by Claire Adams
“Yeah, but that’s okay. I’m glad I’m here, so you aren't out here alone.” She came over to me and gave me a hug. That didn’t help my body’s response any, especially because she seemed to hang on a little longer than she should have and, if I’m not mistaken, pressed her chest into mine.
“I was just getting the boats unloaded,” I told her.
“It’s so pretty here,” she observed, looking around at the verdant green grass and the lush umbrella of leafy green trees above our heads.
“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite spots. When I was younger, I would come here with my brothers and Grandma and we’d kayak or canoe or just take a hike and look at the views. There are some stunning ones here and also on the island we’ll end up on.”
“Where are we canoeing to today?”
“We’ll start here and end on Bumpkin Island. I’ve arranged for lunch to be brought out there to us, so we’ll eat and then I have a boat coming to pick everyone up and bring them back here.”
“I heard Bumpkin Island is haunted,” she said, grabbing the other end of the canoe I was carrying and helping me take it down near the water. God help me, but I was watching her breasts bounce as we did. Am I completely ruined now because I got one taste of sex? It was such a good taste, and maybe that was the problem. Sometimes I wish I had been too drunk to remember. “What do you think?” she asked.
“About?” I wasn’t paying attention to a word she said.
She laughed. “What do you think about the island being haunted?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m not one of those people who worry about things like that. There’s a ton of history there, and if you talk to the old Native Americans, they’ll tell you it’s haunted. I don’t think it’s haunted by anything evil, though. I always get a real sense of peace when I’m there. You can ride in my boat. I have holy water.”
She laughed, “Agreed.” We put that boat down and went up to get another. As we stepped up a relatively steep embankment, she reached out and grabbed my hand. I held onto her and helped her the rest of the way up to where the truck was and then reluctantly let her hand go. Maybe that’s all it is with me, lately. Maybe I’m not craving sex as much as I am human contact. That would make me less creepy, I think.
“Is the water really cold?” she asked.
“Not this time of year,” I told her. “It’s not warm, but it’s definitely not frigid. My brothers and I used to swim in it when we came out during the summer.”
“How are your brothers?” My brothers never liked Lily. Neither did my Grandmother. They all thought she was too fast for me and were afraid she’d break my heart. It turned out I was the one that broke hers.
“They’re doing well, I guess. Max is doing well. He’s always been the most likely to succeed, though. Ryan is a little lost…more so now without Grandma. Hopefully, he’ll grow up soon. If not, I might have to adopt him and let him live on my couch.”
She laughed. I couldn’t help but look at her and wonder how different my life would be if she and I had never broken up. Would we be married now? Would we have children? Or would I be the man she divorced?
I pondered that while we finished taking the boats down and I’d just grabbed her hand again to help her up the incline when I saw another car arriving. I let go of her hand quickly…too quickly. She stumbled and almost fell backwards. I reached out and caught her in my arms.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Daphne
The first thing I saw as we stepped out of the car at World’s End was Jace…with a beautiful woman in his arms. What the hell? Is he a serial seducer of good Catholic women or what? He saw me about the same time and let go of the woman. I was hoping he would drop her. I had no idea where this nasty side of me came from.
I looked up and was glad to see that the bus from the church and a couple of other cars were arriving just behind us. Besides the fact that I thought he wouldn't touch the woman so much in front of witnesses, I wasn’t really sure what to say to him. I was hoping to be able to avoid him all together, if I could. At least I wanted to avoid conversation with him — I was looking forward to looking at him.
“I’ve lived in Boston my entire life and I’ve never been here. It takes a trip to Lexington to get me out here; go figure,” Carla said. I’d had the same thought myself. Of course, my childhood wasn’t really conducive to a lot of sightseeing trips.
“I’ve never been here, either,” I said. “It’s so pretty, it kind of takes your breath away.”
Carla’s eyes had landed on something else: Jace. I could see that predatory look she gets in her eye as she said, “It sure does.” I wanted to warn her who he was, but he was upon us before I got the chance.
“Daphne, I’m so glad you made it; and I see you brought a friend.”
“Carla Rossi,” she said with her sexiest smile as she tossed her black hair over one shoulder. I rolled my eyes. He held out his hand and she took it. I waited.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Carla, I’m Father Jace.” If this wasn’t my screwed-up life, the look on her face would be hilarious. Her jaw was scraping the ground and before Jace figured out it was because she knew we had sex, I interrupted.
“We’re happy to be here, Father. It’s so beautiful.” Jace’s eyes left Carla’s stunned face and transferred over to mine. I searched his eyes for any sign that he was either thinking I was a pathetic fool or wondering about his missed opportunity.
He didn’t seem to be showing signs of either. He was acting like everything was…normal. I was not sure what to make of that. Was it normal to him? Wouldn’t that be so wrong?
“We’ve got enough canoes for two to each boat. Most of them are already down by the harbor. Do you two feel confident enough to do this on your own?”
“I don’t know if we’re really strong enough,” Carla started. She’s incorrigible.
“We’ll be fine,” I said with my teeth grit in her direction. She smiled. I am so going to kick her ass.
