do you all have plans the rest of the day?” Mom asks.

  I look over at Mike. “Whatever you want, babe. I’m with you,” he says, not caring that my parents can hear him.

  “No, not really. Mike leaves tomorrow morning, so we kind of left today open.”

  “Well, I got these passes from a raffle at work for the zoo. I thought we could all go,” Mom says hopefully.

  Her eyes are bright, and I can remember Whitney telling me to cherish the time I have with my parents. That guilt of what my best friend lost has me saying
yes. “Sure, a few hours at the zoo sounds fun.”

  “James?” Mom asks.

  “Sure, hon. I know you’ve been wanting to go.” He stands and clears his plate. “I’m just going to run upstairs and change.”

  “Are you two ready?” Mom asks.

  I survey myself and then Mike. Jeans and T-shirts with gym shoes. “Yeah, we’re good.”

  She claps her hands. “Give us ten minutes.” She rushes upstairs, I assume to change as well.

  They both come backstairs a few minutes later and we’re all standing in the kitchen.

  “Mike, why don’t you sit up front with James? Your legs are a lot longer than mine,” Mom offers.

  “That’s not necessary,” he tries to decline.

  “Nonsense. I insist,” Mom fires back.

  Mike looks at me and I shrug. He might as well give in because she won’t give up. She’s persistent like that. Mom tells us that we’re taking her car, a Toyota Camry. Hand in hand, Mike and I follow them outside. He stops at the rear door and opens it for me. Once I’m settled, he climbs into the front passenger seat. “You got enough room, James?” he asks, turning in his seat to face me.

  Dad turns to look at him with his mouth gaping open, and Mom lets a tiny squeal fall from her lips.

  “I’m good, thanks.”

  He nods and turns back to face the front, fastening his seat belt, all the while not realizing he’s had my parents’ full attention. Mike doesn’t realize that I don’t tell people my real name is James and not Jamie. Whitney knows, my family, and that’s about it. However, that night there was something about him, about my time with him, that had me wanting to tell him the truth. I used to hate having a boy name, but now when it rolls off his lips, I don’t hate it. Not at all. I like it when he calls me James. Without even realizing it, he just told my parents what he means to me.

  “So your sister, she, uh… she runs the bar with you?” Dad asks once we’re on the road.

  “Kind of. When I took over, it was always the intention of Olivia and I doing it together. Equal partners and all that. She’s a couple years younger than me, and at the time she didn’t want the responsibility. She was fine tending bar. She doesn’t care for the HR aspect, hiring, firing, and all the discipline stuff.” He laughs. “I’m not exactly a fan either, but it’s a necessary evil. Lucky for me, I have a great staff.”

  “So she’s more involved now?” Mom asks.

  “She is. I’ve been showing her the books and she’s taking on a larger role from that aspect.”

  “So, Mom, how are Aunt Betty and Uncle Bob?” I ask. That sends both her and my father off on a tangent, talking about how they had to buy another boat they never use. They swear they’re going to put it out on the Lake, but they never do. Dad claims bragging rights, Mom claims flashy. Either way I don’t really care; I’m just glad the heat is off of Mike. His parents didn’t grill me like this. Then again, that’s my parents for you. I’m an only child, born later in their marriage due to trouble conceiving. They’re always going to be protective of me. I just hope it doesn’t scare him off before we figure out what this is. Before we can give it a fighting chance.

  “I’m exhausted.” I plop down on the couch seven hours later. Turns out Mom really loves the zoo. We walked the entire place at least twice.

  “I thought you said they were slowing down?” Mike asks, taking a seat next to me. Reaching for my leg, he pulls my feet up into his lap and takes off my shoes, then begins to massage my sore feet.

  “Oh my God, that feels so good.”

  He chuckles. “Your parents are nice.”

  “Nice? Really, Michael? They grilled you all through lunch and on the way there. I had to bring up Aunt Betty and Uncle Bob to distract them.”

  “It didn’t bother me. If I had a daughter, I would do the same thing.”

  “You want kids?” I blurt out without thinking.

  “Yeah, I do. What about you?”

  I nod. “Yeah, you know, two kids, dog, white picket fence.”

  “What kind of dog?”

  “I don’t know really. I’ve never had one. As you see, my parents yard isn’t all that big, and Mom refused to have a house dog. Now that I think about it, I’ve never had a pet.”

  “Never?”

  “Nope. My apartment doesn’t allow them.”

  “So a dog is what you would want?”

  “Yeah, one day. I like the idea of having a family dog. Anyway, I’m exhausted. I have to be up at six for work, so we better get to bed.” He stands and has me in his arms before I realize what’s going on. “I can walk,” I tell him, not even attempting to break out of his fireman hold.

