Tennessee Heat

by Cami York

  When he climbed into the driver’s seat she finally turned to him, “I have to go home, I have to get clothes, I didn’t buy anything because I didn’t think I was going to school this semester…”

  She went on and on about what she had to do before the next day and Chase just nodded where it was needed but didn’t bother telling her to calm down again, it was no use.

  He took her back to his favorite place where they had a nice meal before taking her back to her old home to grab some clothes. “Wait, I didn’t ask, am I staying with you? How long am I staying with you?” He reached over and brushed her hair with his hand.

  “Forever!”

  “But we didn’t talk about it, me moving in I mean.” She bit into her lip and to head her off Chase pulled a fast one. “Why don’t we do this? Why don’t you go grab whatever you need and we’ll talk about it at home.”

  Annabelle was too excited to think about anything else right now so she nodded her head and waited for him to come around the car and let her out. Something he told her is a must.

  Annabelle, leaving him standing next to the car, made her way to her mother's door. She knew there were eyes on her, and wondered whether they would have a repeat of the other night. But as she picked her head up and looked around the street she saw Tim coming the opposite way. Her heart dropped and she couldn’t for the life of her understand why she was feeling guilty.

  She turned the key in the door quickly, and dropped it in her haste. Chase who had been watching her this whole time thought she was just over excited and didn’t give it a second thought.

  Annabelle wondered if Tim had seen her or was even now coming towards her but when she looked down the street again he was nowhere to be seen. She breathed a sigh of relief at her easy escape and was finally able to open the door and step inside.

  Annabelle knew she was in for it as soon as she saw the condition of her mother. In her new excitement she’d forgotten all about the other woman and the fact that she had the ability to suck the life and joy right out of her in a matter of minutes.

  “Mom, what’s going on? Why are you sitting there like that?”

  “You finally come home at last, you…you tramp!” Snarled Mrs. Scacci, as Annabelle stepped away from the door and entered the room.

  “What's the matter, mother? I left you a note.”

  “Matter! What the hell could be the matter with me having a no good ungrateful shit like you for a daughter.” As her voice raised in anger Annabelle hoped and prayed that Chase couldn’t hear it outside.

  “Go fuck yourself that’s what’s the matter. You disappear for days and now waltz back in my house asking me this shit? Nice way to treat me after all the sacrifices I made.” She stopped long enough to take a drag from her cigarette and blow smoke.

  “I coulda died and you wouldn’t even know it. I shoulda never let you go to that school with all them snooty people. Now you think you’re better than me.”

  “What's up now?” Annabelle rolled her eyes wishing she was the type to just walk away.

  “Don't say shit to me; I don't wanna hear shit you have to say. Leaving me all alone, knowing I have arthritis and how I can’t do much for myself in this heat.”

  “I’ve been sick with headaches all weekend. And my head's been simply splitting all morning, so bad I thought I was gonna die. And when I woke up there's no one to even get me a cup a coffee.”

  “I laid here waiting and waiting for you to come home, I haven’t had a thing to eat in days. I finally had to go next door and beg for a cup a sugar to get me something hot to drink.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, mother; but I did leave you a note and since you’re never home on the weekends anyway I didn’t think you’d notice that I was gone. You have my number, why didn’t you call me?”

  Annabelle was sure that was because this little impromptu act had been thought up in the last five seconds when her mother heard the key in the door. She was sure by the line of empty bottles at her mother’s feet that the only thing the woman had felt all weekend was relief that her nagging daughter wasn’t here to keep her from having a good time.

  “Why should I have to call you? If you cared anything about me you should’ve called and checked to see if I was okay. For all I know you could’ve run off somewhere for good… I don’t understand why you treat me this way.”

  “Mom, I don’t treat you bad, now stop it.” Annabelle tried to keep an even tone because she knew there was going to be hell to pay when she walked out the door again.

  “Oh, you're the worst daughter any mother could have and after all the suffering I did to bring you into this world. You was a burden when you were born, and you've been one ever since.”

  Annabelle knew that talking to her mother when she was like this was pointless and she didn’t want Chase standing around out there any longer than was necessary so she headed into her room to grab some more clothes for the following week.

  She’d decided she’d go shopping for new clothes next weekend when she had time. As soon as she came out of the room and her mother’s eyes lit on the bag she had slung over her shoulder, she opened her mouth to cut the other woman off before she could start in again.

  “Mom, I start school Tomorrow I’ll call you and let you know all about it.” It felt strange saying those words to her mother. This is something they should’ve sat down and discussed like rational adults. But she knew that was a lost cause.

  “Where you off to now again? I did everything for you and now in my old age, when I've worked myself to the bone, you gonna leave me to starve to death.” She began to cry, her words becoming jumbled. But Annabelle had seen it all before and wasn’t about to fall for it this time.

  “I’ll call you later mother.” She opened the door and walked out and it felt like she was leaving a very dark part of herself behind. Her only hope was that she didn’t fall flat on her face and have to come crawling back.