“Okay then, just grab which one you want and when we take off, we’ll all follow each other. We’ll have some time to explore Bumpkin Island before lunch. It’s a great place, if you’ve never been there.”
“Okay, thanks.” He smiled again.
God, he’s so beautiful. I watched him walk away to go greet the rest of the canoe party and I actually forgot Carla was there until she said, “Whoa…he’s hot! I wish I was screwing a priest.”
“Carla!” I tried to act shocked, but I had to smile. She’s too much, but no one can ever accuse her of not speaking her mind. I wished I was more like her, sometimes. Most of the time, actually. “Come on, let’s get a boat.”
As we walked down towards the edge of the water she said, “He’s good.”
“What do you mean?”
“I got no indication the two of you had sex from him. He’s good. I wonder how many other women he’s seduced.” She let that hang in the air. I’d had the same thought, but I didn’t want to say it aloud. That might make it real.
We picked out one of the canoes and dragged it off to the side. I was on the side facing up the hill and I could see Jace. He was talking to the hot woman in the cut-offs. She had a radiant smile as she looked at his face.
She kept touching him on the arm as they talked, and whatever he was saying must have been hilarious because she kept tossing her head back and laughing out loud. Or maybe she was just flirting and liked to toss her long, dark hair. She would be a brunette. It was further proof that I’d just been a fluke because he was drunk and I wasn’t his usual type.
I felt the twinge of jealousy in the pit of my stomach, although I knew in my heart that was just one more sin to add to the trail I was leaving of them lately.
“Hey! I’m talking to you,” I heard Carla say.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
She shook her head. “Baby girl, we all fall in love with our first. You won’t ever forget him and you might even be a little bit in love with him forever, but it doesn’t mean
he’s the right one for you. He’s super-hot and I’d do him, but, baby girl, you’ve got a conscience like no one else I know. It would eat you alive. Get over him and find a real man that you can be with and not feel bad about, okay?”
I nodded, feeling a lump in my throat. I knew she was right, not that he’s not a “real” man, he is…most definitely. But, I know what she meant. He’s not available and he never will be.
I didn’t really even know him. What I did know wasn’t good. He was worse than a guy who cheats on his wife or girlfriend. He cheated on God. He took vows and he broke them at least once. I should walk away quickly, lesson learned.
I glanced back over to where he and the pretty woman were getting their boat ready to go into the water. If I knew he was so bad for me, then why did my chest fill with want and need every time I looked at him? Hopefully, Carla was right and it’s just because he was my first. That infatuation would have to fade with time…wouldn’t it?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jace
After I made sure the rest of our group all had their canoes and each boat had at least one person in it who knew what they were doing, I put ours into the water and stepped in. Then, I reached out my hand and helped Lily step in.
As I did that my eyes caught Daphne’s. She was watching us. I made sure not to let go so quickly that Lily fell down again, but I didn’t hold onto her too long. I wondered what was going on behind Daphne’s blue eyes. Was she wondering if I slept with Lily, too? I wondered if I cared because I had to be careful, or because I didn’t want Daphne to think I wanted someone else.
“Okay, so do you want to paddle, too, or—” Lily jerked the paddle from my hand with a snort.
“Are you insinuating I’m not capable of paddling? Do you remember summer camp, sophomore year?”
I smiled. I did remember it. That was one of my favorite summers ever. We were sophomores in high school and we’d been dating for about six months at that time. That was a church trip, too. We canoed and hiked and had a campfire every night. It was a great time. It was the first time I told Lily that I loved her, too.
It was kind of a serious topic to get into right then, so trying to lighten the mood I said, “I remember. I remember that I brought two whole bags of marshmallows and you burnt them all to a crisp.”
Laughing at the memory, she said, “That’s the only way to eat a marshmallow! Those white squishy things are disgusting. But when you make them all black and crunchy…mmm, like heaven. They melt in your mouth.”
I rolled my eyes. “I like the puffy white goodness,” I told her.
“Do you remember that little cave we found?”
“Yeah,” I said, softly. “We carved our names into the wall.” She was purposely trying to take me back to the feelings I had for her. I wondered why.
“It was where you first told me you loved me.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I was so nervous about that. I wanted to tell you for weeks, but I was scared to death you would think that I was rushing things and I’d scare you away.”
As I recalled those times, the feelings I had for her seemed to be rushing back. Was that what she was looking for? Obviously, I didn’t still love her, but I could remember the feel and the taste of her lips the first time we kissed…and how badly I wanted to make love to her, even though it went against everything I believed in at that time.
I couldn’t help but wonder how I went from an idealistic young man that was so strong in his faith that he could turn down temptation to the point of losing his girlfriend who also happened to be his best friend…to a priest who had sex with a stranger. And now, looking at Lily, I was wondering what it might be like to have sex with her. Jesus, I’m a mess.
“It didn’t scare me,” she said. “I wanted to hear it, so bad. I already knew I loved you. You were hard to get over, Jace.”
She looked sad, and I got that old familiar rush of feelings I used to get each time I told her that I wouldn’t compromise my beliefs and have sex with her. “I’m sorry, Lily. I truly am. I’m sorry that I hurt you. I was so confused back then. I felt the calling, but I also felt so much for you. It was a daily struggle, trust me.”