  “I know you can, but I like you better like this.” He carries me to my room and sits me down on the bed. “I’ll be right back,” he says, kissing me quickly. I hear him walking through my apartment and I know he’s checking the door and turning off the lights.

  I decide to go ahead and get changed, just crawling under the covers when he comes back into the room. I watch in the moonlight as he strips down and walks to what I now think of as his side of the bed and climbs under the covers. He reaches out for me and I go willingly.

  “Sweet dreams, beautiful.”

  I blush. I know he’s just being Mike, but it makes me think of my dream about him that became all too real. I hold him a little tighter.

  Neither of us says a word. We don’t discuss the fact that he’s leaving in the morning, we don’t talk about what this weekend was. What it means. No, we bask in the feel of being in each other’s arms.

  It’s going to have to get us through until the wedding.

  This morning sucked ass. It was harder this time to say goodbye to him. I hate it. Only two weeks until the wedding. I’ll be there the entire week, and I’m staying with him. To say I’ll be counting down the days is an understatement.

  “Good morning, Jamie. How was your time off?” Mr. Warren asks.

  “Good. Thank you for the time.”

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m just sad to see him go. I didn’t think it would be this hard.” I can’t believe I’m spilling my guts to my boss about missing Mike.

  “Come on back to my office. There are a few things I’d like to talk to you about.”

  Standing slowly, I follow him. I’m pretty sure I know what’s coming, and today is the perfect day for it. I’m already sad that Mike had to leave, so now at least I have something else to blame it on, not just my feelings for a man who lives too far away.

  “Have a seat.” He points to the chair in front of his desk. “I know you’ve had to notice that things are really slow around here?”

  “Yeah,” I agree.

  “I’m retiring, Jamie. I’ve practiced law now for over thirty-five years, and it’s time to spend some time with the missus. We want to travel and go visit our grandkids.”

  “How long?” I ask.

  “I’ve already arranged for you to receive a full year’s salary.”

  I gasp. “Mr. Warren, that’s entirely too generous.”

  “Nonsense.” He waves me off. “I consider you family. You’ve been with me for years, and you are the backbone of this practice. I couldn’t have done it without you. I want you to have time to choose where you go next, without the worry of income. With that being said, all the cases are cleaned, you have them organized, and Tom Farris is going to take them over for me. As of Friday, I’m shutting the doors.”

  “Fr-Friday?” I ask, shocked. “I thought it was coming, but I didn’t think it would be this week.”

  “I didn’t want to worry you. I knew financially for the next year you would be good. Honestly, I didn’t have a date until yesterday. I met with Tom and he convinced me that he could wrap everything up. He knows how meticulous you are.”

  “So me being good at what I do caused you to close early?”

  “No, child. It’s just the right time. Everything has fallen into place. I’m sorry for springing this on you. I
see now that I should’ve been more open about what my plans were. Thank you for all your years of service, Jamie. I meant what I said about you being family. I hope we can keep in touch. You know the missus and I think of you as one of our own.”

  “I-I’m really going to miss you, miss this place,” I say through my tears. I don’t know if the fact that he’s retiring and I was right is causing them or the pain in my chest from watching Mike drive away from me this morning. A combination of both more than likely, heavy on the Mike.

  “Now, all the cases have been transferred. I’m selling all the furniture with the building, so I’ll leave this next part up to you. You can hang out with me the next four days, or you can follow that man of yours back to Kentucky and see where that road leads you.”

  “How did you…?”

  “Like I said. Think of you as one of my own. Besides, I’m an attorney. I can read people.”

  “I’m going to miss you,” I say, standing and rounding the desk to give him a hug.

  “The missus already has a party planned. You’ll be receiving your invitation in the mail.”

  “Please tell her that if I can help, I would be happy to.”

  “I’ll do that. So what’s it going to be?”

  “I guess… I mean, I could help Whit with the wedding. It’s in two weeks.”

  He chuckles. “Uh-huh. Go on now. Be safe and keep in touch. Your severance will be deposited in your account on Friday, along with this week’s pay.”

  “Mr. Warren—”

  “Go on now. You’re going to make an old man cry.”

  With one final hug, I grab a paper box and clear out my desk, then drive straight to Mom and Dad’s to give them the news. Dad is at work, but Mom’s home. When I tell her that I’m leaving for Kentucky today, she doesn’t seem surprised. I promise to call them when I get there.

  After a lot of hugs, I’m headed toward my apartment. Rushing inside, I clean out the fridge and take the trash to the curb, then pack two big suitcases and lock up.

  I can’t help but think I’m following my heart to Kentucky.

  The drive home is lonely. I miss her already. I had to fight the urge to turn around and go back, but I need to go home. I have responsibilities.