Epilogue
One Year Later
Vivian
"This is beautiful, Easton." I glanced behind me to give him a smile for his great choice of resorts. Maui was filled with beachgoers that time of the year, and there was little question as to why. The fruits were hanging heavy from the trees, the water cool, and the sun deliciously warm.
"I had hoped that you would like this one." He moved into the room behind me, sliding his hands around my waist and down to cup my sex as he pressed his lips to the soft skin below my ear. "I want to try out the bed, and the shower, and the balcony. Remember that night in Jamaica a while back? I want that all over again."
"Mmmm," I pressed against him and let my eyes take in the sensual feast of the King's Palace room. The floor plan was vast and exquisite. It was a good thing that the company was doing well, and both Easton and I were to thank for that.
"I'm so proud of you, Viv. You've done so much over this last year." He licked at my ear and ground into me again. "Do you like this dress?"
I glanced down at the simple yellow cotton gown and shrugged. "It's nice and comfy, but I'd not spend money on another one."
"Good." He walked forward, pushing me with him until we reached the bar. His grip on my shoulder forced me to turn, and I knew the look in his eyes before he could say anything. We'd been so busy with visiting various resorts and hotels on the island that we hadn't had much time for each other. With the next two days off, he was ready to spend most of the time naked and working to outdo each other in the sheets.
He tugged my dress up to my hips and bent over, pressing his lips to my upper thighs and mixing a variety of wet kisses with the firm press of his teeth on me.
"Fuck," I groaned.
"Yeah. Let's." He moved back up and pulled his shirt over his head, leaving his firm, tanned chest on display for me. I'd never get tired of seeing any bit of his skin that he gave me access to. He pushed at my shoulder and moved back down, licking around the edge of my panties as he barked his commands at me. "Lay back. I need to taste you."
I lowered myself to the bar and lifted my legs before dropping my knees to either side and giving him full access to me. I'd learned to not only trust him with my heart, but with every inch of my body.
He jerked the panties to the side and ran his tongue up my center as I bucked beneath him. The dark chuckle that left him moved across my flesh and pressed against my pleasure points. His fingers sunk deep into me as he worked my clit into his mouth, sucking softly and then harder.
"How do you do that?" I arched my back and reveled in the intensity of his hold on me. My fingers gripped the edge of the bar as my first orgasm hit, and I bent at the waist, a long scream leaving me. It only seemed to fuel him on farther as he brought me to cum again before glancing up at me.
"I love to hear you cum. It's my favorite part of the day." He smirked, and I sat up, pressing my lips to his as I worked on his zipper.
"Then don't stop. Your tongue's magic, but you know what I want." I kissed him a few more times as I pushed his jeans over his hips and reached for his cock.
"I know what you want, Viv, and it's all yours, baby. Forever." He picked me up and scooted me to the front of the bar before pressing into me. "Like this?"
I ignored his taunting and shifted to take more of him into me as he let himself go. It was a beautiful thing to witness him completely lost to his need for intimacy. He gripped my thighs tightly and shifted from watching our bodies meet to looking at me in the face.
His hand slid into my hair, and he tightened his hand on the back of my neck as his lips hovered just above mine.
"Cum for me again, Viv. Several more times." He licked at my lips before nipping.
I couldn't help but follow his command as he shifted his hips and worked me with longer strokes, his body glimmering with sweat as I pulled him flush against me.
"Hold me tightly," I breathed out.
"Anything you want." He wrapped his strong arms around me and pressed his mouth to the top of my chest before licking his way up the column of my neck. His deep grunts combined with the firm press of him deep inside of me caused the igniting of passion to drive me over the edge again, and I gripped him with all my might as I cried out against his chest.
"That's it. So beautiful, baby." He brushed my hair back and worked us both through our orgasm, his body filling mine without concern. I'd gotten on the pill right after we decided to work toward a future together. It was the best decision we'd made. The need to be skin to skin when we made love drove us toward the intensity of intimacy that belonged in each and every day we had together.
"I love you." He kissed me softly. "Come take a shower with me. I have a nice dinner planned for us on the beach if you're up for it."
"I love you, too." I pressed my cheek to his shoulder and rested against him, not wanting to go anywhere but the bed. We'd run ourselves ragged over the last few days in Maui, but his idea of vacation was quite different than mine. Where I wanted to lay around and do absolutely nothing, he wanted to explore the island and try everything they had to offer.