  Chase had heard the tint of voices coming through the door but couldn’t hear what was being said. It had taken all his will power not to approach the door and get her the hell outta there. He knew the bare bones about her mom from his sister and from reading between the lines whenever Annabelle spoke of the other woman.

  As someone who came from a loving home with a supportive family, it was hard for him to wrap his head around the woman’s issues, but she was after all, Annabelle’s mom, and no matter what she was, she was due respect.

  But he knew without a doubt that had she tried to keep her daughter here he would’ve fought her tooth and nail. Now as Annabelle opened the door and walked out, he met her halfway and took the bag from off her shoulders.

  She looked a little less gleeful than before but he figured he could fix that as soon as they got home. It was a day for celebration and he wasn’t about to let her mother or anyone else put a damper on it.

  Least of all the idiot guy who’d walked around his car and stared him in the face as if to intimidate him. Once he heard one of the other upstanding citizens call out to the buffoon he caught on quick.

  And remembering the story of how this Tim had been the one to come to her rescue, the one who claimed she was his, hated his guts on sight. Not for saving her of course, but for daring to claim his woman as his.

  25

  And so began a time of love and joy, a time of exhilaration Annabelle never thought to have, and something Chase had been planning for since the first time he met her and fell in love. He’d always dreamed of sharing this life with her, but his dream was far outshone by the reality.

  Once the school day was over on the days she didn’t have to work, as soon she had finished her homework, Annabelle would make dinner, or since it was still hot in Tennessee while the rest of the country was staring fall hard in the face, she’d pack a picnic basket for them to enjoy in the park not too far from Chase’s place.

  Sometimes she’d walk down there to meet him if he was running late, but most evenings he’d swing by the house to pick her up.
That way he could change out of his suit and tie.

  They would lie down on the blanket they’d spread on the grass beneath one of the huge magnolia trees the park was known for, wrapped in each other's arms, and wile away the long late summer evenings.

  As late afternoon turned to early evening the heat of the day would dissipate and there would be a nice cool breeze in the park. They would just sit there gazing at the stars as they begun to fill the sky, enjoying the fresh air and being together.

  It seemed so far away from her old life, from everything she once knew; it was so quiet and cool, safe. And Annabelle, as she lay in Chase’s arms, felt her love for him overflowing. Her life had changed so much and all for the better, ever since she decided to take a chance.

  Ms. Scacci was still being a pain, begging her to come home, and it only got worse once Chase talked Annabelle into moving in with him for good. It had taken a lot of doing, but in the end he’d convinced her that it was the best move for her, period.

  It really hadn’t taken that much effort, Annabelle just didn’t want to appear too needy. But even with all her fears she knew that a love like this might not come around again in this lifetime. And because he was so good to her, she found it hard to hold onto her misgivings.

  Besides, she was in school now, taking that much needed step towards her future. A school that had accepted her scholarship for the next four years. And though she’d cut down on her hours, she still had a job, and had even garnered a raise in the last few weeks.

  So things were really looking up for her, and after years spent cooped up in the rundown apartment she’d shared with her mother, these outings to the park had fast become the highlight of her day.

  And because Chase knew how much she loved it, he put everything else aside and took her there almost every evening. They would stay until the stars appeared, one by one, in the perfect sky, till it grew late and the blue darkened into black, and the sky was blanketed by the sparkling gems of the night.

  But as the nights grew cooler, and she started shivering he put his foot down. She’d have to find something else she likes to do just as much, he didn’t want her getting sick. So her new thing was sitting out on the balcony outside their bedroom at night.

  The September rain made no difference to them; every evening after dinner they’d head out there to look at the skyline. Chase would take Annabelle on his knee, and, pulling the cashmere blanket he’d bought her over the front of her, wrap them both in a warm cocoon.

  Annabelle would always end up, with her arms around his neck, pressed very close to him, and they’d eventually get lost in a long passionate kiss that would sometimes go on forever.

  They hardly spoke at all on those evenings, because by then they’d both be starved for the taste of each other. Chase had come to see the evenings sitting out there with her as foreplay.

  Sometimes they wouldn’t exchange a word between them, but would sit for an hour with their lips locked together and his hand beneath the blanket hiding the fact that his fingers were inside her.

  By the end of the night Chase would lift his little lover into his arms and take her inside to his bed and give her his mouth before slipping into her body again. He’d long stopped thinking about condoms and knew he was playing a dangerous game.

  But selfishly, he hated the idea of having anything between them after taking her like this for so long. Sometimes he’d remember to pull out and cum on her stomach, or her ass if he was taking her from behind. But mostly he just spilled his seed inside the fertile young womb of his lover.

  Sometimes Annabelle would be so overtired from her day of studies that she’d fall asleep on his lap, and Chase would sit very still just looking down at her beauty and wondering how the hell he got so lucky.

  He knew that of the two of them, he was the one who hit the jackpot. That he saw in her, something that she herself has never been able to see. That the beauty that shines from her eyes, is only the half of it.

