Chapter Thirty-Six
Candice
Something was going on with my mother, but I wasn’t sure what. She’d been acting strangely on the phone, and whenever I asked her what was happening she would change the subject. I woke up early that day and decided to go and see her before class. My mom was always an early bird and had a habit of sitting outside with her morning coffee. I figured she’d be there alone because my dad would be either asleep or already in his office working. Luckily I was right.
My mom looked different. When she looked up at me, she smiled, and the smile looked genuine. It reached her eyes, and for the first time in a very long time she looked content.
“Oh darling, this is such a nice surprise,” she said when she saw me. She got up and gave me a hug. “What’s happening with school? No classes?”
“I have one soon. But I wanted to come and say hi before going in.”
“That’s nice of you. Want some tea?”
“No, I’m okay. Mom, I just wanted to find out what was going on with you. You’ve been acting different lately. I was worried. Although, I must say, you look really happy.”
She smiled. Another beautiful, genuine smile. “I am happy. Well, I wasn’t going to tell you just yet, but now that you’re here I might as well let you know. I’m leaving your father.”
I could feel my eyes widening in surprise. “What?” I wasn’t sure if I had even heard correctly.
“I’m leaving your father. It’s all too much, darling. I can’t be with a man like that. Not after what he did to you. For the first time, I realized just how much he has changed since the day I met him. He wasn’t always like this. I wouldn’t have been with him in the first place if he was. He used to be a nice man. He was kind and sweet and had such a passion for life. But his work changed him, and I’m afraid there’s no going back now. He was willing to take his daughter out of college just to prove a point? That’s not the sort of man I want to be with. And he wanted you to be with Derek. I always hated Derek.”
“I thought you didn’t like him, but I wasn’t sure.”
“Yeah, I didn’t like him, and I should’ve said something. I had a bad feeling about that guy. There was just something about him that I didn’t trust. I knew he could be charming when he wanted to though, and that worried me. If he was like this now, at such a young age, I worried what he would one day become. And, Dominic, well he’s just wonderful. What a sweet boy. And he loves you so much. I knew there was no chance I could just sit by and watching this all happen without doing something about it. I want you to be happy, and Dominic makes you happy. But your father doesn’t make me happy anymore. And, for the first time, I realize that I want to be happy too. I know this comes as a shock to you.”
“Oh, Mom,” I said. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This was the strongest I had heard my mother in a long time. I could feel the strength pouring out of her as she spoke. “I’m so happy for you.”
“So, you don’t mind?”
“Are you crazy? Of course I don’t mind. I know he’s my father, but that doesn’t mean I like the man. I’m sad, of course. Everyone wants this big happy family. But it’s not going to happen. Not with him the way he is. Like you said, it’s too late to change him now.”
“Thank you, darling. I appreciate your support. It’s a scary move, but I know it’s right. Anyway, I will sit with you one of these days and tell you everything. For now, I just need a bit of time to sort things out.”
“Do you need anything? Any help? I’m more than happy to stay here and help you through this time.”
She smiled and took my hand. “Oh my angel, you’ve given me so much already. Trust me; I would never have had the guts to stand up for myself if it weren’t for you. You have shown me that it’s possible. I cannot thank you enough for that. I’m going to be fine on my own. But thank you. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
“Now, you better not be late for class.”
“Are you going to be okay, though? You sure?”
“I’ve never been better.”
I stood up, gave her a hug and made my way back to class. I couldn’t believe what had happened. I knew that something was going on. I could hear it in her voice over the phone. But I had never suspected it would be something like this. I never thought my mother would ever do something like this, and I was so proud of her. I knew she had it in her. I just thought it was too far buried inside her.
I got back to the school, parked the car, and made my way to my first class of the day. It was Professor Jackson’s class, and I was looking forward to seeing Dominic. I had hated going to that class without him. Dominic was already there, and when I went to sit next to him at the back of the class, the two of us immediately held hands. During class, his hands made their way to my leg, and I battled to concentrate as his hand moved up and down. I almost groaned out loud at one stage and had to shake myself off and remind myself that I was in public. It just felt so good to see him again. He wrote in his notebook and moved it over for me to read.