There was no way I would have labeled myself as a risk taker before. Now, with him, I very much had shifted into being one.
"A shower sounds great." I moved back and groaned as he pulled out of me and squeezed my thighs.
"No time for sex in the shower though. I have reservations at seven for us." He helped me down and kissed my nose. "Wear something pretty like this dress."
I glanced down at it and rolled my eyes before pulling it off and letting it drop where it wanted to. "Then we should take a shower separately. You know how much you like touching me in the spray of the water."
He bit his lip as his eyes moved across me. "Right. Let's make it quick."
"There's the man I love." I chuckled and moved toward the bathroom in anticipation of more of him. I didn't think I could ever get enough.
*****
The warm breeze picked up and pulled at the messy bun I had my hair in, but I forced myself to enjoy it. The view of the water was breathtaking, and the intimate grass hut that Easton rented us bobbed up and down in the water just off the shoreline.
"There are so many great things on this menu," I muttered and glanced up at him as the flames from the candles between us danced as if they were part of the entertainment.
"Let's get everything then." He reached for my hand, and I gave it to him. "You realize that we've been together almost a year today, right?"
I smiled shyly. "I do, but I wasn't going to bring it up though."
"What? Why not?" His dark eyebrows pulled together. "Are you too cool to celebrate anniversaries?'
"No. Not at all, but it seemed silly. And honestly with all of the uncertainty around the actual day that we both decided to stop being stupid and just get together, I didn't know the date." I chuckled and tugged my hand from his.
"This is true. That's why I said that it's almost been a year. We have more like a week-long anniversary whereas most normal people have a day." He picked up his beer and took a long drink as I watched him.
"I love you. You're so handsome to me." I sat the menu down and leaned back, wanting a moment to take in all that we'd been through. The last year had been bliss and nothing more. Our concerns over me wrapping up school or us traveling together were all worked out without any major bumps. Casey would be graduating from NYU with her Master’s soon, and life was good.
"I love you too, baby. Order anything on that menu you want, and then you and I are going to dance on the beach. I have a small band coming out here to play for us." He wagged his eyebrows.
"You do? How fun." I glanced down as a server in a canoe paddled up to the front of the hut and smiled up at us.
"What can I get for the two of you tonight?" He glanced at me and then back at Easton.
"Whatever the lady wants, she gets." He gave me a cheeky grin and sat his menu down.
"We'll take one of everything, please." I shrugged and handed the guy the menus as his eyes went wide. "We'll need a few doggie bags, and no worries. This guy says he's going to dance the calories off of me when we're all done."
The server chuckled. "We will get started on all of it then."
"Good choice, baby." Easton got up and walked to my side of the table, pulling me up. "Let's go dance now. It's going to take them a while to get all of that prepared."
"I'd love that." I took his hand and slid mine into his as we walked back down the narrow planks to the shore. “Watch your step. This thing isn’t anchored to much more than a few cords.”
“You’ll save me. I have no doubt.” I smiled up at him. “You’re my superhero, remember?”
“And Casey’s, it would seem.” He chuckled and wagged his eyebrows. I’d gotten over my fear of losing him to other women, which was much more freeing than I imagined possible. I still struggled a little from time to time, but he was so good about reminding me that he belonged to me, and me alone.
“Don’t make me take out my best friend. Then you’ll have to go on those long shopping trips to the mall with me that you hate. Do you want to do that?”
"Hell no. Tell me something though… Are you glad you decided to take the job with me and Jon? Was it a decision that you would make the same if you could redo it?" He stepped off onto the sand and reached for me. He wrapped his strong hands around my waist and pulled me against him as I slid down until my feet touched the sand.
"Yes. Absolutely. I can't imagine a more perfect life than this one that we have." I pressed my chest to his and locked my arms behind his head. "And to think that you almost got cold feet a million times at the beginning of it all."
He nipped at my mouth playfully. "I think that was you, but I might be off on the story. I have far too many good memories that have taken the space of those old ones."
"And we're going to make a lot more." He leaned down and brushed his lips by mine. The tartness of his beer was delicious on my tongue as I pressed my way deeper into his mouth and tightened my grip on him.
He groaned low in his chest and slid his hands down my back, cupping my butt tightly as music began to play in the distance.
