Episode 375
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I don’t believe this,” Brant marched out of the mansion thinking
about the way in which Kevin pushed him out of the arcade room. As if this
situation wasn’t bad enough, Brant thought to himself his dark eyes narrowing
in on the guest house. Frowning, he moved faster through the yard not really
knowing what to do or say, but knowing full well that the last thing Angela
needed was to be alone right now. Sure, she wasn’t expecting him, but
he would just stop in ask how she was doing and…
“No,” Brant stopped mid-movement just before he made his way over
to the door, “She’ll just tell me she’s tired and get rid of
me so that she can check in on Kevin. If she’s nearly as persistent as
she usually is, then she’s going to be checking in on Kevin soon and…”
Brant grew silent as he looked to the now open window leading to the bathroom.
He glanced between the front door and the bathroom window before making the
decision to leave Angela without any doubts that Kevin was still inside feeling
under the weather. Cursing under his breath Brant walked over to the window
and climbed inside. He nearly tumbled to the floor once he was halfway over
the ledge, but fortunately he was able to pick himself up. He was just about
to set his foot down on the tiled flooring when he heard the sound of a persistent
knocking on the door. With the noise he was down for the count spilled out
across the bathroom floor.
“Kevin, are you okay,” he heard Angela questioning from outside
the bathroom. “You’ve been in there a long time and I’m worried
about you.”
“Angela I…” he stopped himself realizing that he sounded like
himself and not Kevin. He let out a coughing sound before doing his best to
mimic Kevin’s tone and timbre, “I’m still not feeling well.
I’m…oh…”
He pulled himself up off of the floor and turned on the sink to help along
with the fan in the bathroom in the hopes of muting himself out a bit. He
searched around for something to help with the situation and he found himself
coming up on empty. Glancing at his reflection in the mirror, he spotted a
bottle of shampoo in the midst of the tub.
“This is going to be a bit disgusting, but…” Brant rushed over
to pull the shampoo bottle out of the tub before walking over to push open
the lid on the toilet as Angela continued to knock.
“Kevin, I know you’re sick baby, but if you let me inside I can
help you feel better and…”
“Oh Angie…I can’t…bad Mexican…” Brant mumbled
out before squeezing the bottle of shampoo into the toilet and hearing the
exaggerated sound it made. He squeezed one more time before stopping, “Must
get this out of my system…just you…rest…”
“Kevin, honey if there is anything I can do…” Angela touched
the door lightly before letting out a long sigh.
“Just…rest…I’ll be…” Brant squeezed the bottle
again listening to the squealing sound the movement made, “just fine…”
“Okay Kevin,” he heard Angela say again before she stopped knocking,
“but if you need me…”
“I know where to find you,” he mouthed in response listening to
hear her footsteps move away from the door. Letting out a breath of relief
he closed the lid to the toilet and sank down on it wishing like hell that
he could be out there holding her instead of in the bathroom pretending to
be the man she thought she was in love with. He let out a small groan before
his eyes swept over to the window looking out over to the mansion.
“Kevin, you had better get back here fast,” Brant moaned under his
breath wondering if there would be any light at the end of the tunnel in this
situation with Angela now that everything was screwed up beyond belief!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Why would I honestly lie to you about something like this? Do you really
think I go around your back sneaking off with Jewel? What kind of time do
you think I have on my hands? ” Don snapped seeing her brown eyes glaring
out into his as Don threw his hands up in the air moving away from her. “You
drive me crazy sometimes, I work all the time, I take care of my son and I
try to tend to your every need. Where could another woman fit into my life?
”
“Don’t ask me, I never really know if you are working or you aren’t,”
Shannon replied seeing his blue eyes glare back at her over his shoulder as
he turned to face her again. “For all I know you could say you are at
work when you are really shacked up at some hotel with Jewel. ”
“Right, I can see what you mean. Since the last girl I was truly shacking
up in a hotel with was you,” Don pointed out seeing her eyes narrow out
at him before looking down toward the ground. “I swear you drive me crazy
sometimes, why would I want to cheat on you? I think I’ve made it kind
of obvious that I love you. ”
“You know, I’m not so sure sometimes,” she pointed out with
a hiss walking toward the kitchen hearing his footsteps follow her into the
room. Setting the bag of the lingerie down on the table, Shannon rested her
hands against her hips aggravated with the situation at hand. “Honestly
Don, sometimes when I need you the most you are never there. ”
“That’s bull shit Shannon and you know it,” he insisted seeing
her look up at him with either some type of confusion or anger. Leaning back
against the counter, he let out a small breath counting mentally in his head
to calm himself down before speaking up again. “You know Shannon, even
if I didn’t love you, I’m too nice of a guy to do that to someone.
If you don’t think I love you and care for you, you have some serious
issues snappy. ”
“Serious issues? Don this girl has had it out for you since I’ve
seen her back in this town. The way she looks at you pisses me off so bad,”
Shannon reached for the rag on the countertop before tugging at the ends roughly
wishing it was more like Jewel she was strangling. “You can tell she
wants you to be her next big lay and you know it. She flirts with you every
chance she gets and I’m sure her charm works wonders on me. ”
“Her charm? Why would I want her charm when I’m getting a sample
of yours right now? ” he questioned angrily seeing her throw the rag
down to the side when he moved in closer to her. “Obviously honey, I
know you don’t see it, but Jewel can flirt with me all she wants because
at the end of the day, I’m only coming home to one person and that’s
you. I only want to be with you and why are you having problems seeing that?
Do you really not trust me at all? ”
“You’re a male, all of you are the same,” she went to walk
out of the kitchen bumping her shoulder into his arm to get him to step aside
and let her out of the kitchen. “You only care about one thing and one
thing only. ”
“Yeah, I care about my son,” he cut her off angrily grabbing a soft
hold of her wrist to get her to turn and look at him. He could tell that she
was still angry and that was the last thing he wanted right now. “Unlike
other people, I care about my family. I care about futures and happiness.
Some men don’t know what it’s like to be happy, but I have a taste
of it all around. I wouldn’t trade a day I’ve spent with my family.
That includes my parents, my sister, your brother, Matty…I love you all.
That’s how my whole life is based, off the people I care about the most.
Can’t you see that? ”
“Don…,” Shannon went to argue further seeing the upset look
behind Don’s blue eyes as he pushed back his dark hair before rolling
his eyes and walking back into the kitchen. Grabbing a firm hold of the bag
he threw it to the side before letting out a long breath. “I just hate
that woman with a passion. ”
“You can hate her, but why do you have to take it out on me? ” Don
muttered glaring out at her for a moment before sitting down on the couch
reaching for the pillow next to him. “I honestly don’t understand
it sometimes. It seems when people lie, they get away with things, but when
someone tells the truth they always get in trouble. ”
“I’m just worried Don. This girl took my brother and I know she
wants you too,” she informed him seeing the way his blue eyes continued
to stare out at the television, not paying attention to her at all. “I
just don’t want anyone here around that dirty piece of trash. ”
“She’s not that bad and to be honest with you, if you really knew
what I was like you wouldn’t have been chewing me out about this,”
Don stated inwardly watching her take a step forward in closer to him and
he shrugged his shoulders. “To be honest with you honey, I don’t
really know why you are pissed about her getting with your brother either.
He can pick what he wants to do with his life and no one is going to stop
him. He’s a big boy now, he can make his own mistakes and fix them himself.
”
“Yeah, I can really see that happening. He is an immature loser,”
she uttered watching Don’s jaw tighten with a moment of anger as she
saw his blue eyes look over at her for once. She could tell that comment pissed
him off more than any of the ones she had made earlier. “Jewel gives
you lingerie to hand over to Nate and…,”
“Oh sweet,” Shannon turned to see Nate stepping into the house and
closing the door behind him. Moving in closer to Shannon, Nate grabbed a hold
of the bag from her hands and looked inside it before smiling widely. “Thanks
for these. She is so hot. ”
“See, I told you they weren’t mine,” Don added seeing the way
that Shannon’s eyes darkened over with even more anger after hearing
her brother’s door close. “I do think you owe me an apology sweetheart.
”
“Whatever,” Shannon rolled her eyes at his comment ignoring anything
he really said because she knew she was wrong about accusing Don of actually
doing something like this, but she wasn’t about to admit that. “I’m
going to talk to him. ”
“Fine, whatever you want honey,” Don frowned hearing Nate’s
bedroom door open and slam shut as he reached for the remote on his side.
Hearing another door open he saw his son walk out into the living room rubbing
at his tired eyes. “Hey kiddo. ”
“Dad,” Matt moved forward seeing Don lean forward in his seat, reaching
out to pull Matt in over his lap before letting out a long sigh and pressing
a kiss against Matt’s forehead. “Is uncle Nate getting in trouble
again? ”
“Probably,” Don pushed back his son’s dark hair before holding
him in close and letting out a long breath. Feeling Matt snuggle in closer
to him, he reached for the remote and turned on the cartoon network before
wrapping both arms around him. “You want to watch some cartoons with me
for a while? ”
“Well, I guess I can,” Matt smirked seeing the way that Don stared
out at him with his blue eyes and Matt let out a small laugh. “As soon
as Shannon gets back in here though, I’m going to my room and maybe taking
another nap or something. ”
“Actually, that sounds very good right now,” Don chuckled bringing
his fingers in against his son’s stomach, tickling him gently as he heard
Matt’s light laughter fill the room. “I think I may have to take
a nap too. Daddy has had a very long day. ”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“What do you want Shannon? ” Nate grumbled from his beanbag seat
in the corner of the room looking up from his laptop that was set in over
his knees as he sat down. Looking up to meet his sister’s angry brown
eyes, he closed the top down on the laptop before folding his arms out in
front of his chest. “I can see that someone has a stick up there caboose
today, don’t we? ”
“You know full well why I’m mad at you Nathan,” Shannon spat
back seeing Nate’s green eyes widen before he rolled them and opened
the laptop again. She moved in closer to him seeing his green eyes skimming
something over on the screen before him. “I’m glad you can ignore
me about a situation like this. ”
“You’re going to yell at me and I don’t care what you have
to say to be honest with you,” Nate cleared his throat uneasily before
reaching for the water next to him. A small gasp escaped his lips as he felt
Shannon kick at the plastic glass he had, seeing the water spill out all over
the floor. Biting down on his bottom lip he glared up at his older sister
before closing the laptop and putting it away before she damaged that too.
“What is your problem today Shannon? Couldn’t make anyone cry today,
so you had to come and attack me? ”
“I don’t attack you,” she stated seeing him stand up to his
feet before moving in closer to her, glaring down at her in the process as
she folded her arms out in front of her chest. “You just make the stupidest
mistakes sometimes Nate, you are always dating slutty women and I don’t
know why. ”
“Dating is not the word with Jewel, but honestly Shannon if you were
really the one that wanted the lingerie you could have it,” Nate held
up the bag for her before feeling her smack it out of his hand and to the
ground. “I don’t know why you are judging me on the people I sleep
with or date considering I’ve never judged your boyfriends. I hated all
of them, but then I realized they are just all screwed up because they had
to date someone like you. Like what’s his name? Oh yeah, it’s Brant
Ashford. I used to hate him for breaking my sister’s so called heart.
”
“Brant Ashford is just a self-centered asshole that only cares about
himself,” Shannon hissed in response seeing Nate’s eyebrows perk
up in interest as she shook her head slowly. “Don’t turn this around
on me Nate, this is about you. ”
“No, no. If you want to talk about my issues, let’s talk about Brant.
