by Hailey Smoke
After dinner, we mingled just enough before Juliet slipped away to the suite. I showed my face for another half an hour or so before managing to slip away. I walked as slowly as possible so as not to appear anxious to get to my room. But inside I was eager. As soon as the elevator opened on my floor, I dashed down the corridor. Even as I inserted the keycard, the door swung open, and I was grabbed by the collar and hauled inside by a very naked Juliet.
“What took you so long?” She jumped onto me, wrapping her legs around me and peppering my face with kisses. A few minutes later, my clothes lay scattered around the living room, and I had her pinned beneath me on the bed.
That night we made love until the first pink tinges of dawn touched the sky. It was almost as if our libido knew no limits. We reveled in the freedom of being with each other as we knew the restrictions we would face when we returned home. It felt as if we were two star-crossed lovers who had been given a scant thirty-six hours, and we tried to make every minute count.
We barely made the noon check-out. We stopped for lunch at the restaurant we had gone to on Friday night. We had slept through the breakfast service and were ravenous. After lunch, we reluctantly turned in the direction of home. All too soon, we were within the city limits. I watched as Juliet’s face grew longer and longer until we pulled into the mechanic’s parking lot. She was almost in tears as I turned off the engine and faced her.
“I know, darling. I don’t want the weekend to end either. But we will figure this out, I promise.”
She nodded and swallowed hard. I climbed out of the cab and went around to open her door. I wanted so badly to press her against the side of the truck, but we were on familiar ground with familiar eyes around. We had to be discreet.
We walked around to the side of the shop and found an attendant there. We explained who we were, and he handed over the spare key. The car was under a cover as per our request, just in case anyone came by and recognized Juliet’s car. I waited for the attendant to take off the cover and for Juliet to get in and drive off the lot. She stopped by the truck to collect her bag. Again, the temptation to even hug her was strong, but just then, a line of vehicles drove along the street. We simply could not risk it. I followed her as she drove, as usual. When she got to her gate, I stopped behind her, waiting for the gate to swing open. I was about to wind down my window and blow her a kiss as she looked back, but then I saw an older gentleman with fiery red hair. Shit! Her father. I sped away as soon as I saw her turn into the driveway, and the gate began to close.
As soon as I got home and greeted my parents, I hightailed it to my room. I felt like a teenager with his first girlfriend, rather than a grown man in his thirties. I pulled out my cell phone.
Dear. I’m sorry I sped away like I did. Was that your dad in the driveway?
A few moments later, my phone chimed.
Yes, it was. He wondered who was following me and was about to draw his gun! I told him you were just making sure I got home okay without an accident since we were tired and had been on the road for hours.
Okay, sweetie. I miss you already, Juliet.
Sigh! Oh, Henry! I miss you too!
With working in the same office, we have to be discreet. This weekend was a magical one.
Yes, it was. I’m going to have dinner, love. I’ll text you when I’m done.
I sat pondering the sudden turn my life had taken. I realized that I, Henry Arleigh, had gone and fallen head over heels in love with the enemy Juliet Hudson. What a dilemma!
11
Juliet
Rest well, baby. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing you bright and early.
I sighed as I responded to Henry’s goodnight text with one of my own. It was hard to believe that so much had changed between us in two days. We had gone from being enemies to lovers in the space of a few weeks. But the intensity of what I was feeling for Henry was not a regular roll in the hay. I had known that there was something almost magical about that very first collision at the door. And despite the issues between our families and the hostile foot on which we had started, I had always felt that attraction to him. It had only gotten stronger with each passing day, and primarily after we had brokered our truce. Then he had kissed me, and every barrier I had erected to protect myself from falling for Henry Arleigh, had come crashing down. It had been inevitable that my heart was going to become entangled with him.
I had known we would cross that bridge. I just hadn’t known when it would happen. For some reason, I had seen it happening after our professional obligations had been fulfilled, and I had graduated and was no longer a student. But this weekend had come out of the left field. We had personified Carpe Diem, and I had not regretted one moment. From the moment we had kissed at the pier on Friday, I had wanted it to happen. And when he had looked at me with those piercing eyes, I had no choice but to submit.
Yes. I was completely head over heels in love with Henry Arleigh, the enemy. And I did not give a damn. It would be mainly for his sake that I would be discreet. But I was ready to take out a billboard and make the announcement that ‘Juliet Hudson loves Henry Arleigh’. I could only imagine what the families would think. The only thing that held me back was not knowing how the gentleman in question felt about me.
I rolled over and placed my phone on the night table. I turned off the lamp and lay staring into the darkness. Last night this time, I was spread out underneath Henry with his body deep in mine. Tonight I was alone and empty. It was frightening how much could change in twenty-four hours.
With a heavy sigh, I rolled over and punched my pillow, forcing myself to sleep. Long moments later, I fell into a fitful slumber.
The next morning I arrived a few minutes before eight-fifteen. I was eager to see Henry. When he walked in at eight-fifteen, he did a double-take when he saw me already at my desk.