I broke the kiss and smiled. "I love it."
"Get a room!" A loud, familiar voice called from behind me, and I turned to find Casey and my parents walking out from one of the large buildings a little bit in the distance.
"Case?" I moved out of Easton's arms as confusion rolled over me. What the hell was everyone doing there? "Mom?"
Easton's parents were the next to walk out, and beside them were Jon and his wife, Bethany. The smiles on their faces told me that I was missing out on something. Big time.
"What the hell?" I muttered as Easton tugged at my skirt. I turned and glanced down to find him on one knee in the sand, his smile sexy and yet intensely loving. "No, you're not."
"Yes, I am. I've found the perfect woman for me. I never want to be away from you for more than a few minutes. Tell me that you'll be my wife. That we can spend forever together." He reached up and took my hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it softly as tears filled my eyes.
"Yes, of course." I moved into his arms as clapping filled the air around us. "How did you know we would have enough to feed everyone?" I asked, my voice heavy with emotion.
"Because I let you order tonight, baby. You always get enough to feed an army." He kissed my nose and bent down for a longer kiss, a kiss that would seal us as one forever.
VALENTINE
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Val
"I really don't see what the big deal is." I tugged my scarf tighter around my neck and glanced around the table at my friends. "Just because all the women in my family have led the Delta Gammas through the generations doesn't mean I have to. I don't even fit into the group. But does anyone give a shit? Nope."
Lucinda huffed and ran her hand over her dark hair. "Your mom and sister are a different breed of human altogether, Val. You know that. Don't go getting all stressed out again just because elections are coming up at the end of the spring."
Katelyn sat to my left, playing with her straw and dipping in and out of what looked like a day dream state, but something about the conversation seemed to pull her from her thoughts. She glanced up and lifted her eyebrow at me, her blue eyes filled with concern.
"You don't really think Carolyn is going to get the presidency again, right? She's been nothing less than horrible." Katelyn was the only one in my group of friends that lived in the Gamma house with me. The rest of them had sense in their head.
My fourth and favorite gal pal in the group spoke up as she ran a French fry through the mound of ketchup on her plate. "I think you should run, Val. You're the most logical girl in the house."
"Hey!" Katelyn huffed and swatted playfully at Amy. "I'm logical. Sort of."
I snorted and glanced around the fast food restaurant we sat in. The place was relatively empty, which wasn't surprising at all. It was three degrees below freezing and getting out of the house was hazardous to our health, but being cooped up any longer with Carolyn and her lackeys meant I was going to crack.
"You guys ready for classes starting back tomorrow?" Lucinda turned as the door opened behind us and freezing cold air blew in. "Damn. Close that door!"
Amy chuckled and shook her head. "No, I'm not looking forward to it at all. I have my senior-level physics class, and from what I heard, it's going to be the death of me."
"Please. You're the smartest person I know." I got up and gathered my stuff before walking to the trashcan and letting out a long breath. The situation with Carolyn wasn't something I was honestly willing to discuss with anyone. The girl had been dead-set on being a thorn in my side the entire time I had been at the University of Minnesota, and she was damn good at keeping her promises.
Truth be told, I didn't want the leadership role with the Gammas. Not in the slightest. They were the rich kids, the elite, and though my family had money, I wasn't interested in flaunting it. Ever.
"What's the plan for today?" Lucinda walked up beside me and worked to get something out of her teeth.
I gave her a look and buttoned up my heavy coat before walking back toward the table and grabbing my backpack. "I'm headed to the library. I have a paper due when I walk into my business law class tomorrow."
"What? That's messed up." Katelyn tossed her stuff in the trashcan and turned to give me a sympathetic look. "You want us to come with you?"
"No, and you wouldn't even if I did want you there." I chuckled and pulled my phone from my back pocket as it buzzed. My mother. "I gotta take this. The world might be ending."
"Your mom can't find her favorite brand of shoes at the mall?" Lucinda poked at me and shook her head. "No clue how you ended up odd man out within your family, but I'm sure glad you did."
"Why is that?" I opened the door and shuddered as the chill of winter wrapped around me.
"Because we wouldn't be friends otherwise." She laughed.
I waved to my friends and answered the phone as my stomach tightened. There was no one in the world I dreaded talking to as much as I did my mother. I wasn't good enough, smart enough, or working nearly hard enough for her. This coming from a woman who hadn't worked a day in her life and looked like a Barbie doll, thanks to a group of surgeons who got paid quite well to keep her that way.