I mean honestly, I thought you would go for him with the money he had, you
always had a power complex. You made me hate Brant Ashford and I never really
knew the guy,” he explained itching his chin slowly before letting out
a long, shallow breath. “Not only is the guy completely amazing, but
he is a nice guy. It’s you that always screws over a relationship. You’re
the person that gets into all the bad relationships and ruins them Shannon.
It’s you that does it and you should never judge me on what I’ve
done because no matter what I’ll always be twice the person that you
are. ”
“Keep telling yourself that Nate because it’s obvious from the people
around you that it’s not even remotely close to being true,” she
blurted out seeing him roll his eyes and look away from her again as he let
out a small laugh. “I don’t ruin the relationships, it’s always
the other people that are ruining it for me. ”
“Other people Shannon? Look what you’ve done to Don in the past,
you’re a total bitch,” Nate hissed moving away from her and over
toward the dresser to grab his soccer ball, tossing it in the air a few times.
“Honestly, you have the best man you will ever be able to get your hands
on and you keep screwing up Shannon. I don’t know why you like to hurt
people, but it’s in your nature. We’re total opposites and unlike
you I can see what a good man that Don is and I’m honored to be taken
into this family. They treat me like a real person, unlike you do. ”
“You’re not leaving yet, we’re talking,” Shannon saw him
walk over toward his door and she shoved it shut when he opened it. His light
green eyes pierced right through hers as she moved forward toward Nate. “You
know noting about romance, you know nothing about love, you’re just an
idiot Nate. God only knows what kind of disease you may have after being with
Jewel. ”
“Probably the same ones people would get from you,” he arched his
eyebrow to come right back at her as he was caught off guard when he felt
a hard smack come right across his cheek. Turning away from his sister, he
pressed his hand in against his cheek feeling his skin burning from her hit.
“Since we’re on a roll Shannon. How does it feel to break people’s
hearts. I stopped caring about you a long time ago, but how do you think it
feels for Don? He cares so much about you and what have you done for him Shannon?
I do believe one time you almost killed him because you broke a liquor bottle
over his head. You’re a ridiculous drunk and you deserve no one in your
life. You treat everyone like crap and you know nothing about having a heart.
The only person you care about is yourself and that’s what I hate the
most about you. ”
“Of course, when we are talking about you we always have to get to the
part where I’m the villain and you are the victim,” she snapped
seeing him finally face her again with a reddened over cheek. Smiling in response
she moved forward tapping his warm face softly to tease him as he swiped her
hand away from him. “I’m the one that has a life, unlike some people
in this family. I don‘t screw up with Don and I certainly am not doing
anything to break this family down. ”
“Oh, very nice come back,” Nate rubbed at his burning cheek and
glared out at her, a small growl escaping his lips as he moved over toward
the door again to leave. “You see, you have the world in front of you
and you can’t even see it. You manipulate the great people and you are
a bitch to anyone who is greatly amazing to you. I think you’re the one
with the problems Shannon. ”
“Don’t you. . ,” Shannon went to reach for his wrist only to
have him pull it away from her roughly before he opened the door and stepped
into the hallway.
“Shut up Shannon, I don’t want to hear your complaints anymore,”
Nate stepped into his sandals that he had left in the hallway before rolling
his eyes again. “Honestly Shannon, you’re so screwed up that even
you are too blind to see what you’ve got. ”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“What were you thinking?” Dave questioned feeling his frustrations
mounting as he looked to his sister now that she was perched upon one of the
stools near his kitchen counter. She was poking at the grapefruit in front
of her, contemplating whether or not she’d continue eating it before
her green eyes returned to his. “Why would you go over there purposely
to instigate Cori?”
“It wasn’t like I was trying to upset her,” Jewel shrugged
her shoulders before turning her attention to the television in the other
room. “Carly, you should turn on the cooking network. My show will be
on in like ten minutes and you’ll like it. It was a really good one and…”
“Jewel,” Dave spoke her name with a groan. He moved in front of
her blocking her line of vision towards the television before putting his
hands on his hips patiently, “I asked you a question.”
“And I gave you a sufficient answer,” she huffed in response collecting
her bowl of grapefruit and breezing past him towards the living room area.
“Can I help it if Cori is overly emotional?”
“Cori needs all of us right now. She’s got a lot that she’s
dealing with and the last thing this family needs is to be put on a divided
front,” Dave insisted marching behind her in order to get his sister
to start thinking about her actions. “She needs all of us right now and…”
“Clearly Cori’s lost in la-la land Dave,” Jewel waved her hand
dismissively before dropping down in one of the chairs in the living room
she turned to Carly once again, “You’ll love this show seriously.”
“Jewel, Cori is hurting right now and there’s a lot that we can
do to help her, but furthermore,” Dave groaned outwardly as he watched
her reaching for the television remote control in the hopes of flaunting off
her work on her show. Frustrated he snatched the remote and turned the television
off in a bold movement that commanded her attention, “there are things
that you shouldn’t be doing and upsetting her is one of them.”
“Hey, she was the one who was in there acting like a wounded puppy dog
over a guy that didn’t give a care about her,” Jewel informed him
with a huff, “Can I help it if she doesn’t know how to handle a
breakup? Honestly you’d think she was five by the way she carried herself.”
“People would say the same about you,” Dave frowned feeling her
reach out to pull the remote from his hand. She turned the television on once
again before taking a bite of her grapefruit.
“You know Jewel, Cori has been through a lot,” Carly offered up
thinking about Dave’s other sister. “She’s had a rough few
months and…”
“Shooting a man isn’t going to make it any easier. She would have
had better luck keying his car or putting itching powder in his jock strap,”
Jewel shrugged her shoulders casually, “or even stealing his Blackberry
and calling up his current fling and telling her that his test for herpes
came back positive. I mean really, I don’t know what she was hoping to
accomplish, but she’s obviously where she belongs.”
“You know what? On second thought, just forget about visiting her. I’ll
take care of what she needs from here on out since it’s clear that you
don’t have the first clue how to be caring or considerate to our sister
in her time of need.”
“What she needs is some good electrotherapy and I’m pretty positive
that she’ll get it in there. Besides, it’s kind of like a vacation
for her. It’s a really cheap kind of spa, but it’ll work,”
Jewel slid the bite of fruit between her lips before chortling, “and
who knows? Maybe she’ll come out a different person when everything is
said and done, or perhaps at best she’ll be able to light up bulbs after
her shock treatment.”
“You know what,” Dave snarled down at his sister ready to tear into
her more completely when Carly stood up and touched his shoulder.
“Honey, why don’t you help me with that thing in the kitchen?”
Carly suggested knowing only too well that her husband was quite close to
losing his cool. “You know that thing that we talked about doing earlier.”
“Carly,” Dave opened his mouth to refuse before finally sighing,
“Sure, why not?”
“Good answer,” Carly whispered snagging her arm in his. She leaned
in closer to him as she lead him out of the living room, “I don’t
think now is the time to get into this with Jewel.”
“If she has her way it’ll never be the time, but what she did to
Cori was wrong. She just can’t go around provoking her when,” Dave
explained in a muted tone as the front door opened and Stacy entered the Warner
home.
“Where have you been?” Jewel frowned up at her daughter. She set
the bowl of grapefruit down before shaking her head at Stacy, “You look
like hell.”
“What do you care?” Stacy mouthed in response waving her hand dismissively
at Jewel before marching to the guest room she was staying in at Dave’s
house. A second later the door came slamming shut and Dave frowned.
“That’s classic parenting at it’s best Jewel,” Dave frowned
over at his sister, “Don’t you think that you should pursue this
one a bit more?”
“She’s obviously got PMS right now,” Jewel waved her hand dismissively,
“so why bother? She gets in these little tantrums like Paul used to and…”
“And she’s your daughter,” Dave circled around back into the
living room and glared down at his sister, “She’s a teenager who
could use a little guidance and…”
“She watches Dr. Phil,” Jewel shrugged her shoulders simply before
looking up at her brother. “What? I mean it’s not like I’m
really big on the guy since he and I don’t hang out in the same crowds
or anything, but he seems to do well with what he does.”
“Jewel, you can’t let a pop psychiatrist on a television show help
your daughter grow into adulthood,” Dave informed her with a slight groan,
“The last time I saw Stacy here at the house, well come to think of it,
I don’t know when the last time she was back here. You might want to
start by asking her where she’s been.”
“I did,” Jewel explained bluntly before rolling her eyes at him,
“and you saw the response that I got.”
“In that case, maybe you should get up off of your butt and go try having
a conversation with her,” Dave muttered with a scowl watching as his
sister’s cooking show began to air on the television. He frowned thinking
about how Jewel’s passion for her career superseded anything else in
her life--especially the important things. “Jewel!”
“What?” she snapped back at him before groaning, “Oh alright.
I’ll go see what she’s doing if it’ll make you shut up.”
“Jewel, you’re her mother and a poor excuse for one at that, but
you should at least make an effort,” Dave informed her point blank. He
opened his mouth to say something more when the door Stacy had entered opened
up and she walked out of the room with a tote bag slung over her shoulder.
Clearing his throat again Dave spoke up, “Now might be a good time.”
“Yeah whatever,” Jewel waved her hand again dismissively before
turning to her daughter, “Stace, can I talk to you for a second?”
“What?” Stacy huffed in response. “I’m running late.”
“You can take a minute to let me know where you’re going,”
Jewel explained while looking up at Dave for approval. Seeing him nod, Jewel
continued on. “Where have you been anyways?”
“I was with Lindsay and Jackie,” Stacy explained with an evasive
tone, “and we’re going out again. If you keep harassing me, then
we’re going to be late.”
“Late for what?” Dave questioned interrupting the conversation between
mother and daughter.
“A concert,” Stacy replied turning her focus to her uncle, “Jackie’s
brother is in a band and he’s putting on a show tonight.”
“Where?” Jewel piped in with a smile.
“What do you care?” Stacy rolled her eyes at her mother’s question.
“The musicians there tonight will be far too young to be legal for you,
so there’s no point in bothering you with that detail.”
“Stacy please,” Jewel curled her lip in a pout, “now you know
that’s no way to talk to your mother when…”
“Mom, why don’t you go pick up a guy in a bar or something? Who
knows? Maybe you’ll get lucky in town tonight if you go out looking like
that,” Stacy motioned to the scantly clad outfit Jewel had on in her
show on the television. “I’m sure there’s someone out there
who is desperate enough to find that hot.”
“Stacy,” Jewel huffed in response.
“I’m late,” Stacy informed her turning around to march towards
the door.
“Stacy,” Dave made a movement towards her, not liking that his niece
was running out over town without supervision.
“Let her go,” Jewel grumbled in response finding herself offended
by her daughter’s tone, “If she goes out there and winds up knocked
up, then it’s her problem, not mine.”
“Unlike you I’m smart enough to use a condom if the moment arises,”
Stacy hissed back at her mother before rolling her eyes at her, “Despite
the fact that you’re a cheap joke in this town, I actually know how to
carry myself with a little dignity.”
“I seriously doubt that because you’re your father’s child,”
Jewel snorted back at Stacy, “which means sooner or later you’ll
end up pregnant or in jail.”
“That’s more your life mom,” Stacy’s eyes narrowed into
rage filled slits as her fingers curled up into balls at her side. “You’re
the screw up in your family. Not me.”
“Stacy wait,” Dave made a small movement towards his niece in the
hopes of getting her to calm down.
