Alex

The next morning felt like a continuation of some kind of dream. Chloe woke me with tiny kisses peppered across my jaw, and then we made love like giddy teenagers, tripping over each other in the tiny shower and kissing each other’s cries silent so her sisters wouldn’t hear, although they more than likely at least heard the various shampoo bottles being dropped everywhere. But even when the low, rusty shower head tried to decapitate me, and even when a razor went flying and almost took off a piece of my bicep, and even when the biggest damn shampoo bottle I’d ever seen landed squarely on my instep, none of that mattered because Chloe was in my arms, moaning my name. Chloe was pressed to my chest, legs wrapped tightly around me, her face buried in my neck as she came violently, triggering my own fierce climax.

There was no need to think of protection for the first time in my life—we both automatically knew we were clean, plus, her pregnancy—and spilling deep inside Chloe felt like nothing else ever had, or, I suspected, ever would again.

When we finally unwrapped from one another and snuck out of the shower, making a dead run for the bedroom and laughing hysterically at the absurdity of adults acting like total kids, it struck me hard that I was more than halfway to being in love with this woman already. This woman I barely knew, but who somehow fit exactly right into my arms and heart and life.

And then that gorgeous, sweet, sexy woman kicked me out.

“Sorry,” Chloe said apologetically, handing me my pants just when I was about to tumble her into bed once more.

I froze in confusion and she laughed, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. “Don’t look like that.” She rested her forehead against mine, beautiful eyes twinkling. “But my sisters will only give us so much leeway before they decide they’re entitled to emerge from their rooms for breakfast …”

Chuckling, I held up my hands in surrender, even though they wanted to reach for her bare body, still deliciously warm and damp from the shower. “Okay, okay. I know when I’m not wanted.”

Reaching for her own clothes, Chloe shot me a hungry look that almost undid me right then and there. “Oh, you’re wanted. And if we have to get a hotel next time so you don’t have to leave, we will.”

Then she smiled and handed me a phone to call a cab, but it was fine because she’d said next time.

 

My parents were still asleep when I slipped into the house, but David was fresh from a workout in the small gym in the basement. He saluted me with a glass of something green and unpleasant-looking.

"You look like you had a good night."

"I did," I said with a smile. I had no intention of sharing any details with him, but I didn't see the harm in agreeing.

"That's one of the Becker girls, isn't it? Mother was talking about her last night. Someone mentioned that they were back in town."

There was nothing intrinsically wrong with my brother's words, but something about his tone made me scowl.

"Yes, she is. They're here to decide on what they want to do with their grandmother's house."

David chuckled, and it occurred to me how very far apart we were. He was almost ten years younger than me, and for a good chunk of the time he was growing up, I was in medical school.

"White Pines girls are great," he said. "Townie girls. They think going down to Madison is like being taken to Paris, they don't mind slumming it in parked cars, and they think that if you get them dinner at that greasy burger place on Shaw that you're really into them. Good for a cheap night out."

I stared at him for a moment, wondering when my father’s voice had suddenly started coming out of David’s mouth.

"Are you serious?" I asked, and he laughed.

"Hey, I love them," he said. "I have ever since I stopped worrying about cooties. White Pines occasionally throws a looker, and it sounds like from how mad Mom is that you got a pretty one. Works for me, I like Esme just fine."

He threw a quick salute at me before heading for the shower. He had a date with Esme that day and he needed to look his best, but suddenly I thought that I would much prefer him with a black eye or maybe a split lip.

He's just joking, I told myself. David's barely more than a kid, and he says all sorts of dumb shit. It was a cruel thing to say, and I wasn't used to my brother being cruel.

Or maybe he was and you just never noticed...

I stripped in my bedroom and when I saw the small red marks that her nails had left behind, I smiled, touching them a little, and the tension slipped away just like that. Sex with Chloe was extraordinary, but what was even more amazing was that I wanted way more than that with her. The way I wanted … everything. 

As I was changing into clean clothes, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it, hoping it was Chloe. Weirdly, it was David.

“Why is my brother texting me when we’re in the same house?” I said to no one in particular, reading the message.

Esme’s hot, right? I’m not slumming?

The realization that my brother really was the jerk he appeared to be made me faintly sick.

She’s gorgeous. I answered. And you’re an ass.

Really? I’m not too good for her?

Man, she is way too good for you, I texted back wearily. When did you mutate, Dave?

So you don’t see Chloe as slumming?

I was so livid that I hit send before my thumbs finished tripping over themselves. Unlike your feelings toward Esme, I’m too good for her.

Told you …

That’s not what I meant! I’m not too good for her. Chloe is amazing. And if Esme is as smart as I remember her being, she’ll run screaming from you.

Esme’s mean. I like em that way.

He stopped texting at that point and I was glad, because I was ready to track him down and break his face.

After changing into clean clothes, I decided to borrow one of the cars in the garage, head to town, and look for a present for Chloe. It somehow seemed like the least I could do when my family was just so utterly clueless about how great she was.

Before I could get very far, however, my mother buttonholed me in the den, smiling in a determined way that made me immediately wary.

"It's so nice to have you home again," she said. "I don't know if I've told you that yet..."

"Actually, no, you haven’t. You never do," I said wryly, but she bulldozed ahead as if I hadn't said anything.

"And the holidays are just an amazing time for family, aren't they? It's a wonderful time to remember who's really important and to let what's not important fall to the wayside. It's so easy to get distracted during the year..."

"Is there a point to this?" I asked, and she shot me an exasperated look.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were fully aware of the holiday party on Friday. You can be a sly one, Alex, and I don't want to get to the day and find out that you somehow forgot or that you slipped off to go stargazing or some nonsense. There are people attending who haven't seen you in years, and your father and I have had to make excuses for you for too long."

She looked at me expectantly, and reluctantly I nodded. I had never been a huge fan of my family's stuffy holiday parties. They were full of people who liked nothing better than to show off how much better they were than the rest of the world, how much richer, better educated and intelligent they were. Medicine, at least trauma medicine, was a great equalizer, and it made these get-togethers increasingly grating. Still, I was in White Pines ostensibly to see my family …

"Fine, I'll be there," I said with a sigh, and she nodded, apparently satisfied. As I turned to go, however, I saw her narrow her eyes at me, as if uncertain or frustrated with something I couldn't see. I didn't ask. She could bring it up, or we could ignore it.

Downtown White Pines was unexpectedly busy for a weekday afternoon. It was a rustic spot, but there were plenty of small artisan shops, and people were obviously shopping for the holidays. I was just on my way to the town's only flower shop when my phone rang.

"Hi!  So, I don't know if it's okay to call you? We had sex… so at least we should be on texting terms, I think…”