Waking up in Jessie’s arms almost felt surreal but then I realized we had slept through to the next day and now I would have to do the walk of shame to my folks. That was not something I was looking forward to. Plus, I needed to get to work today and I had no spare clothes with me. It looked like the sun was just starting to crest and dawn was on the horizon. Better now than later to wake up prince charming.
“Hey you awake?” I nudged my shoulder against his and when he started to stir I felt a twinge of guilt for having to stop this moment away from reality.
“Alarm hasn’t gone off.” He mumbled and then wrapped his arms tighter around my body.
That little motion felt like heaven. Albert never would do this. He didn’t cuddle. We slept back to back if we touched at all. This with Jessie felt so, intimate.
“I have no choice, I have to go to work and I need food. You were the only one who ate anything last night.”
“You can eat tonight if you want.” He said in that sleepy sexy voice of his.
The way he said those words did something to my heart and that scared me. It almost felt like it was too much too fast. But after you eat a Sunday off of a person, twice, and then make love two more times, was it really too fast for him to say that? Maybe I was just over thinking. I know I do that, Albert used to complain all the time about me making mountains out of molehills. But this is different.
“Hey Merewyn what’s wrong?”
I smiled and shook my head while saying, “Nothing.”
“Liar, what’s on that pretty little mind of yours?” He leaned down and kissed my neck. The gesture so sweet and yet it still scared me.
“Last night was perfect Jessie.”
“You can say that again. My teenage self cannot believe it happened like that.”
“So the fantasy wasn’t better than reality?”
“Hell no. Reality blew my fantasy out of the water.” His lips were grinning ear to ear as he spoke.
A real smile passed over my lips and it felt great to have someone really feel that way about me.
“M, what’s on your mind.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I turned over and lay with my back against his chest. I felt him move and then heard him get out of the bed. Jessie walked across the room, naked as the day he was born. His butt cheeks were paper white but the rest of his backside was the perfect brownish tan color. He was such a gorgeous piece of man. Any woman in her right mind would be lucky to have him. Yet I could have him and was sitting here talking myself out of it.
Idiot. I thought to myself. With no words exchanged I got out of bed and then we both began to dress. As he left his room and went into the kitchen I felt a bit of relief with his absence. I could really breathe. It wasn’t that he was suffocating me, but the idea of moving into something more with him was suffocating.
“I’ll drive you home whenever you’re ready.” He said from the other room. I could hear his keys jingling through the open doorway.
“I’m ready now just putting on my shoes.” My body was shaking and I had no idea if it was excitement or fear.
While walking out of his room I took the time to actually take in his apartment not just look at it. Everything was in its proper spot. There were family photos and pictures of him and his friends hanging on the walls. One picture caught my eye and made me stop in my tracks. It was the picture our friend took one weekend ten years ago. We were just kids. Kids in love.
I looked long and hard at that picture. About a dozen of us had gone to the lake that day. One of the guys had their dad’s boat and we all took turns riding out into the water and tubing. It was one of the best days I could have remembered from high school. And there it was, hanging on Jessie’s wall. Framed and all.
“We were happy weren’t we?” He said from beside me.
A nod was all I could manage because my voice felt dried up. This was a huge mistake. I couldn’t do it. I never should have let Jessie come over yesterday and now I was going to hurt him. Hurt me. Neither of us deserved that.
“You were smiling that whole day. The yellow bikini you had on was adorable. I kept picturing what it would be like to pull your strap and see if your tan line was as sexy as I kept imagining it to be.”
I couldn’t help laughing, it was a funny thought. I would have freaked out back then, well, I would freak out today too if anyone did that to me in public. “You were just a horny teen who wanted in my pants.”
“Hey I was more than that!” He protested.
The look on my face told him I didn’t buy that.
“Okay maybe not much more than that. But I did love you.”
Did. That should have been relief to hear but it wasn’t. That was my cue to go.
“I know. Come on, I have to get home.”
Jessie grabbed my hand to stop me from moving forward. “You’re not going to tell me what is wrong at all?”
“No. Come on, my dad’s probably up and I want to make sure I am back before mom sees me. Dad I can handle, mom not so much.”
The car ride to my house was done in silence. It wasn’t a peaceful silence like it would have been yesterday but an awkward one that made you sick to your stomach. The kind that told you nothing good was going to happen and in fact hang on because some kind of bomb may in fact explode.
When he put the car in park in front of my house I tried to get out quickly but he placed his head on my knee.
“Merewyn, tell me what is wrong. I’m not going to ask again.”