“Sorry Uncle Dave, but I’m late,” Stacy added before marching
out of the house in a haste.
Dave turned around to face Jewel once again with a disapproving glare, “Aren’t
you going to go after her?”
“Let the little whore go out and do what she does,” Jewel shrugged
her shoulders before munching on her grapefruit once again, “but when
she’s in over her head, I’m not going to bail her out. She can clean
up her own messes.”
“Jewel, she’s a teenager. She needs a little guidance,” Dave
watched his sister turn off the television before getting up and out of her
chair.
“You heard her. She has condoms,” Jewel shrugged once again before
frowning, “What more could a mother ask for?”
“Jewel,” Dave watched his sister move to her room down the hall
before slipping inside. Once she closed the door Dave let out a long, frustrated
groan, “What the hell is wrong with this family?”
“Dave,” Carly stepped in to touch his shoulder gently.
“I can’t believe this. Does she not realize that she’s just
opening up the door to trouble with her daughter?” Dave questioned turning
around to face his wife. “I mean is she so selfish that she’s just
going to sit back and do nothing while her daughter could be out there getting
in over her head?”
“Dave, I know you want to help, but…” Carly offered up not
really sure what to say as his worries mounted.
“Between Paul and Jewel that little girl has no hope and I can’t
stand back and watch her destroy her life,” Dave decided moving over
towards the door to stop Stacy from leaving, but much to his dismay she’d
already taken off with her friends. Closing the door, he turned around to
face Carly once again, “Promise me that we’ll find a way to help
her Carly.”
“We will,” Carly offered up in reassurance while reaching out to
slide her arms around his waist gently. “We won’t let her slip through
the cracks even if Jewel isn’t concerned.”
“I hope not,” Dave paused for a moment, “which reminds me.
Maybe I should give Julian a call and see if he can tell us where John’s
concert is tonight. I’d feel better in knowing.”
“I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” Carly admitted as Dave reached
for the phone and dialed his Lieutenant’s phone number. It rang a few
times before going into voice mail. She watched Dave leave a quick message
before hanging up. “No luck?”
“I’m sure he’ll call back later and when he does, maybe I’ll
have a black and white drive by just to make sure that things aren’t
too wild where they are,” Dave decided hoping that somehow he’d
be able to bring order to the chaos that seemed to be following the Warner
family. However, between Cori’s problems and Jewel’s general lack
of concern for the world around her, Dave had the strong feeling that life
wasn’t going to be any easier anytime soon.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“So Paul, since you’ll be staying for a night or so,” Heather
sat down on the couch seeing Kyle set down the last of Paul’s bags as
he laid out in the leather chair across from them. “What exactly do you
do? Job wise I mean? ”
“He’s a video game creator,” Kyle cut off Paul before he could
go into explanation what he did. Seeing the frown that pressed in over Paul’s
face, Kyle shot him a warning glare before seeing Paul raise his hands in
the air. “He creates all kinds of video games, isn’t that right
Paul? ”
“Oh yeah,” Paul half caught on that Kyle didn’t want him to
talk much about his job and he let out a small sigh. “We do all kinds
of games, ones that people can get a huge rise out of and sometimes, people
just like to play with them a little. ”
“That’s interesting,” Heather stood up from the couch seeing
the look behind Kyle’s hazel eyes as she stepped in closer to Paul reaching
her hand out to Paul’s. Seeing Paul sit up straighter and take her hand
into his softly, she let out a small laugh seeing him staring up at her. “I’m
Heather Gibbons, Kyle and I are…,”
“I know what you and Kyle are,” Paul smirked seeing her nod slowly
and he let go of her hand seeing the way that she walked back over toward
the couch next to Kyle. “You know, I do remember Kyle talking about someone
named Heather when he was younger. I just don’t think the last name was
Gibbons, it was more like Marvrick or Matrix or something like that. ”
“Marx? ” Kyle corrected seeing Paul snap his fingers and nod quickly
over and over again before lying back against the couch again. “That
was her original last name, she just didn’t want to keep it the same.
”
“Oh, I could tell you tons of stories about things that happened with
Kyle,” Paul stated not even bothering to glance over at Kyle knowing
that look he would be getting if that was the case. Rubbing his hands together
he stared up at the ceiling before taking in a long breath. “You know
they are about you too, I remember one day when we were supposed to go to
a party after a football game and Grady went to get him. They were taking
forever and when I walked into the room I saw that Grady had his hand down
Kyle’s pants. ”
“What? ” Heather blurted out seeing the way that Kyle covered his
eyes with his hand and tried to focus on getting away from the stories that
his old friend was telling. “Kyle, what does that mean? ”
“I’ll give you the answer, I guess Kyle hid a picture of you down
the front of his pants and Grady was trying to get it,” Paul’s blue
eyes widened as he looked over at Kyle and Heather together and let out a
long laugh. “Now, I don’t know if that was the truth or not, but
he did end up pulling the picture out of his pants before we left. I just
found it a little suspicious. ”
“Okay, Grady was being an asshole. I was upset that day and said leave
it be, but he just wouldn’t give up, so I hid the photo down my pants,”
Kyle informed her looking to the side before shooting Paul a glare seeing
him let out a long laugh. “I never thought he would actually go down
my pants to try and get it. ”
“If you think that sounds creepy, I was the one that walked in on it.
I still have the vision in my head to this day,” Paul shuddered hearing
only Heather laugh and he let out a laugh of his own. “We used to get
him drunk, which now I know you’re a deity so you won’t, but honestly
when we’d get him drunk he would tell us anything. Like I think we got
him rambling on and on about how hot you were for like an hour one time. ”
“Seriously? ” Heather looked to see Kyle shrug his shoulders before
reaching for the pillow next to him knowing that if Paul was going to be making
fun of him the whole time he would have been more firm on saying no to him.
“That’s cute. ”
“Well, let me tell you now, he grew up and got a whole lot better with
the people he liked. I believe he liked you, but there was always a girl coming
to visit him all the time,” Paul explained seeing Kyle’s eyes widen
and Paul shook his head slowly before blurting out his thoughts again. “But
that other girl was a total slut, him and Grady went out for something and
she jumped me while they were gone. I didn’t say anything to you back
in the day, but I don’t know…I think her name was Sarah if I’m
correct. ”
“You slept with Sarah in college? ” Kyle questioned not even knowing
this himself as Kyle sat more forward in his seat and let out a laugh of disbelief.
“I can’t believe you Paul, why would you do something like that?
”
“Well you talked about her, but this woman right here is the one you
talked about more so I figured you wouldn’t mind that much,” Paul
pointed out seeing Kyle look over at Heather before nodding and leaning back
to wrap his arm around her shoulders pulling her in close to him. “Anyways,
you slept with my wife first too. ”
“Excuse me? ” Heather moved to look at Kyle seeing the glare that
he was giving Paul as Paul held his hands up in the air to claim his innocence.
“You slept with his wife Jewel? ”
“Oh yeah he did,” Paul blurted out before Kyle could even answer
for himself and Paul took in a long breath thinking about the past. “I
remember that we had just won the game and there were girls like surrounding
us, but boy did she have it out for Kyle. She took him back to our dorm and
then…,”
“And then I made a very huge mistake that Paul soon married,” Kyle
cut Paul off before glaring over in the general direction before giving Heather
a small squeeze. “Honey, you know what it’s like when you make mistakes.
I told you I wasn’t perfect, but now…,”
“You’re a different person, someone I love very much,” Heather
tipped up to press a small kiss against his lips seeing the way he let out
a breath of relief. “I just know that if you would ever do something,
you would die, but I know you love me so I don’t see that happening anytime
soon. ”
“Oh yeah, he loves you. Jewel was nothing to him other than a booty call
so to speak,” Paul sat up in the chair resting his elbows on his knees
before shrugging his shoulders. “You were someone he loved so much, you
could just tell by the way he talked about you. Even when we had him drunk
he would smile from ear to ear, this guy loves you a lot and always has since
I’ve known him. You were his dream come true and you are beautiful, so
I can see why he picked someone as great as you. ”
“You see, now I guess we can keep him,” Heather teased pressing
her hand in against Kyle’s stomach before letting out a long breath.
She felt Kyle press a small kiss against her forehead before clearing her
throat uneasily. “If you are continuing to kiss up to me, it’s okay
in you staying her for a while if you’d like. It’s really no big
deal. ”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I was this close to getting him where I wanted him, but then that bitch
stepped in and kept me from reaching him,” Sarah huffed curling her fists
into balls at the side of her slender frame. She paced around Cameron’s
study before spinning on her heel and facing him once again, “I swear
to God I was this close and then…”
“Sarah, you should really try to relax,” Cameron groaned inwardly
knowing full well that the last thing he wanted to deal with was her on a
temper tantrum when he could have been spending his time with his brother
and Evie.
“I’m not going to relax,” she grumbled waving her hands around
in the air before pinching her finger towards one another, “I was this
close to getting him to agree to just let up on me, but then that woman…
Oh that woman drives me mad. When I think about how she’s leading him
around by some kind of invisible choker telling him what he can and cannot
do…”
“She’s probably just protecting her brother’s best interest
since clearly most people think that you aren’t at all a part of that,”
Cameron shrugged his shoulders simply before yawning and looking out the window
to the grounds beyond the estate.
“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes at him, “Like that woman would
know anything about Diego’s best interest. And besides, I thought that
you hated Diego.”
“I do, which is really why I could care less about…” he confessed
ready to shift the topic away from Cameron when she let out a loud grunt.
“I swear I don’t get it. I don’t see why a man clearly capable
of rational thinking would let his sister lead him around and tell him what
he should be doing,” she stomped her foot down before resuming in another
pace around the study. “I mean he seemed like a perfectly intelligent
free thinking adult who had a mind of his own…”
“Well, he did sleep with you which proves that his perceptions are clearly
skewed,” Cameron tossed in only to elicit a glare from her.
“You slept with me as well,” she curled her lip in a pout at him.
“Yes, but no one dares to consider calling me rational. Intelligent yes,
but my motivations are an enigma to most around me. I tend to prefer it that
way however considering that…” he offered up with a hint of a smirk.
“That she’s a witch. She must be miserable in her own life and figures
that if she can bully Diego into taking me down, that she will somehow be
complete in her mission. In fact I’m willing to guess that she doesn’t
even have anyone in her life. She’s probably just a frigid bitch who
gets her kicks out of commanding and imposing her will upon others,”
she sneered twisting her fingers in the air as if she was choking the life
out of Gabriella. “I mean really where does she get off? If I could have
had five minutes alone with Diego, then this wouldn’t be a problem at
all. I would have him just where I want him and…”
“And obviously it didn’t work out like you planned on, so get over
it and move on,” Cameron suggested glancing over at her once again. “We’ll
try a different approach.”
“You’re damn right we’ll try a different approach. We’ll
find a way to get rid of her and,” she paused as a thought carried over
her, “In fact, I know exactly what we can do.”
“Why do I feel like I suddenly have no desire to hear what’s on
your mind?” he replied noting the strange expression on her face.
“We’ll have you put a hit on her. I mean you can do that, can’t
you?” she finally faced him fully her thoughts focused on the new plan
in her mind. “You have the power to make a phone call and see to it that
someone disappears right.”
“I don’t know who you’ve been talking to Sarah,” Cameron
frowned at the implication.
“But you can do it can’t you?” she arched an eager brow before
taking a step towards him. She reached out to run her fingers over the center
of his chest before her grin expanded, “You can see to it that Diego’s
sister disappears and is never a problem for me again, can’t you baby?”