"Mom. What's going on?" I kept my tone even. I might not be my mother's favorite, but to disrespect her would bring more harm than good, and besides, my father raised me to be a better person than that.
"Valentine, why didn't you tell me that you weren't planning on running for the Presidency of Gamma? You're the Vice President now. That I have to hear these things from Marilyn Jacobs is upsetting. You know she's just looking for a reason to make me feel inadequate. Why do you keep giving her one?" My mother's voice was tight and filled with tension.
I let out a slow breath, praying like hell that she wouldn't hear me and-
"Don't you sigh at me. This is serious business." She continued to grumble as I jogged toward the library. Huge piles of snow lined the narrow path that someone had taken the courtesy to create earlier that morning. My mother was forever concerned about Marilyn Jacobs, much like I was concerned with the dealings of her bitchy daughter, Carolyn. Funny how some things just moved from generation to generation – whether we wanted them or not.
"Mom, I'm not sighing at you. I'm jogging to the library. It's freezing out here. Give me a minute and I'll talk about this with you. I can't breathe right now." I pulled the phone from my ear as she started up again.
Why she couldn't just let me be was beyond me. My older sister Allison wasn't badgered her whole life; but then again, she had been the measure of success by which all my failures were compared and left wanting.
I opened the door and walked in as a group of giggling girls walked out. Their excitement labeled them as freshman, and I was almost jealous. The thought of graduating in a year and a half left my insides turning to ice. To say I was scared was a mild understatement. I wasn't capable of pulling my weight in high school and now college. Real life was going to eat me alive.
My mother's voice rose up from the phone as I lifted it to my ear and forced myself to sound much more pleasant than I felt.
"Sorry, Mom. That was a long jog. I'm in the library. I have a paper due for my business law class tomorrow," I whispered as loudly as I could without grabbing unwanted attention from the people working at the checkout desk.
"You're out of breath. Have you been going to the gym? Your father and I don't pay for you to go to the gym just to spend our money on the hope that you'll stay in shape, Valentine."
I found an empty table near the back of the library and quietly sat my stuff down before dropping into one of the chairs. The last thing I needed that morning was to have my mother remind me that if I didn't stay in shape, I wouldn't be a prime candidate for a man.
"You know if you let yourself continue to gain weight, you'll end up alone and living with me and your father." She let out a frustrated sound, and I leaned back in my chair, unwilling to give her fuel for the forest fire she was creating. "Start using the gym membership or we'll cancel it."
"It's part of the campus fees, Mom. You can't cancel it, and I'm not getting fat." I ran my hand through my dark brown hair and glanced around to make sure I wasn't being disruptive. "Besides, basketball is starting back up, and I've been on the courts, which I assure you is a great workout."
"Basketball." She huffed loudly. "That's a boy's sport, Valentine. You need to stop spending your time on things that aren't going to be part of growing your future."
"Like the sorority that you made me join?" I closed my eyes and dropped my head in failure. I hadn't meant to bring it up. It was like putting a target on my head and handing my mother a loaded gun.
"That sorority, young lady, has the ability to help you get any job or any man that you want. It's a powerful group of women, and you not even trying for the leadership role, which is rightly yours, is disturbing." She was running out of breath, which means the drama was just starting. "What's even worse is that you let Marylyn’s daughter take the presidency. You have no clue of how incredibly disappointed and embarrassed I am."
"I'll try harder, Mom. Sit down and don't get upset over this." I opened my bag and tried to ignore the sickness swirling deep inside my stomach. I loved her, I did, but she was a monster most days of the week – and that was when she was in a relatively good mood.
"How do you know I'm not sitting?" she barked into the phone.
"I can hear you pacing. You know your blood pres-"
"I'm not interested in having a pow-wow with my child over my blood pressure. What I am interested in doing is hearing that you're going to stop wasting all of the opportunities that your father and I are creating for you and that you're going to actually do something with yourself." She was yelling by this point, and I was over it.
"Yep. I am. I'll call you later, Mom. I love you to the moon and back." I dropped the call as tears filled my eyes. I'd promised myself a million times that I wasn't going to cry another tear over her disapproval of me. It wasn't going to change or get better, and I'd quit trying to please her after my first year of coming to college. The fact that I was still in the sorority house pleaded the opposite of that, but it was a small offering of peace toward her. That's all I had left in me.