She sucked in a deep breath and said, “You know what? Let’s not talk about that today. It’s so pretty out here. Let’s stick to remembering the good times…like that time we went swimming at midnight in the Charles River?”
That one was like a zinger, straight to the libido that was already stretched almost to its limits. I really thought she was doing it on purpose. “Yeah, that was another unforgettable trip. If I recall, one of us went skinny dipping that night.”
“It would have been two of us, if one of us hadn’t been so stubborn.”
I grinned. “It was damned tempting…which was exactly what you were going for.”
She stopped paddling and leaned in close to my face. For a second, I thought she might kiss me. I had to wonder why I was just sitting there, waiting for it. She didn’t kiss me, but she was definitely flirting as she said,
“You’re right; I was like Eve trying to tempt Adam into taking a bite of the apple. I wanted you so badly… I would have done just about anything to get you to make love to me.”
My blood felt like it had been heated to the boiling point. My heart was hammering against the inside wall of my chest. I could feel sweat accumulating across my brow, and things that shouldn’t be rising, were nearing half-mast. I could barely breathe until she finally sat back in her seat and began paddling again.
I wanted to close my eyes and pray. I needed some kind of guidance here, and I needed so much more strength if I was going to keep resisting temptation. I wondered if this was a test. Is the Lord testing my faith? Have I already failed in my carnal thoughts alone?
I had repented over sleeping with Daphne, but my thoughts had remained impure since that night and God knows what those are, even if no one else does. I’d dreamt of Daphne every night, and I thought about her at least 20 times a day. Not even Lily ever had that kind of effect on me.
I glanced around at the people who had come out for the trip. They all looked up to me, they respected me, and they expected me to be who I was supposed to be. They expected me to be pure enough to lead them, but instead, I was leading at least one of them, astray.
Ryan was right about one thing: I always tried to be what others wanted me to be. I always felt like I was failing miserably, too.
My eyes found Daphne. She and her friend were talking and laughing as they paddled. Something about her tugged at me deep in my soul. It wasn’t sex…or at least it wasn’t “just” sex. There was something in her eyes that reminded me of myself. That lost part of my soul that was aching to belong, but suspecting that I never would.
“Hey! Did you hear me?” Lily was looking at me strangely.
“No, I’m sorry. I was going over next Sunday’s sermon in my head.” I’d have to do one about fidelity so that I wasn’t both lying and having sex. Oh hell, I’d already been lying…about having sex. What a freaking mess. “What did you say?” Focus, Jace!
“Just that I missed those times we used to have. I miss my best friend. I haven’t had one since that I was able to talk to and had so much fun with.”
I smiled. “I feel the same way.” That part was true. She was my friend, and we did have a great time together. “The hardest part about losing you was losing that closeness we always just seemed to have right from the beginning.”
She put her hand on my arm in a “friendly” gesture…and then she stroked my skin with her thumb and said, “I’d really like to have some of those good times again.” That touch crossed the line between friendly and flirty.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Daphne
“Who do you think she is?” I couldn’t stop watching Jace with that woman. It was like rubber-necking a wreck on the freeway.
Carla rolled her eyes. “I thought you were going to forget about him.”
“I will…tomorrow. Who do you think s
he is? Maybe she’s his sister.” I was actually hoping that wasn’t true. That would just be gross.
Carla laughed at that. “Now you’re just trying to fool yourself. Come on, you know she’s not acting at all ‘sisterly.’”
Right. I knew that.
“No, but he’s not acting ‘fatherly,’ either. Look at them, laughing like two kids. She’s still touching him with every other word, too. Jeez, this is a church trip, get a grip!”
“It’s a good thing you look good in green, girl.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“Yes, you are. Let it go, baby girl. You’re going to get hurt.”
“I’m letting it go. I’m just curious about the company my priest is keeping, that’s all.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
I looked back at Jace. She’s right. I am lying through my teeth. I’m so jealous of the woman with Jace I can hardly see straight.
God, I have to get over him. If he’s seducing women, it’ll come out and there will be a scandal. I don’t want to be a part of that. That’s the last thing I need. I need to put distance between myself and him before that happens… And before my heart explodes because right now, it feels like it’s going to.
“Oh my God! Daph! We’re going to hit the rocks!” Carla screamed at me, and I looked over my shoulder. There was a clump of big rocks that I hadn’t even seen. I’d been too busy mooning over Jace. Is this my punishment? I’m going to die in the Boston Harbor so God can judge me to my face?
I got a grip at last and said, “Quick! Paddle left, Carla!” She started paddling frantically, and so did I. Our screams had drawn the attention of the rest of the canoers and I saw Jace paddling furiously towards us. He’d taken the paddle away from his girl and looked frantic.
“We’re going to hit them!” Carla yelled.
“Let go of your paddles and hang on,” I told her.
“What about you?”
“Just do it!” Carla put her paddle down and grabbed onto the seat with two hands. My plan was to use my paddle to push off against the rocks and keep us from hitting them. It was a decent plan…I thought.