“Sarah,” he sighed tipping his head down to see the way her lips
were curved upward in a hopeful smirk. She teased her nails over the center
of his chest in a seductive movement before grinning up at him with fiery
intent. Finally he groaned and stepped back, “I’m not going to put
a hit on Diego’s sister. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not being ridiculous. You said you’d help me with my situation
Cameron and what better way to do it then…” she started to argue
with him in a pout.
“Trust me it’s not what you want,” he breezed past her, his
thoughts lingering now to his own sister. “Truth be told as much as you
think this is important right now, the fact to the matter is that I have some
things that I need to get back to. I wanted to go see Angel and…”
“I’ll go with you,” she blurted out eagerly.
“No, I don’t want to hear about Diego or any other member of his
family. I want to see my sister without your nagging,” he rolled his
eyes at the thought.
“You promised me that you would help me find a way to fix the situation
at hand,” she reminded him sharply, “That was one of the stipulations
of us being together.”
“I realize that, but I certainly don’t feel like resorting to homicide
since there are far better ways to bury a person than that,” he explained
in a cool and neutral tone. “You have to trust me when I tell you that
going after Diego’s family is a bad idea.”
“You’ve done it,” she folded her arms in front of her chest
stubbornly.
“I never did any such thing and I thought we already discussed that when
you came to me in the first place,” Cameron snapped back at her. “I
had nothing to do with what happened to Maria considering that…”
“That you were in love with her,” she waved her hand around in the
air dismissively, “Yeah I get that Cam, but I’m telling you that
Gabriella is going to be a problem.”
“Perhaps, but she’s not going to be mine today,” he informed
her point blank, “I’m going to see my sister.”
“And I’m going with you even if you’re being impossible,”
she mouthed in response moving in beside him.
“If you keep talking about Diego or his sister, I’ll toss you out
of my car without hesitation,” he warned her simply his eyes alerting
her to the full meaning behind his warning.
“Fair enough,” she decided with a nod before stepping in closer
to him. “We’ll focus on your sister for now, but later, well later
you owe me something more in my situation with Diego.”
“We’ll see what we can do,” Cameron finally blurted out just
wanting to be done with all of Sarah’s issues long enough to focus on
the more important aspects in life.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I told you tonight was going to be heaven,” Olivia confessed taking
a moment to listen around the apartment now that she and Julian had a weekend
to themselves. She had the candles lit on the coffee table in front of them
and now that she and Julian had finished with dinner, she was hoping they’d
fall into a little dessert with one another.
“It is kind of nice to have the place to ourselves,” Julian nodded
in agreement reaching out to snake his arm around his wife’s waist before
pulling her in closer to him. “Though I have to admit I hope that they
are behaving. You know Jackie worries me…”
“That’s because she’s sixteen and caught up in being a rebel.
Of course she should worry you,” Olivia laughed lightly shaking her head
just enough to cause the auburn ringlets that framed her face to move with
her. “She’s going to give us one headache after the other. I’m
sure of it.”
“Not very assuring news for a father,” Julian shuddered at the thought,
“She’s going to have me going completely gray before my time at
this rate.”
“Then it’ll add character,” Olivia ran her fingers through
Julian’s hair. “I happen to think that’s very sexy on a man.”
“I thought you liked my hair the way it is,” he noted feeling her
slide in closer to him.
“I like just about everything there is to like about you Julian,”
she leaned forward teasing her lips against his. She felt him respond to the
kiss, opening his mouth ever so slightly as she hovered in over him. She dropped
onto his lap straddling his thighs before pushing her fingers, through his
thick, dark hair. Her tongue eased past the crease in his lips, feeling his
hands roam over her curves and she let out a low moan.
“God, it’s been too long,” she sighed closing her eyes and
fighting to repress the shivers that crept in over her. “I can’t
think of the last time you were this close to me.”
“It hasn’t been that long,” he paused searching her eyes for
a long moment, “Has it?”
“Christmas last year maybe,” Olivia confessed with a small frown
reaching out to touch the side of his face.
“No it hasn’t been that long,” he shook his head before frowning
himself, “Has it?”
“Unfortunately it has,” she nodded in response, “I guess that’s
why they say the party is over when you’re married. If they put this
kind of information in the instruction manual for couples they might never
get married because that’s when the fun ends.”
“No, that’s where the fun begins,” he assured her catching
her waist in his arms before pushing her back onto the couch. He moved in
over her, his eyes meeting hers with a hungry urgency, “because I can
promise you that tonight is a good night to get that passion back between
us.”
“I was starting to think it was lost in limbo,” she admitted bringing
her fingers over his shoulders before sliding them down his chest, “Julian
it’s been so long since we’ve had sex that I’m starting to
think that it’s never going to happen for us.”
“It’s going to happen,” he promised leaning in to kiss her
tenderly, “I promise you that this weekend will be full of love making
between us.”
“We haven’t had stellar love making since before the shooting,”
she blurted out catching him off guard as he pulled back just a bit.
“What?” he questioned confused by her statement.
“I mean after that bullet hit you,” she reached out to unbutton
his shirt, finger tracing the scar on his abdomen, “You just haven’t
been the same man.”
“The shooting has nothing to do with the fact that we’ve been on
different schedules,” Julian pointed out with a slight agitation.
“You and I know full well that it hasn’t been different schedules
that keep you from making love to me,” she pointed out with a small scowl,
her eyes returning to the scar on his abdomen once again, “You used to
ravage me every chance you got, but then it was the shooting and then you
kept talking about the children being around and…”
“Olivia, you know that things have been complicated,” he paused
moving away from her and sitting at the opposite side of the couch, “You
can’t blame this on the shooting.”
“Julian, it’s okay,” she sat up straighter adjusting her shirt
before touching his shoulder gently, “I know plenty of men who suffer
from post traumatic stress disorder. When they experience something like you
did they often can’t find it in them to get an erection and…”
“I don’t believe I’m hearing this,” Julian threw his hands
in the air. Having had more than enough he stood up off of the couch attempting
to keep his frustrations from getting the best of him.
“Honey, I know it’s always difficult to get into this, but we can’t
ignore the problem any longer and believe me it’s a problem,” she
continued to explain to him with a huff, “You don’t even look at
me anymore.”
“Of course I look at you,” he spun around to face her once again,
“I look at you all the time.”
“But you never touch me. You never let me believe that you want me,”
she stood up watching him closely. She pulled open her blouse and shrugged
out of it revealing her bare breasts to him. “Julian say something…do
something…anything…”
“Olivia,” he sighed moving in towards her. Bringing his arm around
her waist, he claimed her lips in his before his palm pressed in over her
curves. He squeezed her gently feeling her whimper against his mouth. Nudging
her back towards the couch he felt her fall beneath him, her arms hooking
around his shoulders as he hovered in over her.
“Oh Julian,” she gasped a low, shallow pant carrying over her. She
arched up into him rubbing her hips against him decidedly, her fingers tugging
on his hair and claiming his mouth again. “I want you so bad.”
“I want you too Liv,” he confessed biting gently on her shoulder
before placing feathery light kisses over her skin. He listened to the soft
sounds of her breathing growing more frantic, more uneven by the moment and
as he held onto her he promised himself that he would show her that he was
all the man she’d married and more. He continued to kiss her hands roaming
over her body as his tongue grazed the side of her neck tasting her in a sensual
fashion.
“Oh Julian,” she sank her fingers into his shoulders rocking up
against him before stopping. She paused her eyes meeting his again as a frown
touched over her lips, “You’re not even into this are you?”
“What?” he blinked back at her feeling her push him aside.
“I can feel it,” she explained sitting up and groaning. She ran
her fingers through her auburn hair before turning to him, “You aren’t
even aroused are you?”
“I don’t believe this,” he threw his hands in the air, “of
course I am.”
“No you’re not,” she reached out to touch his lap boldly, fingers
pressing in over him, “You’re not even close to it Julian.”
“I was just warming up,” he started seeing the disapproval behind
her eyes, “Look I was ready to go before you started talking about my
having some kind of post traumatic bullshit. Once you threw that in there
it kind of ticked me off.”
“Excuses,” she huffed reaching for her blouse and pulling herself
off of the couch. She wrapped it around herself before turning to him again,
“I just don’t get it. I mean the doctors said that nothing was wrong
with you…”
“Nothing is wrong with me. You just can’t insult a guy and then
expect him to perform on the drop of a dime,” he reminded her sharply,
his blue-green eyes meeting hers again, “It just doesn’t work that
way.”
“Maybe not, but it’s for your own good. I was just trying to help
you,” she paused her eyes lighting up with a sudden thought. “Hold
on a second. I’ll be right back.”
“Olivia,” he called after her watching her rush down the hallway
to their bedroom before he dropped his head back on the top of the couch.
He groaned inwardly before centering his eyes in on his pants again. He offered
up a small breath before speaking up, “Look I know you’ve been stressed
lately, but you can work with this one. All you have to do is just do what
feels right and…”
“Julian I think I know what will work,” Olivia announced returning
to the room with a bottle in her hands. “I wanted to talk to you about
this since I phoned in a favor with the pharmacy and…”
“The pharmacy,” he repeated giving her a strange look, “Olivia
what is that?”
“They are pills and I’m sure that they can help considering that…”
she explained offering them to him, “I know other people, patients of
mine that swear by them claiming that they’ve rejuvenated their sex life
all over again.”
“Wait a second,” he eyed the pill bottle she’d handed him skeptically,
“You want me to take a pill?”
“It’s not a big deal,” she replied sitting down on the couch
beside him, “I mean I look at it this way I take one every day since
I’m on birth control pills and it really can’t hurt you to take
one. From what I understand you just take it, then a short while later things
are ready to spring into action so to speak.”
“So you’ve been talking to your colleagues about all of this,”
he waved his hand around in the air noticing the name on the prescription.
“Not all of them, but my friends and I were chatting and…”
she began again watching him stand up and pace around the room.
“You told your friends that I can’t get it up. You have them thinking
that I’m some kind of impotent person that can‘t muster up enough
strength to satisfy his wife?” he shook his head in frustration.
“It’s really nothing to be embarrassed about considering that it
happens to a lot of men, which is why I’m working on fixing it Julian.
If you just take a pill, then I’m sure that we can get back to where
we were before the shooting and…” she watched him walk across the
room reaching for his jacket. “Julian, what are you doing?”
“I’m getting some air because this,” he paused waving the pills
around in the air for a moment before taking a breath. He set them down on
the countertop before shaking his head at her, “this is too much Liv.
I can’t deal with this right now.”
“Julian wait,” she called out to him watching him walk out of the
apartment as she wondered if perhaps she’d crossed too many lines this
time in trying to fix what she felt was broken in the relationship.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Barbara watched Diego poking at his piece of apple pie that still lingered
on the plate she’d given him earlier after Gabriella had left his home.
While she’d hated to see him so upset, she realized that her attempts
at cheering him up weren’t going anywhere. He was still as miserable
as he’d been when she arrived and that in itself was quite frustrating.
Setting her own plate down, she turned to face him fully.
“You know if you don’t at least take a bite of that I’m going
to be offended. I’m going to think that you don’t like it or even
worse that you don’t like the company that you’re keeping,”
she informed him her eyes narrowing with heavy distain.
