Last Chance

by Castronaro, Kyleigh

  “What the hell…”

  Her head snapped up at the voice, turning to look at Shep who was standing in the doorway torn between looking amused and concerned. His face shifted between the two emotions before he finally managed a grin.

  "I find it hard to believe a little thing like you did something big enough to block that. Plus, I can't imagine you would stick your hand into the toilet if it were that. What’s the problem?”

  He walked tentatively into the bathroom, trying to sidestep the water but it was everywhere. It was hard to avoid. One glance into the toilet bowl though and he knew what she was trying to flush.

  “Oh, Honey, darling.” He laughed as he spoke, grabbing her elbow and gently pulling her hand out of the mess she had created.

  “No, don’t touch me, Shep Wheeler.” She said his name with an accusatory edge as she stepped back and frowned, as much as he imagined she was capable of, putting her hands on her hips.

  He decided that this position did not help her in trying to look assertive, he found it cuter.

  “Alright, I won’t touch.” He reached out instead for the plunger, submerging it as he began to work at the toilet to retrieve his address book.

  At this point, his goal was to clear the mess out and stop the water from causing any more damage. With the help of the plunger, he was able to suck most of the book out of the hole it was lodged in. Reaching in to retrieve it, Shep tossed what little remained into the garbage bin.

  As he straightened out, he looked over at Honey with another smirk before walking out of the bathroom and pulled his t-shirt over his head. It landed on top of the pile of his ever-growing dirty laundry before he undid his jeans and pushed them over his hips.

  Honey watched from the bathroom, unable to take her eyes off his back and how his muscles seemed to dance under his skin with every motion. She swallowed hard, turning her chin up and stared at the ceiling to try and cool herself off.

  “I want to talk about this, Shep.”

  “Alright, let’s talk.”

  He sat down on the bed, lifting one leg up onto his knee to undo his boots, kicking it off as he eased his jeans over his feet. He managed to get everything off and leaned back on his hands, looking over at her.

  “What was that?”

  “I think you know what it was.”

  “Fine, why did you have it?”

  “What was I supposed to do with it?”

  “I don’t know, but we’re together. If we’re together, you shouldn’t have it.”

  “Honey, I wasn’t using it.”

  “I don’t know that.”

  She stepped out of the bathroom finally and leaned against the threshold as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her entire stance was defensive, she was hurting, and for all his smarts Shep had no idea why she was letting herself get so caught up about this.

  “I swear to you I wasn’t, it’s an address book. I didn’t need it anymore, but I didn’t have a chance to throw it out.”

  "Why was it on your bedside table!" She lost her temper and shouted, swinging her hands freely and smacked them right against the wall. She hissed in pain, pulling the hurt hand up to her mouth and holding it there protectively.

  “Well, there’s not a whole lot of places to put it in here.”

  "The garbage Shep, put it in the garbage!"

  He sighed, rising from the bed and crossing toward her. She knew what he was about to do, so she took a swing despite the throbbing in her knuckles. Shep caught her hand, twisting her so she couldn't get another hit in and held her tight against his chest. She struggled against the hold, fighting him until the fight died out of her. She went slack in his arms and exhaled slowly, hanging her chin against his chest.

  “You don’t need those other girls, Shep.”

  “No, you’re right, I don’t. I have you.”

  She exhaled, finally tilting her head back to face him as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Resting her chin on his chest once more she looked up at him, wide-eyed and beautiful as ever. Shep reached out, brushing her hair out of her eyes before leaning down and kissing her forehead.

  "You clogged my toilet." He laughed, closing his eyes as he shook his head. "You tried to flush an address book, you crazy woman."

  She finally laughed as well, cupping his face as she managed a half-hearted shrug.

  “Did you really think you could flush it?” He opened his eyes again to look down at her once more.

  “I don’t know what I was thinking. I wanted to get rid of it before you got back and the only way I knew how to was with the toilet.”

  “The only way? Does that mean you flush a lot of things down the toilet?”

  “What? No, I meant…” Honey didn’t know what she meant, so she laughed and covered her face. She pulled away from his embrace, stepping back toward the bed. She sat down, running her hands over her tanned legs as she chewed on her lip. Something was still going on in that lovely head of hers.

  Shep frowned, walking over to her and sat at her side. He reached out, laying his hand on top of hers.

  “I know I’m your first real boyfriend. I know that knowing there was a ‘before’ for me is stressful for you, that my track record speaks for itself and you’re afraid of not being able to live up to it. But you don’t have to. I’m not asking you to.”

  Honey opened her mouth like she was ready to speak, he shook his head to silence her, “you don’t have to defend yourself. I understand. But I want you to know I meant what I said - I do love you, and that means a lot. I don’t have any plans to screw this up. I might’ve still had that book, but none of the names in it meant anything to me. Only one girl means something to me.”

  He pushed her hair out of her eyes once more, letting his fingertips run along the edge of her ear slowly as he whispered, “you.”