Confession time. I sighed and then began to tell him. “This is moving too quick.”
“What is?”
“This, us.” I gestured between the two of us for a few seconds.
“It was sex, one night of great sex.”
“No it isn’t Jessie and I know you’re just saying that so I feel better. You have my picture, framed, hanging on your wall. This isn’t just one night and I cannot handle that pressure right now. I just left Albert!”
“Did I miss the part where I asked you to stop your life and move in with me? Merewyn what is wrong with you? We knew it was just sex yesterday. What changed?”
“If it was just sex Jessie then why did you make the comment about how I could eat tonight? Huh?” I was starting to get angry, he was acting like this was all one sided and all in my head. Well the hell with this. “Forget it, we’re done.”
“Done? We weren’t even started. Merewyn,”
I didn’t want to hear any more. I opened the door and stormed out of the car and up to the front door of my parents place.
“Merweyn wait a damn minute get back here!” Jessie yelled from his side of the car.
Great now he was making a scene in the middle of the freaking early morning and the whole neighborhood would know about my walk of shame and my bad choices.
“Just go Jessie I can’t handle you right now I can’t do this. Please, please just go.”
“No, I am not going until you tell me what changed. How did we go from friendly and happy to,” he stopped and looked at me with the most confused face I’ve seen in a while. “To whatever the hell this is right now.”
I sighed and wiped a couple tears from my eyes and looked over at him with a pleading look, “Please Jessie I just can’t do this. I told you I wasn’t okay. Please, just, go.”
The front door started to open, I saw my dad there looking at me and I took the opening and escaped into my house.
Jessie looked at Merewyn’s dad for a couple seconds and shrugged his shoulders then he turned around and walked back to his car. He was more confused than he had ever been in his life. How did a perfect night of fun turn into a medley of insanity? Just as he sat down on the front seat of his car he felt his cell phone vibrate. When he pulled it out to see who was texting him this early he groaned when he saw the name. He did not want to talk to her father, not at all. But when the messages just kept coming in he had no choice but to read them. Guilt would eat away at him.
Mr. Smith: I’ll take care of her don’t worry
Mr. Smith: When she is better I’ll let you know
Mr. Smith: Oh and thanks for getting her out of the house
Jessie looked at the three messages and just stared. What an odd man. He knew that if he had a daughter as beautiful and perfect as Merewyn he would kill anyone who dropped her off at six twenty seven in the morning crying and yelling. But maybe her dad could figure out what went wrong because lord knew what was going on in that pretty little head of hers. With a final look over at her house Jessie took in a deep breath and drove away. He had to get to work himself. And right now that was what he was going to focus on.
But that was easier said than done.
He had been in town just over a week. When he moved back he quickly moved into an apartment and had his movers unpack everything. He didn’t specify which pictures to hang on the walls and in retrospect maybe he should have. He didn’t even notice the one of him and Jessie hanging until after he had seen her that day at the gas station. Should he have told her that? Would that have calmed her down? No probably not. She would have taken it as some strange sign or some other mumbo jumbo and they would have ended up back in the same spot they were now.
The sight of his new job as he approached in the car made him smile though. He loved animals. Merewyn hadn’t even asked him what he was doing now that he was back for good but that was fine. He would have plenty of time to tell her, or show her actually.
Damnit, there he was doing it again thinking about her. His animals he has to focus on his animals. As he got out of his car he smiled and waved to the lady walking up the sidewalk heading in his direction.
“Excuse me, are you Dr. Anderson?”
“Yes ma’am I am.”
“Great I have a sick dog and I was hoping you would take a look at her.”
“I don’t open for another hour, Mrs.?”
“Oh,” she smiled at him, “it is Miss Cannery and that’s fine I can wait in the waiting room I just need my poor Fluffy looked at.”
Jessie sighed and smiled, it was only the first week he couldn’t make a bad impression on the new potential customers. “No problem Ms. Cannery that will be fine, I will make sure my aids know you are to be checked in first.”
“My, you are as nice as they all are saying. Thank you so much!”
He watched Miss Cannery rush back to her car and remove a poodle puppy from the back seat. Good God could this day get any worse? Who starts it with a sick poodle of all things?
A soft knock at the door had me looking up from my computer. My mom was standing at the threshold of my office holding a tupperware container.
“How about a lunch break?” she asked me.
“Mom it’s ten in the morning, hardly a lunch break time.”
She waved me off and came into the room and sat in the chair across from the desk and placed her containers on the hard wood of my work space.
“What’s up mom?”