“That’s not it at all Barbara,” he offered up apologetically,
his dark eyes filled with regret over his foul actions. “I guess you
could say my mind has just been clouded by a lot lately. I mean even now when
I think about everything that has happened…”
“Don’t you think it’s time to cut yourself some slack?”
she suggested setting her own plate down on the coffee table before taking
in a breath. “Gabriella is gone, so you can ease up on the self loathing.
I promise I won’t let it slip that you actually are going to take a moment
to stop hating yourself so much.”
“Barbara, it’s just…” he paused tipping his head to the
side and seeing the expression on her face, “Why are you even bothering
with me? Surely, you have something far more scintillating to keep up with
on your time off of work rather than babysitting me.”
“I happen to enjoy spending time with you,” she objected to his
words, “and the last time I checked being with a friend was anything,
but babysitting.”
“Even so, you deserve a better time then what I’m offering you,”
Diego informed her with a solemn expression, his eyes lost and soulful despite
the inner turmoil he was facing.
“I happen to think that we’re having a great time, well except for
the fact that you’ve been far too quiet,” she paused for a moment
before surveying his living room. “Although I’m sure we can work
on shifting that mood for a while and I know just the thing to do it.”
“Barbara…” he opened his mouth in protest only to discover
that she’d walked across the room to his play station. She reached for
one of the controllers before smiling over her shoulder at him.
“What do you say? Do you still have it in you to try to enjoy life for
a little while?” she questioned brightly as she nodded towards the game
system. “Granted I know it’ll be a stretch from the typical misery
that you force yourself to endure on a daily basis.”
“You aren’t going to give me a choice in this matter, are you?”
he couldn’t help but feel a smile tease over the corners of his mouth
as he watched her lean down to scoop up the game system. She stretched her
fingers across the floor to seek out the second controller before she turned
around to face him with a newfound determination creeping in over her.
“No, not at all,” she informed him point blank, “because I
have not had the opportunity to play with one of these things since I babysat
my niece and nephew and I have to tell you I’m rather good at it.”
“Is that right?” he smiled in response feeling a moment of relief
carry over him. While he’d wanted to stay lost inside of himself contemplating
where his future would lead him after he’d betrayed those he’d cared
about and screwed up his career in more ways then he’d thought possible,
the truth to the matter was that he’d missed having fun. He’d almost
forgotten what it had been like before his life had dipped into a path of
misery, but Barbara had her mind set on forcing him to remember.
“I happen to be a pro at this particular game,” she nodded in confession
holding up the game she’d selected to reveal a racing penguin game. She
smiled up at him before wiggling her brow suggestively, “You should see
how I do when I slide on my belly down the icy slope.”
“I’m sure it’s a sight indeed,” he couldn’t help
but laugh amused by her selection, “though are you sure you don’t
want to play one of those games over there?”
She wrinkled her nose in response thinking about the military games she’d
left behind. While she was rather good at those kind of games and in dealing
with killing zombies in the virtual world, she opted to steer clear of violence
at this moment in time. Heaven knew Diego had more than enough of his fill
of women with a knowledge of dealing with weapons. For the time being she
was going to remind him of what it was like to just be carefree for a while.
“I happen to like penguins,” she explained matter of fact before
dropping down onto the sofa beside him and setting things up for them to get
started, “Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, not at all,” Diego admitted with a hearty laugh realizing that
while some aspects of his life were shaky, others had much more still going
for him.
“You do realize that I’m going to beat the pants off of you and
I’ll enjoy doing it,” she confessed with a playful laugh before
holding a controller out towards him. “What do you say Diego?”
“I’d really rather prefer to keep my pants on tonight because I
don’t think we’re ready for something like that,” he mouthed
in a flirty response watching the way that her eyes lit up at his comment.
Immediately he’d regretted saying it, “I mean…”
“I know what you mean,” Barbara patted his leg gently before smiling,
“and for what it’s worth I’ll try to be merciful with you.
Maybe.”
“That’s reassuring,” he laughed lightly before turning his
attention to the game that was now starting up on the television screen in
front of him. While he wasn’t quite sure what to expect in spending this
time with Barbara, something told him that she was going to do everything
in her power to ensure that he had a good time whether he wanted to or not.
That in itself made the prospect of a night at home all the more interesting!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hart marched up to the door to Walt’s hotel room after he’d shaken
down the clerk to find out just where his father was at. It had been a bit
of a chore, but now that Hart knew full well where the son of a bitch was
staying, he was going to have no problems railing into him for his meddling.
Hart knocked on the door furiously in no mood to be put on hold and when Walt
opened the door Hart shoved him back into the room with a violent force.
“Just who the hell do you think you are?” Hart questioned with an
angry shout seeing the surprise over his father’s face as Walt fell back
onto one of the chairs in the room. “Where do you get off trying to overrule
me in my daughter’s life?”
“Ah,” Walt couldn’t help but crack a small smile, “now
I see what has you so worked up. You’re here to talk about my helping
Sam I see.”
“You aren’t helping Sam,” Hart shook his head at his father,
“You have no business in her life and I don’t know what you’re
trying to pull right now, but it’s not going to work. She can’t
be bought like that Walt.”
“I’m not trying to buy her,” Walt offered up in his own defense
clearing his throat before seeing his son’s anger, “Hart, while
I realize that you’re ready to fly off the handle and be a hothead at
least hear me out. Sam came to me because this was a dream of hers. She wanted
to go to London and considering that I have been out of her life thus far,
I felt that I could afford to make up for the lost time in her life by lending
her a hand.”
“By sending her to another country,” Hart shook his head at his
father, “It wasn’t your place to decide to take her away from me.”
“She’s hardly a child any longer. She’s a bright, brilliant
woman capable of making her own decisions. She has a lot of heart and a lot
of enthusiasm for what she wants to do, so I felt no need to hold her back,”
Walt continued to explain to his son, “and if you really loved her you
wouldn’t either.”
“I’m not holding her back,” Hart snapped at his father, “I
just learned that she is my daughter. I just found her again and now you want
to steal her away from me.”
“No one is stealing her. She has goals and ambitions and you of all people
should understand that. Your daughter deserves a right to happiness,”
Walt interjected with a small frown of his own before adjusting the sleeve
on his shirt.
“What do you know about happiness considering that you worked your whole
life to make mine miserable?” Hart snapped back at him anger carrying
over every inch of him, “You drove my mother to drinking and ultimately
you were the death of her, but that wasn’t enough for you. Now you want
to kill me as well by systematically turning each and everything in my life
against me.”
“I’m not turning Sam against you. I’m just trying to help her
and you,” Walt added with a heavy sigh, “When I came to Coral Valley
I wasn’t looking to upset you son, but rather I was looking to mend fences
between us. I want for us to find a way to be close to one another--to have
that bond that was severed between us all those years ago.”
“That was your fault, not mine,” Hart waved his hands around in
the air wildly, “You were the one who chose to think of you and you alone.
Never once did you give a damn about me growing up, so pardon me if I don’t
buy the new and reformed father act you have going. It’s not going to
convince me that you’re a changed man and I’m not going to let you
poison my daughter like you are trying to do.”
“I merely offered her means of letting her dreams come true. I hardly
consider that poisoning her. If anything you should be thanking me for helping
her along,” Walt repeated in a cool and collected fashion, his dark eyes
fixed on Hart. “Honestly if you would stop being such a hot head, then
maybe you would take a step back and see what is best for Sam.”
“What’s best for Sam is my getting a chance to know her. I just
watched a friend of mine lose their son because of a senseless act of violence
and I refuse to let the same thing happen to me with Sam simply because you
want to put her into a situation that she cannot control because it would
upset me,” Hart continued to lash out at his father. “I won’t
let you take her away from me.”
“It’s not me that you should be mad at Hart. From the sound of things
it’s like you don’t want your daughter to live and experience life,”
Walt challenged seeing something behind Hart’s eyes, “You don’t
want her to grow up because she might actually experience the world without
you and that scares you.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Hart blurted out shaking his head
firmly, “To think that I would even listen to any of this…”
“You’re the one who came here to see me,” Walt reminded him
with a simple shrug. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I’ve been
learning from my mistakes rather than trying to keep making them over and
over again?”
“You never learn and even though you pretend you’ve changed, I know
better,” Hart recollected himself before shaking his head once again.
“Though you know what. It doesn’t matter because you’re not
going to take the control out of my hands on this one. Sam’s not going
plain and simple. Just stay away from her.”
“I’m not going to turn my granddaughter away just because her father
is too stubborn to believe in giving second chances,” Walt mouthed with
a small frown of his own.
“See that’s where you have this all wrong,” Hart walked over
to the door to the hotel room, his anger simmering down a bit. He reached
out to open the door before looking back at Walt, “I gave you more second
chances than I care to admit. You’re just the one who took advantage
of it and didn’t learn when to quit. So when you sit there telling me
that you’re going to change it all now, you can see why I don’t
believe you.”
“Don’t take your rage out on Sam that you have for me,” Walt
warned him sharply, “because it’ll blow up in your face sooner or
later Hart.”
“You getting involved with my daughter will hurt her. Just stay away,”
Hart warned before walking out of the room before he let his frustrations
get the best of him all over again. Regardless of what Walt said, Hart would
never trust him. That much he was sure of!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“This is really great,” Avery confessed as she and Russ sat in
the center of the living room putting together the playhouse that her father
had gotten for Erin. Sure, it was getting later, but it didn’t stop her
from being curious about what everything would look like once it was all put
together. “I know she’s going to love it.”
“Of course she is,” Russ laughed lightly struggling to figure out
the directions he held in his hands, “Of course she may not get to play
in it for a few years, which is a good thing considering that I cannot for
the life of me figure these things out.”
“It can’t be that bad,” Avery shook her head reaching out to
steal the instructions from Russ. She held them up closer to the light before
a frown touched over her lips and she set the paper down into her lap, “Russ
these are in Spanish.”
“And the other side is in French,” Russ motioned to the paper once
again with a laugh, “I figure I retained more Spanish over the years
than French considering that I cut French class almost every day to spend
time with you during your lunch hour.”
“Oh come on,” Avery shook her head at him and offered up a small
laugh, “You still got an A in the class.”
“Only because I kissed up to the teacher and spent the summer washing
his car,” Russ shook his head and winked at her, “but it was worth
it because I wouldn’t have traded a second that I had with you back then.”
“What about now?” Avery wiggled her brow at him curiously watching
as he pushed himself up on his knees to crawl over towards where she was seated
on the ground.
“I still wouldn’t trade a second of it,” he confess curling
his arm around her waist before tackling her down to the ground. Once he was
laying over her, he touched a strand of her long, dark hair gently, his green
eyes filled with a warmth and love behind them, “Have I ever told you
how beautiful you are to me?”
“Maybe once or twice,” Avery wrapped her arms around his neck drawing
him nearer to her for a slow, tender kiss. As their lips parted she gazed
up into his eyes once again and cracked a small smile, “I take it we’re
going to take a rain check on figuring out how to put this together tonight.”
“I think that’s a good idea, unless of course you would like to
have me scan the instructions and then go to a free translation page online,”
Russ suggested with a wiggle of his brow leaning down to steal a small kiss
from her once again.
“Nah, that would take too much time and as you said Erin wouldn’t
be able to enjoy this right away anyways,” she squeezed him in closer
to her urging his lips over hers again, “at least not in the way that
I could enjoy you now.”
“And here you were always the one preaching about the woes of instant
gratification,” he teased nibbling on her lower lip while feeling her
finger tips sliding up underneath his shirt.