  Chapter 18

  1989

  Love filled her eyes as she looked up at him, leaning into his touch until their lips met. The hand by her ear slid into her blonde hair, holding the back of her head as his lips parted hers and his tongue brushed against the roof of her mouth sending a flood of butterflies flapping through her stomach. He was already nearly naked, and she reached out, running her hand along his warm, firm skin suggestively.

  It traveled the length of his torso, tracing every inch she could, as her body pulled towards his like a magnet. His free hand reached for her jean shorts, undoing the button and the short zipper followed. With reluctance he let go of his hold on her, grabbing her by the waist instead and lifting her until he was able to deposit her onto the mattress. He pulled at the jeans, guiding them down her legs and bringing her panties with them.

  Honey rose slightly, watching with curiosity as Shep guided her legs apart, stroking the soft inside of her thigh with his knuckles before he eased them down onto the bed as well. He pulled himself between her thighs as he smirked at her before kissing the sensitive flesh exposed to him.

  Since the night they'd spent in her bed, and their weekend away, they hadn't found another chance to be together alone since he lived here on the farm with other guys and she was at home with her parents. Shep promised to rectify that soon enough, usually amidst a burst of laughter when she tried to tackle him into the bushes with kisses and roaming hands. Shep taught her that there were other ways to seek out pleasure without using a bed and she happily learned from him, absorbing everything he had to offer.

  Her eyes closed, and she danced away into a haze of bliss, followed by waves of pleasure. When they had finished, they lay panting on the bed, both slick and sticky from their lovemaking. But they were content, and all feelings of insecurity had evaporated from Honey’s mind.

  “That was better than the date night I had in mind.” She spoke sleepily, her eyes still closed as she smiled, kissing his shoulder.

  “Date night?” Had he forgotten plans they had made?

  “Well, I thought we could do something tonight.”

  “Oh, well, tonight is poker night with
the guys.”

  “Poker?”

  "Yeah, every week we go to Jeremy's, and I take them for all they're worth."

  “I didn’t know you were still playing.”

  “Oh, I don’t play. I win.” His tone was arrogant, laced with a hint of self-satisfaction as he opened his eyes to look down at her.

  "Could I come tonight?" Shep made a noise that seemed to cross between a hum and hesitancy. Poker night generally also meant guy's night, there had never been a girl there from what he could tell. He also didn't know how the guys would react to her presence. Honey had this air of mystery amongst the local boys, and most of them had been genuinely surprised she was dating Shep. Whatever story there was behind that he didn't know, nor did he bother to ask.

  She could tell he was struggling with an answer and despite herself, she felt a sudden wave of insecurity. Was there a reason he wouldn't want her to come?

  “Well, I guess you can. Do you know how to play poker?”

  "No, but I can be your good luck charm." She stroked her hand down his abs enticingly moving southward, and he chuckled.

  "Alright, you come and be my good luck charm." He finished off the word with a hum as her hand found him, teasing the muscle into rigidity once more.

  The door opened on them, this time with Honey on top, hands pressed to his chest and Rick stood in the threshold gaping at the scene in front of him. His eyes seemed glued to Honey and Shep felt a surge of protective anger flood through him as he flipped her off of him, wrapped her in a blanket and stood all in one sweep of a gesture.

  “Get out!”

  "Right, sorry!" Rick stammered, propelling backward from the room like Shep’s command moved him. The door closed quickly after that and Shep turned back to Honey who had gone a distinct shade of pink.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Oh, yeah… Fine.” She was quiet and unconvincing, so he sat on the edge of the bed and tentatively reached for her. “I guess this is why we’ve been holding off, roommate and all.”

  “Yeah,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m sorry about that. I’ll talk to him.”

  “It’s fine.”

  "It's really not, he's got a loud mouth, he'll be telling everyone at the Kee, so I'll need to sort that before the next dance."

  “Right, okay.” She had begun to move again, this time toward the end of the bed as she kept one arm wrapped tight against her chest holding the blanket in place. She bent over, reaching for her clothes and awkwardly attempted to put her clothing on under the cover. There was no going back from this now, she was apparently embarrassed, and he was mostly angry. Why did Rick have to come home right when he did?

  “There’s one more thing I wanted to ask you about,” Honey was bent over trying to shimmy her shorts back up her legs. Whipping her blonde hair to the side as she tilted to face him briefly, “Summer’s almost over.”

  It wasn’t a question, but the implication was there, so he nodded. Yes, summer was almost over, and while they had exchanged 'I Love Yous' and committed to a serious relationship for three months, he would soon be returning to the city. His stay with the Grants was limited, always had been.

  "I know, I wanted to talk to you about that. I know you were thinking of going to college and were planning to go to a local place, but I have a job in the city and an apartment, and I thought maybe…" He trailed off thoughtfully. Who was he to ask her to give up school for him? He loved her, and she did him, but they could wait, couldn’t they?

  He wanted to say yes, but there was a fear in him that if she weren't there with him, maybe he would fall back into his old ways. He had never been in a relationship this long, nor one as serious as this was.