  So on those evenings that she fell asleep on his lap, he’d hold her close and gaze at her like a simpleton, feeling all the love he had inside for her wrap around his heart.

  Always when she woke up, she would smile into his eyes, and without fail he’d lean his head over and kiss her until they were both breathless. All their evenings pretty much ended the same, with him inside her.

  The only time the new lovers weren’t making love is when they were eating, sleeping or away from each other, he at work and she in school. Neither one had seen much of anyone else since she moved in.

  They were very happy but the days passed by way too quickly, and pretty soon it was time for Thanksgiving. Annabelle had a new dilemma. Even though she hated the idea of not being with Chase the thought of her mother alone and drunk on the holiday made her feel like the horrible daughter her mother was always accusing her of being.

  Chase was not having it! “It’s our first Thanksgiving together babe, no way are we spending it apart. Why don’t you invite your mom to my parents’ place. I haven’t had the chance to meet her as yet, now would be as good a time as any.”

  That’s because each time he brought up the idea Annabelle always had an excuse at the ready. Chase knew it was because she was ashamed of her mom, and more of where she came from. But he could’ve told her that none of that mattered.

  Still, he knew that she would have to come to that realization on her own. He’d even played around with the idea of going to see the other woman on his own, but he knew Annabelle wouldn’t like that so he held off.

  But now the question of where she was going to have Thanksgiving was about to cause an argument he was sure. They hadn’t had one in a long time anyway, so he was more than ready for her when she woke up that Wednesday morning with her shit.

  “But it’s just another day. We spend every day together.”

  “Shh, don’t let mom hear you say that. She lives for the holidays. It gives her a chance to run roughshod over the men in the family and drag out every decoration she’s owned since the Pilgrims landed.”

  She laughed which is what he’d intended but the issue was far from over. Annabelle wanted so badly to spend their first holiday as a couple together, but that ingrained guilt wasn’t that easy to overcome.

  Chase wasn’t even willing to give even an inch on this one though, so none of her usual ploys were going to work. She tried sex, pouting and sulking. But each time he passed her he’d just smack her playfully on the butt, kiss her cheek or forehead and go about his business.

  Tomorrow was the holiday and Chase’s family had a tradition that they all slept at the family home the night before. It was down to crunch time so at the last hour she gave in and called her mother with the invite.

  She was surprised and a tad bit distressed when her mother accepted. She felt sick to her stomach when she hung up the phone after giving her mother directions. “Chase!” This time her whine was genuine.

  “I know baby come here!” He pulled her into his arms and held her close. “It’s going to be fine.” He too had his reservations about meeting her mother for the first time under such circumstances, but it beat the alternative.

  That day Chase only worked half a day and Annabelle had no classes scheduled, so they tried to beat traffic for the half an hour ride to his family home in the early afternoon. They were both excited but for different reasons.

  Chase couldn’t wait to show off his girl as officially his, and Annabelle couldn’t wait to see what a real Thanksgiving looked like. She knew it was silly to imagine it was like those shows she’d seen on T.V. as a child, but the big mansion, the close knit family, it was hard not to weave those dreams inside her head.

  It’s only as they drew up to the door that her nervousness set in. She’d been to this home countless times, but this was the first time she was walking through those doors as his official girlfriend.

  It’s not the first time that Chase had been back to see his parents since she moved in of course, but she’d always found
an excuse or was at work when he came over. Somehow he never tried to force her, because he’d already learned that his girl needed to do things at her own pace.

  So now as he let her out of the car and held her hand in his before opening the door and walking in, she trembled. “We’re here!”

  26

  Annabelle’s knees started knocking together when she heard his mom’s yell of surprise followed by a laugh and feet rushing towards them.

  She was even more surprised when the other woman wrapped her arms around her in a hug before putting her away from her. “I declare, I saw you more when you were just Kimmy’s friend than I do now that you’re my daughter in law.”

  She was dragged off to the kitchen, looking back over her shoulder at a grinning Chase who waved his fingers at her. He knew what she was in for, she didn’t. It took her all of five minutes to realize that there was a whole other side to this family that she’d never seen in the two years that she’d been coming here.

  “Kimmy’s not here yet, Colin’s picking her up at the airport any minute now. That Emory after all these years of playing possum with Justine is now attached to her at the hip. Come in here and help me with these pecan pies, you bake?”

  She never got a word in edgewise and it was marvelous. For the next hour she was let in on more family secrets, mostly to do with the Worthington children, things she never knew a thing about. And she realized that as much of a friend as Kimmy was to her, the girl had known how to keep her family business just that.

  Not that she herself had been quick to share details of her home life. But she found it fascinating that there was so much going on that she knew nothing about.

  She’d always seen the family interactions but somehow today there seemed to be something a little bit more, something that she now felt a part of. That’s it; she was now a part of this amazing dynamic and it felt almost like too much.

  When Chase’s dad came upstairs from his home office and greeted her, not as the friend of his daughter, but the woman his son was dating, she knew then that things had really changed, and more, that she’d been accepted.