“I know what I said, but in this particular case I think that it’s
best to seize the moment,” she admitted grazing her nails lightly across
his spine, feeling the way he seemed to shiver against her touch. “Don’t
you think it’s best to be direct with what’s on your mind rather
than beating around the bush so to speak?”
“I think it’s always best to find it in yourself to go after what
you want,” he replied with a nod, plucking open the top button on her
pajama top before following up with another and then another.
“See, so we are in agreement, that there is something to be said about
giving in to mutual pleasures,” she whispered in a shivering exhale feeling
him pull open her blouse enough just to dip his hand within.
“I’ve never been one to argue against mutual pleasures,” Russ
backed up just enough to shrug out of his shirt before moving in over her
again. His palm flattened out over her ribs before sliding up to caress her
soft fullness, “especially when you’re the other side of all the
promise of pleasure.”
“You just like getting some admit it Russ,” she teased wrinkling
her nose at him while her leg brushed up against his hip in a slow, seductive
movement.
“When I’m getting some from you, yeah I’ll admit it’s
at the top of my list,” he nibbled on her lower lip again before his
mouth moved in over the side of her neck. He felt her nails scratch lightly
over his skin while he palmed her breast, kneading it gently and hearing the
soft breaths escape from her now parted lips.
“Russ, you are such a pervert,” she gasped feeling him sliding her
bra strap down enough to place his lips over her newly exposed skin. She closed
her eyes anticipating his kisses, but much to her dismay he pulled away from
her.
“I’m a pervert,” he repeated with an arched brow eyeing her
intently, “I beg to differ on this one since you’re the one who
initiated this seduction.”
“I merely asked you what the hold up on the instructions were. You’re
the one who decided to pounce on top of me and rip my clothes off,” Avery
blinked back at him fighting to suppress the laugh that carried over her.
“I didn’t rip your clothes off,” he corrected moving back ever
so slightly, “far from it. In fact if you don’t know the definition
of what ripping someone’s clothes off is, then maybe it’s a sign
we should just stop before we start.”
“Really?” she felt him move off of her in an attempt to get up.
She placed her hand into the center of his chest sending him flat out onto
his back before she moved in over him straddling his hips. “I know full
well what it means to rip someone’s clothes off I’ll have you know.”
“Really?” Russ wiggled a brow at her watching the newfound determination
behind her eyes. “I seriously doubt that considering that you said before
that…”
“This is ripping someone’s clothes off,” she announced reaching
out to the zipper on his pants and pulling it open in the blink of an eye.
Swiftly she pushed his slacks and boxers down off of his body, moving back
enough to yank them free from his legs before tossing them back over onto
the couch. She climbed back over him, the first hints of a smirk carrying
over her as she placed her hands over the center of his warm, muscled chest.
“Now that is ripping someone’s clothes off.”
“Actually,” Russ arched up towards her just a bit, his hands seizing
both sides of her blouse before offering up a sharp pull tearing it down her
arms, “this is more like it.”
“No, I really don’t think that’s it,” Avery felt him unhook
the clasp on the front of her bra, sliding it down her shoulders as well before
his hands fixed on the pair of pajama shorts she’d been wearing to begin
their construction adventure. Without a word he tugged at them feeling the
flimsy material shred beneath his finger tips taking her panties with it.
He tugged on the material in his hands holding it up and tossing it across
the room before smiling up at her.
“Now that is how you rip someone’s clothes off,” he informed
her curling his arm around her hips and pulling her in over him. He leaned
up capturing her mouth in a heated kiss while urging her thighs around his
waist. Their mouths parted and eyes locked gazes as they sat with one another
naked in the middle of the living room.
“Okay, I’ll concede to the fact that you’re so much better
at that than I am,” Avery sighed shifting over him and feeling his hard
body beneath hers. She squeezed her arms around his shoulders before meeting
his eyes again.
“Of course I am,” he teased feeling her poke him in the ribs before
he nudged her in closer to him for another kiss. He could feel the warmth
of her pressing over him as he squeezed her in his arms, “So tell me
what would you like this big old pervert to do to you now that I’ve got
you all hot and bothered?”
“If you can’t figure that one out, then we’re going to have
some serious problems,” she laughed lightly rising up on her knees to
slide in over him positioning herself better for a union between them.
“Wait a second,” Russ looked around the living room before meeting
her gaze again, “maybe we should relocate.”
“To the bedroom?” she arched a curious brow her gaze locked on his.
“It might be more comfortable,” he nodded in confession seeing the
spark of mischief behind her eyes.
“Too far away,” she shook her head rocking her body down over his
for the briefest of moments.
“What about my study?” he suggested motioning to the room just down
the hallway, “It might keep us from waking up Erin.”
“Still too far away,” she shook her head in refusal.
“Baby, I just don’t want to give you rug burns here because as comfortable
as this carpet is, it won’t be when we get started,” he touched
her cheek gently, a flash of desire behind his eyes, “and believe me
when I tell you that I’ve got a lot in store for us tonight.”
“In that case,” she bit on her bottom lip hating the idea of being
away from him for even a second, “what about the couch?”
“Been there, done that,” he shook his head firmly, “That might
feel like it’s too routine.”
“Too routine,” she repeated wrinkling her nose at him again, “You’ve
got to be kidding me.”
“No I’m not,” he shook his head firmly, “the way I see
it once we’ve hit it up more than half a dozen times, it’s something
that you and I need to work on moving away from. Variety is the spice of life
there.”
“You’re serious about this,” her eyes widened as she looked
at him with a surprised expression, “Russ, honestly if we are so concerned
about location, then maybe we need to rethink doing this. I mean if we can’t
just be spontaneous and just go for it here and now…”
“Oh we’ll go for it here and now, but not right here,” Russ
reached out to pull one of the nails off of the floor that was laying out
beside them after they’d attempted to put Erin’s playhouse together.
“If we stay here, you might wind up with something in a place it doesn’t
belong.”
“Eeew,” Avery reached for the nail and dropped it to the floor again
with a frown, “I might’ve been able to strain with rug burns, but
not with that. That would hurt and I think more than ice would be needed to
numb that pain.”
“Exactly,” Russ nodded in agreement before looking past her with
a smile, “though now that I think about it there is one place here that
we have yet to experience.”
“And just what might that be,” Avery questioned feeling him shift
beneath her. Within a matter of seconds she felt him pull her up over his
shoulder and carry her with him into the kitchen.
“If you need to ask, then you really have some issues, but rest assured
I‘ll have no problems warming you up to the idea and a few other sweet
things along the way,” Russ patted her bottom in a teasing fashion opting
to incorporate some good old fashioned fun into their love making now that
they had a whole new fantasy to explore with one another in their new home.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Knock, knock,” a voice awakened Cori from her sleep as she slowly
turned toward the door to see Nate walking in as she let out a long groan
and turned back around in the bed. “You getting your beauty rest sweetheart?
”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing, this is the only thing I can
do for fun,” Cori pointed out hearing his footsteps moving in closer
to her feeling him sit down on the edge of the bed and she turned to look
at him. “What are you doing here? ”
“I kind of had a bad day and figured I would come to talk to you,”
Nate explained seeing the look she gave him as he shrugged his shoulders and
spoke up again. “I know it sounds crazy, but I was just having problems
today and I know it’s hard to believe, you are just the person I find
it the easiest to talk to. ”
“You’re kidding right? ” Cori laughed seeing the way he looked
away from her before going to get up and she grabbed a hold of his hand pulling
him back down on the bed. Scooting over to the side of the bed and motioning
Nate to lie down with her. “Okay, let’s hear about what happened.
”
“I just can never get away from certain assholes in my life,” he
began to tell her seeing the way her dark eyes watched him as he laid back
on the pillows and let out a deep breath. “I think I made a big mistake
as a person and no matter what my sister always has to dig it in. ”
“Well at least it’s your sister doing it,” Cori pointed out
seeing him turn to look at her, her eyebrows tensing together as she let out
a long sigh. “To be honest with you, I have everyone in this town digging
it deeper to me all the time. You don’t understand what it’s like.
”
“I know exactly what it’s like Cori, I have everyone doing it to
me based off of my sister. My sister is the worst person to me and at least
you have one sibling around that cares about you. All of my siblings are out
in Chicago and I get stuck with the bitchiest one of them all out here,”
Nate explained seeing the way she stared out at him and he shrugged his shoulders.
“You really don’t have it that hard. ”
“Don’t have it hard? ” she snapped seeing the way that Nate
nodded before letting out a deep breath and she sat up next to him. “Look
where I am Nate, this is not having it easy. This isn’t the high and
classy life if you get my point. ”
“Even so,” Nate sat up from the bed and stood to his feet before
staring out at Cori, letting out a small laugh. “Honestly Cori, all you
have to do is chill out here. “If you had to deal with my sister, you
would go insane. All you have to do is sleep all day in here, do you know
how lucky you are to be able to do that. ”
“You have to be kidding me right? ” Cori stood up from the bed and
moved forward pressing her hands in against the center of his chest giving
him a firm shove. “You have no idea what it’s like to be stuck in
here, to have everyone thinking you are crazy. ”
“You have it so easy in here Cori, you don’t even realize how easy
you have it,” Nate explained throwing his hands up in the air before
moving in closer to her. “No one tells you what to do…,”
“No, they just lock me up all day, I can see why I have it so easy,”
Cori argued further seeing the way that Nate frowned when she pushed him again
making him stumble back a bit. “I’m stuck in here, all alone to
the point where no one wants to deal with me. No one wants anything to do
with me because they think I’m a nut and will somehow end up hurting
them. I’m hurting inside here and no one believes in me. No one likes
me, no one comes to visit me and…,”
“Cori,” Nate cut her off moving in closer to her before letting
out a long breath and shaking his head slowly. “I care about you, I visit
you, and I believe in you. How in the world do you come up with no one, when
I’m someone? ”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I just don’t get what the hell is wrong with him. I mean is he
so desperate that he’ll sleep with the trashiest woman that crosses his
path no matter what kind of risks are involved?” Shannon threw her hands
up in the air after she thought about the way Nate had argued with her. “I
mean really, what was he thinking?”
“Shannon, he was probably just blowing off some steam,” Don offered
up in Nate’s defense. “Jewel can come on pretty strong and…”
“And she looks cheap and slutty,” Shannon rolled her eyes as she
remembered the woman in question. “That’s always what gets Nate
into trouble. That’s why he’s doing community service in the first
place because some girl tried to pull a Girls Gone Wild while driving and
he knocked over a tree. A tree Don! What would have happened if he would have
hit a person? Could you imagine him being in front of judge telling them that
some girl flashed him, so he couldn’t help killing some innocent bystander
who was just minding their own business?”
“First of all,” he stood up reaching out to take her hands in his,
“he didn’t kill anyone in his accident. He made an honest mistake
and fortunately no one was hurt in the process other than Nate really. Second,
let’s face it Shannon. The extent of his social life since he’s
been here has been work and being around us. He and Matt are best friends
and I don’t think that Matt is going to be setting him up with any of
his friends anytime soon considering that most of them haven’t passed
the first grade at this point.”
“He’d be better off with one of those women since clearly he has
the mentality of a two year old,” Shannon rolled her eyes again at the
thought of her brother. “I mean really, what is he thinking in bringing
someone like that around? Does he have no shame?”
“Shannon, he’s still pretty young and I’ll be honest, when
I was his age I was doing some pretty wild things as well,” Don added
catching the glare that came from her eyes.