“Good morning, Professor Arleigh.”
I saw his face drop at the formal greeting. He cleared his throat.
“Good morning, Miss Hudson.”
“I trust that you had a great weekend, sir?” I pursed my lips innocently and batted my eyes flirtatiously.
He caught on, and a grin split his face. “It was a wonderful weekend. A spectacular weekend. A marvelous weekend.”
I got up from my desk and went to stand in front of him. I ran my finger along the lapel of his jacket. “And what, pray tell, made it so wonderful, spectacular and marvelous?”
He took a deep breath and held my gaze with his. “I found myself in the presence of the woman of my dreams. She had been here for the past few weeks, and I have been skirting around the issue.” He pulled me into his arms then, and I placed my arms around his neck. “But this weekend, the opportunity presented itself for me to let her know how I feel about her. I can only hope that, based on her response to me, that the feeling is mutual.”
I reached up and gave him a tiny peck on the lips, then pulled back. “I guarantee that she feels the same way.”
“Is what she feels for me, love? The same love I feel for her?”
My heart skipped a beat, and I felt my eyes grow misty. “Oh, Henry. I love you too.”
He crushed my lips with his as we held each other tight. When at last he pulled back, he pressed his forehead to mine, breathing deeply.
“Juliet, I love you, and I don’t care what our families want to say.”
“I don’t care what they want to say either. We will figure it out somehow.”
He took a deep breath and gave me a slight peck again before stepping away from me. He set up the coffee while I went back to my desk. He came to stand in his usual spot. He pitched his voice low, and I leaned forward to hear him better.
“There are several reasons why we have to be discreet, love. We know that the college policy speaks to fraternizing between staff and students as being strictly forbidden. It is even more delicate as I am your practicum supervisor, and it can be looked on as blackmail from either side.”
&nbs
p; “I graduate in five weeks.”
“Five of the longest weeks of our lives. We also have our families to consider.”
I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled.
“Juliet, as much as we want to put them all together in a barrel and roll them down a steep hill until they make up, we have to be discreet where they are concerned as well.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Henry? Do you see us together long term? Or is this just a fling? Will you be going back home after the project wraps up here?”
He was silent, and all that could be heard was the dripping of the coffee as it perked. My heart fell with a thud.
“To be honest, I’m still processing how I feel about you and the way it came out of nowhere. The reality of what we will have to do to be together has not yet set in. But trust me when I say that we will be together.”
I felt hope rise again. He felt the same way and wanted to be with me. I nodded in agreement.
“I want to be with you too. We will figure it out.”
We fell into a routine. By eight-fifteen each morning, we were both in office stealing kisses. We worked our schedules as usual but spent every free minute with each other in the office. It was not all romance and roses, though. We made serious headway with the project and were weeks ahead of schedule in terms of the final evaluation. Now, all we were doing was filling in the blanks with each passing week. We looked forward to Friday evenings when we stayed back a little later, ordered in and watched a movie or two.
One Friday, we got a little bit closer than usual, and the result was me bent over his desk while he pounded into me from behind. It was extra thrilling as we had to be utterly silent as we could not be sure if anyone was passing on the corridor and would hear suspicious sounds. I had to grit my teeth so hard to keep from moaning. He was not unaffected as he buried his face in my neck to stifle his groans as his body released into mine.
Then there was one night when I went out to meet him by the park. The minute we were in his truck, I was on top of him, riding him like a jockey rode a winning horse. As the weeks leading up to graduation ticked by, we became more and more desperate to be with each other. We were sneaking in kisses and sex anywhere and anytime we could. The end of the semester marked the end of the project and the end of his presence at Excelsior. And though, on the one hand, I would no longer be a student, the reality was that he would no longer be needed here and would be halfway across the country. It was a sticky situation any way we looked at it. I just tried to live in the moment each day and appreciate each day as it unfolded.
Classes came to an end, and exams loomed two weeks before graduation. The project was complete, and the final report printed and bound. All my research assignments had been handed in as well. I had done my last practicum class the week before and had been graded by a panel of external assessors. The preliminary grade was an A. Of course. I had also received word that I was the valedictorian. It was an exciting period of my life yet quite solemn. Henry and I still had no idea what we were going to do about our relationship and all the issues that came along with it.
On the second to last Monday in the semester, the first day of exams, Henry and I sat in the office staring at each other. At this time, we would have been in lectures. I sat at my desk, browsing while he fiddled with his phone. I heard my cellphone give a unique chime, and I looked up at him. He ignored me and kept looking down at his phone. I picked up the phone and opened the messages.
Hey, sexy.
I giggled and texted back.
Hey, stud!
Do you have any plans for this weekend?
I tilted my head to the side as I considered.
No. Do you?
I was wondering if you wanted to spend the weekend with me at Cove Villa. We could take off Friday morning and do the whole tourist scene. You game?
YES!!!
He threw his head back and laughed. “It’s a date, babes.” He blew a kiss across the room at me. I pretended to catch it and blew back one of my own. I could not wait for Friday to come. We both cooked up a story for the family. I was going to do ‘research’ while Henry was going to do and ‘evaluation’.