I wish we weren’t in class, the note said.
I chuckled. I got out my pen and wrote back.
Let’s go back to your dorm after this.
He read the note, and then leaned over and whispered to me. “I have practice after class, but I need to be with you.”
“We’ll be quick,” I whispered back.
He smiled and squeezed my hand, and I willed the time to hurry up. I needed to get out of there and get him into bed before I went completely crazy.
When class was over, we made our way out the door before anyone else and practically ran all the way back to his dorm room. By the time we got there, we were out of breath.
“How much time do we have?” I said.
“Enough time,” he said and pinned me against the door. It had only been two days since we’d seen each other, but it felt like an eternity. He kissed me passionately, and my body cried out for him. A shiver ran down my spine despite the warmth of his room. We pulled our clothes off hurriedly and made our way to the bed. There was no time to waste. Although, I wasn’t sure if things would be any different even if there wasn’t football practice to go to. I was too impatient to be with him. There would be plenty of other times to slowly make love. But at that moment, I wanted him, and I wanted him now. I couldn’t wait, and neither could he. He pinned me down onto the bed, kissed me hard on the mouth, and pushed himself into me. I let out the moan I had been holding in since class and wrapped my legs around him so that he could deepen inside me. He leaned down and bit my shoulder, then sucked at my neck as I groaned and writhed underneath him.
I loved making up for lost time with Dominic. I loved the way I felt with him inside me, filling me, making me feel whole. My body responded both physically and mentally to him, and as I gripped the sides of the bed sheets in pleasure, I knew that I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life. Suddenly he pulled himself off me and moved down to lick me, tantalizing my most tender skin. I cried out in surprise and pleasure as I felt his warm tongue against me. Then he climbed back up and rolled me over so that I was on top of him. But we somehow miscalculated the roll and the small bed and landed up on the floor. He was the first to land, and then I followed with my head landing with a thud on his shoulder. I burst out laughing, but before I had the chance to get up, his fingers had trailed down over my stomach and found their way in between my legs. I stopped laughing and sighed happily at the feel of him inside me. Then, it was my turn to take him, and I made my way down the floor and wrapped my mouth around his shaft. He was salty in my mouth, and he seemed to harden with every flick of my tongue. I sucked one last time and then climbed on top of him. He slid inside me as if he were the missing part of my puzzle, and I rocked my hips as I hovered above him. Gently at first, and then harder and harder, driving him deeper within me. His body was warm and sweaty against mine, and we thrashed fervently against one another. At that moment, I forgot all about what had happened. I forgot about the time in jail, about my father, about Derek, about my mother’s divorce. I forgot about the fact that we were lying on the floor in Dominic’s dorm room and that he had to get to practice. I forgot everything. The only thing that I could think about was this feeling—the feeling of having Dominic inside me. And then, as we moved up and up toward our climax, we fell and crumbled together in ecstasy.
“Who knew the floor could be this comfortable?” I said as I reached down to kiss him. Sex on the floor was definitely a first for me. It was, actually, starting to get a little uncomfortable, but at the moment it had seemed like the best place to be.
He laughed. “You’re amazing, Candy. And if we didn’t get here quick enough, I would’ve done this to you in Professor Jackson’s class. I was getting to the point where I didn’t care who was around me.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, I felt the same way. Well, the floor of your dorm room is definitely better than in class. We’re already the talk of the school.”
“Should we climb back into bed?” he suggested.
“Oh, I would love to. But, uh, don’t you have to get to practice?” I asked.
“Oh shit! Yeah, I forgot,” he said. “Look what you do to me.”
He got up and checked the time and saw that he still had a few minutes to get there. He changed, kissed me on the mouth, and ran out. I pictured him running all the way to practice and giggled at the thought of it. I just hoped he had remembered to put his underwear back on. I looked around the room but didn’t see it. I put my own clothes back on and then lay back in his bed. I didn’t have class for a while, and I didn’t feel like leaving his room. I liked being there.
Suddenly I got a message from Dominic telling me that he had made it just in the nick of time. I replied and told him that I was still lying in his bed. In your bed, not on the floor next to it, I added.
He immediately replied. Stay there!
I lay back and smiled. I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.