  Chancing a glance her way she looked thoughtful for a moment as she rose finally, letting the blanket slip off her and revealing a fully covered body underneath.

  “You want me to move to the city with you?” She finally asked, reciting his words with an incredulous tone. He didn’t know if this was because she didn’t think he would ask such a thing or if maybe it was the mere idea of moving to the city. After all, he knew she had lived in Pleasant Lake her entire life. She was a country girl through and through, would she last in the city?

  “Could I think about it?” She finally asked, stepping away from the bed as she turned in front of him and looked down. Her hands rested on his shoulders, holding onto them before sliding up his neck and her thumb rubbed against his pulse slowly.

  “Sure, it’s a big question. And we have a few more weeks still, plenty of time to answer.”

  "Okay," she said again. The word was a crutch, the only thing that made sense to her right now as her thoughts swam with everything that had transpired in only a short hour. She needed to go home and sift through the wreckage in her mind, figure out what she wanted and hopefully come up with an answer to Shep's proposal. No, request. He hadn't proposed, she reminded herself. Although moving in together, living alone together, had the ring of a couple who would be getting engaged.

  “Okay,” he agreed, kissing her once more. “I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

  “Yes,” she agreed, pulling her hands slowly from his face as she nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Until tomorrow.”

  Chapter 19

  2019

  Shep finished up with the emails, having kindly apologized for the short notice to his date and offered to reschedule for the next weekend. He hoped she didn’t think he was too rude, but then again, he wouldn’t be terribly heartbroken if she got back to him with a resounding ‘No.’

  When he walked into the kitchen, Adam had managed to make a tea for himself and was reading something on his phone.

  “You know, you and your sister are pressuring me to date. But shouldn’t I be saying something like ‘Adam, you’re almost thirty. You haven’t had a serious girlfriend since college. What is going on there?’

  Adam looked up, and the expression on his face looked like sheer horror. It surprised Shep who quickly frowned and shook his head.

  "It's just a joke, I know you'll meet some nice girl eventually. You're focusing on your career," he repeated the same words his son had once told him a few years ago. Of course, Shep thought his career was fairly established at this point, but he wasn't the type to actually pressure his son to marry. If today was any indication, he clearly remembered what it was like to be young, single and free.

  "You probably shouldn't have jumped the gun and canceled that date tonight; the winemaker might not even get back to you in time to meet up today."

  “She said she was in the city,” he said with a shrug, “my guess is she’ll check her email shortly to follow up and see what I said. Anyways, don’t worry about me.”

  "Hard not to, what with you living in this big old house by yourself."

  “I do just fine thank you.” He sat down opposite his son, looking him over and still wondering why he didn’t have a partner yet. He was a good-looking boy and if he could online date, his thirty-year-old son could.

  “So, Honey, what happened next?”

  "Well, the summer went on. We fell further into love, spent all our time together, made big plans like we could picture our lives together and all the while the end of summer was looming like a shadow just around the corner. We both knew it was there, we just didn't want to acknowledge it." Shep thought about how happy those last few weeks in Pleasant Lake had been. He had been so unaware of how serious everything was going to turn around and be by the time summer's end came.

  “And while it felt like we had forever, we didn’t have as much time as we figured.”

  * * *

  1989

  Childhood summertime always seems so long but once grown; it goes by in a flash. Shep and Honey found the same to be true for them. The weeks blurred together as days were spent tending to the work on the farm and the nights were spent at the Kee, walking hand in hand or going out of town for another fancy dinner when Shep felt like spoiling her again.


  The day after the toilet incident, Mr. Grant thanked the summer workers for their hard work. It had been the best year to date. Everyone, he admonished, was such a hard and respectable worker he would be proud to offer a letter of recommendation for any of them.

  But, unfortunately, he would have to terminate the contracts a few weeks early. There wasn't enough work left to justify keeping the number of staff he had.

  Most people were happy for the extra three weeks' vacation, for Shep and Honey, this only meant that their limited time had now run out. Grabbing his lunch bag from off the top of the well, he nodded at her before making his way down the path beyond the acres of land owned by the Grants toward the river that ran through the property feeding into the namesake lake.

  There was a fishing hut on the river, owned by locals who used it to dip fish that made a nice spot to sit and eat. Crouching down on the ledge, Shep sat before rolling the legs of his pants up and untying his boots to free his feet. Honey was climbing up onto the hut as he slid his feet into the cold water with a soft sigh.

  "Shame about the work," she said casually as she sat down next to him.

  "Shame mostly about having to leave sooner," he replied, peeling open the bag Mrs. Grant had packed for everyone that morning, same as she did every day. "Did you know?"

  She looked up at him thoughtfully, shaking her head finally. “I suspected, based on what I overheard at the dinner table. But I didn’t know anything for certain.” She reached down and opened her lunch bag, pulling food out carefully. “Your offer…” Honey began, not looking at him as she rolled a peach between her hands. “Does it still stand?”

  "Of course," he looked over at her as he undid the wax paper on his sandwich at the same time, "you said you needed time to think, I was planning on giving that to you."