A text came through from Katelyn that the Sigma Chis were having a “last night of winter break” party later that night. I told her I would go, but only if there was beer and hot guys.
Hot guys. Yeah right. I barely wanted to see the good-looking guy that I had been dating for the last six months, much less anyone new. Paul Wright was the all-American heartthrob on campus, and where I'd promised myself I wouldn't get involved too seriously with anyone during my college years, his blond hair and blue eyes left my heart fluttering too often to refuse.
Me and every other girl on campus.
We'd been together for six months, and while the relationship was good, it wasn't anything near great. He was too much like my mother, and the fact that she approved of him left me feeling like I was almost out of my league.
I stiffened as the sound of his voice lifted up from the row of books to my left, surprising me a little.
"The party starts at eight. Just grab your friends and come out," Paul was whispering to someone, or trying to.
"Come get us." Carolyn Jacobs.
I stood as anger burned through my veins. Carolyn was the current president of the Gammas and had been after my boyfriend since the day we started dating. Funny enough, she wasn't interested in him until he decided he was interested in me.
"Yeah. Come get us." I moved up to stand beside them, working hard to keep my expression calm and unemotional. The turmoil dancing inside my chest would never be seen by either of them. I was a master at the art of calm facades.
"Val. There you are." Paul's lips lifted in a warm smile as he turned to pull me into a tight hug. "You didn't answer my texts."
"You didn't text." I winked at him and pulled back a little to look over at Carolyn. Her tight shirt and short skirt left her looking like a hooker. "It's freezing outside. You're going to catch your death wearing that."
She rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through her long blonde hair. "Jealousy isn't becoming, Valentine." She spat my name before turning her attention back to Paul. "Come pick all of us up. We'll even let your charity-case girlfriend come."
"Carolyn." Paul gave her a warning look and turned back to me. "You want to come to the party tonight? I'll pick you up and bring you back home."
"I'm going, but I'm riding with Amy." I gave Carolyn a side glance before shoeing her off. "Go away and make someone else miserable. Your job is done here."
She rolled her eyes and turned. "You're dating the wrong girl, Paul, and you know it. I hear she doesn't even put out."
I ignored her and pulled from Paul's hold. Why everyone reminded me of my mother all of a sudden was beyond me. I needed a new focus – or better yet, a new life.
"Hey. You know she's just jealous of you." He followed me back to the table where my stuff sat strewn everywhere.
"And why is that?" I sat down and pulled my business law book toward me. "She has everything I have and then some."
"She's jealous of me." He let out a curt laugh and touched the back of my hair. "Hey. Look at me. Don't let her upset you. I'm good with us sleeping together just every once in a while. I know sex isn't important to you."
Ice water ran through my veins.
"What?" I turned and looked up at him. He was everyone's wet dream, except mine. His lack of humility and borderline obsession with popularity left me having to force myself to do anything beyond a quick, friendly kiss.
If this is love or lust, I don't want it. Fuck it.
"It's okay. Really." He smiled and touched the side of my face. "Besides, it's been a few weeks. I'm figuring if you'll let me take you to the party tonight, then we can go back to my place afterward. Spend some time together and snuggle up for a good night of sleep?"
Spending time together usually included me sucking him off, fucking for five minutes, and listening to him snore the rest of the night. Count me out.
I swatted his hand away, suddenly not feeling so friendly anymore. "I'm good. Go pick up Carolyn. I'm riding with my friends, and what happens after that is anybody's guess."
"Val, come on." He touched my shoulder, but I jerked away, hating how immature I felt, but not able to drag myself from the black hole I was teetering over.
There were many more parts of my life that I hated than those that I loved. Or liked.
"I have to work on this paper. I'll see you tonight. Okay?" I glanced up at him, pleading with my expression for him to leave me be. I didn't need any more pressure in my life, and if things kept going the way they were, he wouldn't have to worry about me too much longer, anyways.
Carolyn wasn't one to give up on anything she wanted, and after grabbing up the leadership role in Gamma our sophomore year, she was only hungry for something else that was mine. Paul would be next, and I honestly didn't care. As long as she kept her damn hands off of my friends, I would survive.
If she didn't, then game on.