“That’s only because you were under Brant’s pathetic influence,”
she rolled her eyes as the thought of Don in his younger years. “Face
it, you’d do just about anything to make him happy.”
“Sleeping around wasn’t exactly to make him happy Shannon. I think
it had more to do with my own self gratification,” Don frowned at the implication
she’d tossed out at him.
“Somehow I don’t exactly see you as a man whore. I mean no offense
Don, but you seem too trained for that,” Shannon couldn’t help but
laugh at the thought of Don as a wild man.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he frowned back at her.
“Well, to be honest with you between your Stephanie adoration and what
we have, I really don’t think you’ve had much room for other women
in your life. That’s been made painfully obvious as you’ve still
proven that you’ve got a lot to learn,” she tossed back at him with
a thick air of sarcasm.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard a complaint out of you about
my skills,” Don frowned back at her with a shake of his head.
“Hey, Don, honey I’m not saying that you’re bad or anything,
but I’ve had better. Much better,” Shannon couldn’t help but
let a smile slip before she cleared her throat, “I mean you know when
I was younger I used to…”
“I think we’re done here,” Don threw his hands up in the air.
“Don wait,” Shannon watched him walk out of the kitchen as she found
herself wanting to take back the words she’d tossed back at him. She
was ticked at Nate for being stupid, yet somehow she’d managed to twist
the situation around on Don as always. Following him out into the other room,
she couldn’t help but feel a moment of guilt tug over at her when he
dropped down on the couch and began to pout.
“Don, honey I didn’t mean that,” she offered up softening her
tone a bit as he reached for the television remote and began flipping through
channels.
“I don’t care Shannon,” he grumbled in response ignoring the
fact that she’d eased in beside him on the sofa.
“It’s just that Nate has me so wound up,” she reached out to
touch his thigh gently, “You understand…”
“Not really,” he admitted glancing over at her briefly before turning
his attention to the television once again. “No.”
“Nate’s a child and he clearly isn’t smart enough to see when
someone is using him. That woman has no interest in him and if he had half
a mind, he would see that,” she frowned again before shaking the thought,
“but I don’t want to talk about Nate right now Don.”
“And I don’t really feel like talking with you either,” Don
replied stubbornly, a wounded expression on his face. He felt her fingers
curl over his muscled thigh as he took in a small breath.
“Come on Don,” she purred leaning in closer to him. She pressed
her lips in against the side of his neck before speaking up in a soft slur,
“You don’t really want to be mad at me, do you?”
“I never want to be mad at you, but with the way you’re carrying
on,” he closed his eyes feeling her hand tease up into his lap. He took
in a breath before dropping his fingers down to catch her wrist and withdraw
it from his body. “I’m not in the mood.”
“Why? Because I insulted your pride?” Shannon frowned back at him
feeling him withdraw from her. “Don, honestly you need to get over it.”
“You really don’t know the first thing about me, do you?” he
questioned tipping his head to the side and seeing the expression on her face.
“Look, I didn’t mean what I said back there,” Shannon offered
up with a heavy sigh.
“Yeah, you did,” Don grumbled in response, “but you might not
have meant to say it out loud.”
“Don, I was just upset,” Shannon explained with a shake of her head,
“You say things that you don’t mean when you’re upset.”
“Not like that I don’t,” he replied with a wounded expression.
“I wasn’t doing anything other than trying to keep the peace around
here and then you go and insult me in a personal way like that.”
“Don, come on. It’s not like you think you’re the best out
there when it comes to sex. I mean sure I know I’m probably not the best
either,” she paused for a long moment before throwing back a teasing
grin, “though I’m pretty good.”
“Gee, I wouldn’t know since obviously I don’t rank up there
on the list of your top lovers,” Don rolled his eyes at the thought.
“Tell me Shannon, who is number one on your list? Brant?”
“Now you’re just being ridiculous,” she shifted on the couch
beside him turning away before he could see her face.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Why don’t you just admit you’d
much rather be married to him, then me? I mean that’s really what this
is about, isn’t it?” he snapped back at her, his irritation level
rising with the moment.
“Just because I liked sleeping with Brant doesn’t mean I’d
want to be married to him,” she rolled her eyes at him once again. “That’s
a preposterous notion.”
“Yet one you tend to indulge more than I’m aware of. Admit it,”
he threw back at her, “That’s why you get on my ass about so many
things where he’s concerned, isn’t it?”
“Oh please,” she groaned inwardly, “Now you’re just being
a baby.”
“No, I don’t think I am. I think you’re jealous that Brant
and I are best friends because you’re not used to being the one who isn’t
getting his attention,” he accused with a wounded expression on his face.
“Believe me I’m not,” she laughed at his insinuation, “Brant
is beyond infuriating and I would just as soon have him out of my life forever.”
“But apparently not out of your fantasies Shannon, right?” he tossed
back at her with a small frown.
“It’s not like you don’t fantasize about other women when we’re
together,” she replied with an agitated tone.
“Actually, I don’t, but maybe I should start since you seem to think
Brant is the better choice,” Don rose up from the couch and stomped out
of the room in a huff.
“Yeah, well at least with Brant, he never told me what I should or shouldn’t
do with my life. He was there for what I needed him for and then after that,
well he knew when to go away,” she threw her hands in the air and groaned.
Sinking back into the couch she let out a long huff before dropping her head
back, “If you want to be that way Don, then fine be that way. I give
up!”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I cannot for the life of me believe how bent out of shape you’re
getting with me over something that you suggested Kevin,” Ria snapped
placing her hands on her hips and glaring up at him. “You were the one
who was all gung ho about this living arrangement--not me. Hell if Trisha
hadn’t taken over my apartment and decided that tonight she was going
to have a shag fest with Chase there, then I would be at home minding my own
business and…”
“Look Ria, I don’t like what’s going on here anymore than you
do and,” he paused thinking about it for a moment before giving her a
strange look, “You let Trisha go over to your apartment to have a romp
with Chase?”
“I didn’t exactly let her. She already planned it out and didn’t
bother to ask me about it,” Ria corrected thinking about her younger
sister’s announcement, “She mentioned that my mom called and said
she would be returning home this week.”
“Your mother’s going to be in town?” Kevin’s eyes grew
wide at the thought.
“That’s right, so of course my sister is trying to get in some time
with her man before mom comes home and ruins everything, which is certainly
something I would be doing too, but my man is pretending to be someone else’s
man even though he’s getting mad at me for being around Brant, who I
can assure him is far from being my man,” Ria snapped in a huff, tossing
her long, dark hair over her shoulders. “I mean my God you almost married
Angela and you’re living with her Kevin. I hardly know Brant.”
“I realize that, but…” Kevin stopped himself shaking his head
and letting out a long sigh, “Look I’m sorry about earlier, but
Angela started talking and said…”
“Said what?” Ria eyed him expectantly, tapping her foot on the ground
and frowning up at him, “What did she say Kevin?”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Kevin sighed heavily realizing he’d
let his own concerns get the best of him, “Look I’m sorry for doing
what I did. I shouldn’t have busted the door down like I did.”
“No you shouldn’t have and I’m sure Brant is really going to
appreciate having to get things repaired simply because you blew your top,”
she groaned inwardly, “I mean hey Angela is the woman he loves and he’s
stuck on being in the outs of this too since she’s all wrapped up in
you.”
“I don’t care if she’s wrapped up in me. I love you and only
you,” Kevin reached out to her touching the side of her face gently,
“I don’t want to pretend to be something I’m not when I find
myself just wanting to be with you Ria. We are finally at the point in our
relationship where we can start focusing on us and moving forward, then this
happens.”
“Don’t you think I hate it just as much as you do?” she questioned
blinking up at him. “Kevin in case you haven’t noticed the last
place I want to be right now is in the Ashford mansion. I would much rather
be back with you at the hotel where we were alone together.”
“Things were easier when we didn’t know about this,” Kevin
replied reaching out to embrace her, squeezing her close to him, “Ria,
I just love you so damned much and when I lost you before, it almost killed
me.”
“I just didn’t like being put second to her all of the time,”
she sighed closing her eyes and listening to the sounds of his heart beating
in his chest, “I never ever wanted to feel like I was second best in
your life.”
“You could never be second best when you’re all that I want in this
world,” he kissed the top of her head gently before urging her to meet
his eyes again, “Ria I know that I’m lost without you and when you
left town before it made me realize that I’m nothing without you. Even
now to think about not being able to be near you--to share my nights with
you in my arms, well it’s killing me. I don’t want to pretend with
Angie because my heart is with you.”
“Mine is with you too Kevin,” she stepped up on her toes to steal
a kiss from him, “I love you.”
“I don’t want to go back there,” Kevin confessed pulling her
up into his arms. He raised her off of the ground and squeezed her closer
into his chest, “I would much rather spend the night with you making
love to you and holding you beside me.”
“It would be heaven to have that Kevin, but we both know that…”
she started to protest only to feel him silence her with a kiss.
“Let’s not spoil the dream just yet,” he begged of her kissing
her over and over again while keeping her in his arms, “Let’s just
take some time for us.”
“But Angela thinks that…” she voiced her protest ready to say
something more when he kissed her again spinning her around and carrying her
with him across the room.
“I don’t care what she thinks right now,” Kevin mouthed dropping
down onto the sofa and bringing her in over his lap. His thick fingers eased
into her silken strands of hair before his eyes sought out hers. He arched
up towards her kissing her again with a heated intensity--one that burned
down deep in his soul only when he was with her. Lazily his fingers tapered
off over her thigh before easing up underneath her shirt, “I love you
Ria.”
“I love you,” she tangled her fingers through his hair enjoying
the feel of his body beneath hers--remembering only too well how hot they
burned with one another in moments like these.
“I love you so much,” he mouthed anticipating nothing other than
drowning himself in her desire when his cell phone started to buzz breaking
through the moment. He groaned when he felt her pull away from him.
“It’s probably Brant,” Ria pointed out with a heavy sigh trying
to still her heavy breathing and the pounding of her heart.
“I should ignore it,” Kevin mouthed seeing the way that her dark
eyes shot a glare over at him, “Fine. I’ll answer it but only because
you want me to.”
“Fine,” Ria reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
“Allow me.”
“Okay,” he leaned back seeing her answer the phone. While he wasn’t
sure what Brant was saying, it was clear from the expression on Ria’s
face that Brant was worked up. She hung up the phone quickly promising Brant
that Kevin would get right on over.
“Great,” Kevin frowned shaking his head, “What did she do now?”
“She is still trying to get to you,” Ria explained with a puzzled
expression, “and Brant said he’s running out of shampoo. Whatever
that means.”
“I don’t even want to know,” Kevin groaned realizing that as
much as he wanted to stay with Ria and spend his night making love to her,
it seemed that it was out of the cards for him now that Angela was once again
demanding his attention just when things seemed to be looking up for him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Kevin, honey are you sure everything is alright in there?” Angela
knocked on the bathroom door once again thinking about how long Kevin had
been locked inside.
“Yeah I’m fine,” Brant explained glancing over towards the
main house before turning to the door again, “Just wait for me. I’ll
be out in a few minutes.”
“Kevin, you’re really starting to worry me,” she began again
as Brant heard a loud thumping sound from behind him. “Kevin, what was
that?”
“Nothing,” Brant lied rushing over to the window only to discover
that it had closed itself. He began to tug at it, feeling that it wasn’t
about to move an inch. He groaned inwardly attempting to open it again as
he heard Angela knocking at the door. “Sweetheart please just give me
a few minutes in here…”
“Kevin you’ve been in there over an hour. Surely you have to be
exhausted right about now,” she urged him on further as Brant spotted
Kevin moving across the lawn towards the window.