Cove Villa was a three-hour drive. We got an early start and were able to check in earlier than expected as our villa was ready. We closed the door and surfaced three hours later. We spent the afternoon at the beach before going back to our villa for a few more hours. That night we decided to go out for dinner and a movie. We found a quaint little restaurant and were standing in the foyer waiting to be seated. Henry had the grand idea of running across the street to the movie theatre to purchase the tickets so that we would not have to stand in line later on. We were about third in line, waiting to be seated. I hoped he would return before the hostess was ready for us. My phone rang, and I was in the process of digging for it when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
“That was qui-” the words froze on my lips as I looked up and saw not Henry, but my brother Christopher.
“So what menu items are you researching here, sis.?”
“Ummm. Ummm.” My heart started to race as I tried to think about how to get rid of my brother or at least give him the slip before Henry appeared. I prayed now that the ticket line would be long, and Henry would be delayed.
“Well?” Christopher arched an eyebrow at me. “Or maybe you’re here, three hours from home, on a weekend rendezvous. Hmmm?”
Before I could respond, I felt a familiar arm around my waist.
“Got them, babes.”
I felt as if I wanted the floor to open up and take me in. I watched my brother look Henry up and down, before turning to me.
“Is this who I think this is?”
Henry looked from me to Christopher. There was no denying the family resemblance. He stretched out his hand.
“You must be Chris.”
Christopher ignored Henry’s hand and looked at me with a weird gleam in his eye. He held his head down and chuckled.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He again looked Henry up and down, then walked away.
I watched him go with a sinking heart. Henry turned me in his arms and rubbed my back.
“Now we have a good reason to make sure we enjoy every moment of this weekend.”
“Christopher knows about us now. How can I enjoy the weekend?”
“Because it will be the last proverbial peace before the storm. When we get back home, all hell is sure to break loose.”
12
Henry
I looked at Juliet as we headed back home after our weekend away. After running into Christopher on Friday night, she had gone into a funk. I had managed to convince her that it made no sense to borrow from trouble before the time, and we were able to eke out some enjoyment from the rest of the week. We refused to speak about the inevitable. It was not until we drew closer and closer to home that we opened up the discussion to make some decisions for how we would approach the exposure of our relationship to our families. Juliet was for the direct approach of merely walking me into the house with her and introducing me. I reminded her that her father had a gun that he would more than likely use and claim that I was an intruder. I thought we should be more subtle and break it to our families at the weekly family dinner. We picked up her car from my mechanic as usual and set our game plan. Each day, however, we waited with bated breath for some indication from the Hudsons that the gig was up. She reported that it was business as usual. She also said that she had not heard from Christopher, and she was hesitant to call him. When we parted on Tuesday evening, it felt like we were both going to the gallows for our love. We reaffirmed our love for each other and declared that however our families felt we were going to be together.
One look at each other’s faces when we walked in on Wednesday morning told the tale of the disaster that was dinner. However, we had chosen to share the information, our families were now aware of our relationship. Each had asked how long the relationship had been going on. As Juliet and I compared what had
unfolded at each dinner, I couldn’t help but chuckle, then I started to laugh. Juliet looked at me as if I had gone crazy.
“This is no laughing matter, Henry. Our parents are hopping mad and threatening to throw everything at us, including the kitchen sink.”
I doubled over with laughter. “That’s what is so funny. It’s as if they both went to the same school for parents of star-crossed lovers. This could be lesson five: Threats to use to break up the lovers. We’ve been threatened with being disinherited by them and exposed to the college. Yours have said they will tell the college that I forced you to have sex with me if you wanted to maintain your A grade for the practicum. Mine said they would tell the college you seduced me to get an A. It’s just uncanny how close their threats are.” I pulled Juliet to my side. “Chin up, my love. Graduation is Friday morning. I have plans for us Friday night.”
She looked at me. “What are you up to?”
I winked. “When Friday comes, I will let you know. For now, we lay low and walk on eggshells at home.” I kissed her forehead. “It will be fine, my love. Trust me?”
She nodded. “Completely.”
We went to work marking scripts from the eams the week before and placing grades on the electronic data system. On Thursday, I brought champagne and hid it in the mini-fridge. When she walked in after picking up her cap and gown, I asked her to put it on. We took a few pictures that I knew I might be publicly denied the next day, then we opened the champagne. We sat in the office until late that night, doing nothing more than holding each other. A daring plan had been forming in my mind, but I wanted to wait until we had slipped away tomorrow night before laying it on the table.
The next day went on like a breeze. I was as proud as any man would be of his woman when she walked across the stage to collect her degree. I was prouder still when she gave a stellar speech plus collected several awards. I watched from a distance as her family took pictures with her. The children favored their father as they had his height and bright red hair. The Hudson matriarch was a tiny blonde beauty. I gave her the time and space with her family. Tonight, and if everything went according to plan, she would be all mine.