“I’ll be out in a few, um minutes Angie,” Brant mouthed watching
Kevin dart across the grass ready to make an entrance again.
“Open up Brant,” Kevin waved to the window as Brant shook his head
in response, “Come on Brant.”
“I can’t Kevin,” Brant mouthed close to the glass, “It’s
stuck.”
“What do you mean it’s stuck? Brant stop screwing around and start
opening it up. You want me in there, so…” Kevin started to argue
with him when a ticking sound filled the air around him. He looked around
trying to discover the source when he felt a sudden blast hit him right between
the legs soaking his pants and making him feel as if he’d wet himself.
He looked down to see the spray of the sprinklers on the lawn working in full
force. When he’d tipped his head down one shot him right in the center
of the face causing him to fall backward on to the lawn.
“Kevin, quit screwing around,” Brant shook his hand in the air watching
Kevin attempt to get up only to fall back down again when the sprinkler shot
him in the abdomen. Kevin shuffled to get to his feet again, but fell on the
slippery, wet lawn onto his face.
“Brant, I’m going to kill you,” Kevin groaned with a mouthful
of grass. He spit it out before looking up to see Brant yelling at him through
the window.
With a frown Kevin collected himself and looked around the yard. It seemed
as though the sprinklers weren’t about to give up on their unrelenting
quest to make the impossible even more frustrating. With a groan, he set forward
looking at the bricks around the landscaping and a thought occurred to him.
“Kevin, come on. She’s at the door again,” Brant explained
trying to keep his voice down so that Angela wouldn’t hear him.
“What did you say honey?” Angela questioned from the other side
of the door.
“Nothing,” Brant gulped turning his attention to the door for a
brief moment before facing the window again only in time to see Kevin launching
a brick right towards him. Brant rushed over to the side ducking out of the
point of impact as the brick came flying through the window.
“That’s it Kevin,” Angela announced hearing the sound of the
shattering glass, “I don’t care what you say I’m coming in
there.”
“Angela no,” both Brant and Kevin blurted out in unison as Kevin
managed to push the broken window up enough to allow himself access to the
bathroom.
“What?” Angela questioned as Kevin stumbled in through the window,
slipping on the floor due to the combination of water on his shoes and the
shampoo on the floor that Brant had been using to distract Angela. Unfortunately
even though he tried to recover from the fall, he landed straight on his butt.
“Damn it,” Kevin cursed feeling as though he’d wound up on
a pile of glass. He glared over at Brant who was equally worked up.
“Why the hell did you break the window?” Brant hissed down at him
watching Kevin struggle to pull himself up.
“Why did you lock me out?” Kevin glared at Brant.
“I didn’t lock you out. The window got stuck and,” Brant shook
his head and let out a groan, “She’s going to get in here. I showed
her where she could find the spare keys earlier and…”
“Damn,” Kevin heard the sound of fumbling at the door before he
looked around the bathroom. “She can’t see you in here. Go out the
window.”
“You have to be kidding me right,” Brant frowned glancing over at
the shattered glass that Kevin had just crawled through. “You’re
lucky that you didn’t cut your head off in that. I’m not going through
there.”
“Fine, but she can’t see you,” Kevin stepped forward reaching
for his shirt and bringing it up over his head.
“What are you doing?” Brant’s eyes widened watching Kevin slip
out of his pants and kick them across the room.
“Angie I’m taking a shower. You can’t come in here. I’m
already feeling really bad and,” Kevin started to explain using his foot
to keep the door closed while he stretched his arm out and attempted to reach
for the shower. When he couldn’t complete the task he looked to Brant
and mouthed, “Turn the water on.”
“What?” Brant questioned giving him a sideways glance.
“Turn the damn water on,” Kevin snarled kicking off his shoe and
hitting Brant in the shoulder with it.
“Ow, why didn’t you just say so instead of beating me up,”
Brant scoffed in response reaching for the dials as Kevin kicked off his other
shoe.
“Kevin, why are you acting so strange? Something is going on in there,
isn’t it?” Angela fumbled with the door again unlocking it only
to have Kevin quickly lock it right back up again.
“No Angie I’m fine I’m just…” Kevin watched Brant
adjusting the water dials and with a small frown, he reached out and shoved
Brant into the shower.
“What in the…” Brant felt the cold water pour out over him
as Kevin managed to snag a towel from the side of the shower and wrap it around
his waist just as Angela was walking in the door. He quickly pushed the shower
curtain shut hiding Brant from Angela’s eyes before she could catch on
to what was really happening.
“Baby, I told you I needed a few minutes,” Kevin blurted out seeing
the confusion wash over Angela’s face as she looked around the bathroom.
“What the hell happened here?” she blinked back seeing the broken
window and the things tossed around the bathroom, “Kevin you’re
up to something.”
“No I’m not. I’m not up to anything,” Kevin lied stepping
in front of the shower to keep Brant out of her sight. “I was just taking
a shower and…”
“No you are certainly up to something and I’m going to get to the
bottom of it right now,” she announced marching forward as Brant ducked
down further in the shower hoping and praying that Angela wouldn’t discover
what was really going on between them because if she did, then he and Kevin
were about to get into some big trouble!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Julian unlocked the front door to his apartment feeling like the biggest
jerk in the world after he’d walked out on Olivia in the midst of their
fight. He hadn’t meant to leave like he had especially knowing that they
had a big weekend ahead of them, but he couldn’t listen to what she was
saying a moment longer. Yes, they’d had problems between them lately
and he’d been under stress, but that didn’t mean he didn’t
love her. That was so far from being the truth that it wasn’t funny.
She was his world, his everything and as he thought about what she’d
said to him, the truth to the matter was that it hurt not just because it
was insulting, but because there had been some truth to what she’d said.
Closing his eyes he thought back to the day he’d gone on that call at
the warehouse. It seemed like it was just a regular night shift, but then
things took an unexpected twist. A twist that wound up with his partner in
the morgue and him in a hospital bed laid up with a bullet inside of him.
It took a while to recover from that and while he’d been promoted at
work, that even still haunted him. It was something that he hadn’t been
able to get over and something that he truly believed would never leave him.
It was part of who he was now, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t
be there for his family.
“Olivia,” he questioned seeing that the apartment was dark. He set
his keys on the countertop and noticed the pill bottle he’d left in his
anger. He reached for it again reading over the label before taking in a breath.
If this was going to be what made him happy--what gave Olivia what she was
so desperately searching for in their relationship, then he would do it. He’d
give her what she needed if it meant that they wouldn’t have this wall
between them any longer.
“Liv,” he spoke her name reaching for the top of the bottle and
contemplating opening it. He started to, but stopped instead placing the bottle
into his pocket. He walked into the kitchen opening up a cabinet and reaching
for a glass. He poured himself some water before dropping his hand into his
pocket again.
“You can do this,” he attempted to coach himself hating the idea
that this would be the only way to get close to his wife, but after the memory
of her wounded expression carried over him, he vowed to make things right.
Leaving the kitchen he walked down the hallway moving towards their bedroom
with the full intention of giving her what she’d been hoping for. He
hated the idea, but if it made her happy, then so be it.
“Liv,” he questioned in a low whisper wondering if she’d gone
to bed after his retreat. He pushed the door open ever so slightly only to
discover an empty bed. Frowning he entered the room and noticed the light
blinking on the answering machine. He sat down on his side of the bed and
pushed the blinking button before pulling the bottle out of his pocket.
“Julian,” Olivia’s voice sighed on the machine, “look
I know that we didn’t have tonight go as we planned, but….look I’m
sorry. I was out of line, but I just wanted us to fix the problem we’ve
been having. I wanted for us to be like we were before the children, before
the shooting and….”
Julian dropped his head down eyeing the bottle in his hand as if it was the
key to his future, yet in the same breath the ultimate admission that he’d
been a failure to his wife. He started to open it, but found himself frozen
in the moment.
“Look I know this isn’t how our night was supposed to go, but I
got called into work. I had a suicidal patient brought in and put under watch.
I don’t know when I’ll be back, but when I am we should talk. Julian
I…I love you.”
The answering machine beeped leaving him to silence again as he eyed the pill
bottle. With a heavy sigh he tipped it over dropping a pill into the palm
of his hand before his frustrations mounted and he found himself tossing the
entire bottle across the room and sending the pills everywhere.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Olivia Kurts sat at the bar feeling the smoke filled room overtake any semblance
of sanity that was left in her. Looking at the blue and pink neon clock that
hung over the bar, she took in a long breath. The drink in her hand was almost
finished and her nerves were still shot. She glanced across the bar knowing
full well that no one here knew her--no one in this place would have any idea
of what she was doing and just how far she’d sank in her life. Closing
her eyes she thought back to her fight with Julian--to how she was pushing
him to be something that he wasn’t--something that he couldn’t be
to her all because she’d found herself lost in temptation. She’d
felt it eat her alive and threaten to overtake her time and time again, but
when Julian walked out, she knew she could no longer deny what was happening
inside of her. She knew she would cross a line tonight and it was something
she couldn’t take back yet it was something deep down she knew she couldn’t
walk away from either.
“Sorry I’m late,” a voice roused her from her thoughts. She
looked up to see Michael Winston beside her sliding onto the bar stool she’d
kept free for him. She eyed him intently before turning to the mirrored wall
again.
“It’s alright,” she closed her eyes for a moment taking in
a small breath, “I wasn’t sure I had the nerve to come all the way
out here in the first place.”
“I really didn’t think that you would after what happened in your
office,” he replied watching her closely and thinking about the kiss
they’d shared with one another earlier. “I had the feeling that
you were going to avoid me like the plague.”
“I should avoid you. Hell, I shouldn’t be here,” she raised
her drink to her lips and finished it off before setting it down on the countertop,
“but I guess that is just one of the many things in life that I shouldn’t
do right?”
“Hey, are you okay?” he questioned reaching out to place his hand
on top of hers on the bar. “You look distracted…perplexed and…”
“And like a woman who knows she’s about to burn for something, but
isn’t strong enough to turn away from what she wants,” she explained
forcing herself to meet his eyes again. She inhaled slowly before taking in
his features knowing full well how good it felt to kiss his lips. “This
is by far the worst thing I could do, but at the same time you have no idea
how long I’ve wanted it.”
“Probably as long as I have,” he leaned in closer to her stroking
his fingers over the side of her face gently, “but I didn’t want
to push you--didn’t want to rush you into something you weren’t
ready for.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for something like this,”
she explained in a shaky tone, “but the fact to the matter is that I
can’t keep avoiding it any longer. Life is too short to hold back on
what you long for.”
“Then stop holding back. Stop denying what we both want,” Michael
murmured bridging the distance between them and claiming her mouth in a kiss
that was the first taste of things to come between them.
“Michael,” she sighed against his mouth feeling her skin on fire
as he was so very close to her. With shaky hands she reached for her purse
and drew in a breath, “I got us a room upstairs.”
“Are you sure?” he questioned searching her eyes for a long moment
before seeing her nod.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” she replied sliding off of the barstool and
reaching for his hand to take him upstairs with her to move beyond the point
of no return. For a brief moment she thought about Julian, about the way she’d
lashed out at him in a moment of her own guilt, condemning him simply because
it served as an excuse for her actions, but now, well now she knew that there
would be no turning back. After tonight things would never be the same again!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
...to be continued...