“Just wanted to check on you sweetie, is that alright?” The look of concern she held on her face made me feel guilty.
I lowered my eyes to look at the paper I was working on. I felt embarrassed too. After Jessie drove off this morning I sat in my room and cried for a solid ten minutes before my dad came in and talked with me. For some odd reason he seemed to really understand what I was going through and I am not quite sure how he could but he did. It helped me but to relive it all at work wasn’t something that I wanted to do.
“I’m okay mom. I don’t really want to talk about it at work.”
“I know but you were so quick to leave the house this morning that your dad had to fill me in on what happened. This just made me worry more.”
“Seriously it’s okay don’t worry. I just had a freak out, okay?”
“I haven’t heard you say okay so much in three minutes since the last time that boy hurt you.”
“That boy has a name, and he didn’t hurt me. I am fairly sure today was my fault and I am going to have to apologize to him.”
“Oh now isn’t that the worst!” Her mother said, almost in to cheery of a tone. “You never want to be the one apologizing, giving him the upper hand so soon.”
I couldn’t help rolling my eyes, “Come on mom.” A slight laugh escaped me even as I tried to hold it in.
“Well so long as you are okay that’s really all I care about you know that Merewyn.”
“I do, thanks Mom.”
“How’s the job going?”
That brought a smile to my face, “You know I love it. Kemah is just booming with business and working with the small business bureau was the best job I could ever imagine getting. However did you find out about it just when I was looking for a new job was perfect?”
Mom ignored my question and asked me one of her own. “Have you met the person who took over the veterinary shop yet? I heard he is going to probably end up needing a small business loan.”
“No I haven’t and who did you hear that from?”
“Sherry.”
“Sherry Cannery? The town gossip?”
“One in the same.” My mother said it with almost a hint of pride in her voice.
“That poor sap already had his skin pricked by her? That isn’t a good sign mom.”
“Oh I think this one will be. Let me know when he comes in I want to know all the details about him.”
“Mom are you and Dad okay?”
“Of course sweetie why would you ask me that?”
“Because you are acting awful weird about a guy who you don’t even know.”
She waved me off and stood from her chair, “I am going to leave the lunch here for you. Maybe you can take it over to the park or something and enjoy watching the boats come into the harbor while you eat it. Or maybe you could call up that boy and share it with him.”
“Thanks for the food Mom but I will eat alone today. See you tonight.”
As my mom left my office it hit me, the first thing I need to do after work today is look for a place to move to. I can’t stay with my folks anymore, it is time I left the nest and experienced life on my own terms. I turned my head and looked outside of the window at the boats in the harbor. I did have a great view of Kemah.
With a sigh and a smile I said out loud to myself, “The hell with it, and it’s noon somewhere.” I grabbed the food my mom left on my desk and walked out of my office.
The park was just across the street and there couldn’t have been more perfect weather for a picnic. I found a nice tree and after looking around for any ant piles I sat down and kicked my feet out. The sun felt great against my skin and my mom was right. A picnic was just what I needed.
The peace and tranquility that my mom had set up for me was suddenly put to a halt when I saw him walking toward me. Albert.
“Go away I have nothing to say to you.”
“I want the ring back or the money for it. Pick.”
“Hell no Albert, how many times do I have to tell you to go away and leave me alone?”
He was standing right next to me now. I hadn’t moved from my spot so he was towering over me and it almost made me want to feel frightened. But I refused to be intimidated by this low life. So I stood up and was now toe to toe with the bastard.
“I’m warning you M,” Albert reached out and grabbed my arm, hard, “if you don’t give me what I want you will be very sorry.”
“Let go of me Albert!” I tried to pull away but his grip was extremely firm. “I am done with you!”
“Give me what’s mine!” Albert yelled back at me.
“I believe Merewyn said to leave her alone, now remove your hand from her person.”
My back stiffened. I knew that voice. That deep, hard voice. I didn’t need to turn my head to know Jessie had just walked up behind me.
“This is your last warning if you do not remove your hand from her I will remove it, from your body.”
Albert let out a laugh, “I heard you two had gotten back together. Good luck with her. She is a pain in the ass.”
I started to protest but when Albert released my arm and pushed me into Jessie’s body I decided to just let the men deal with it. I had been mortified enough for one day, no need to make it worse.
“If I see you around her again I will have her press charges. We will get a judge to tell you that you can’t harass her.”
“Whatever, I’ll get my money one way or another. You can count on it M.”
I watched Albert walk away and I turned around to look at Jessie. “Thank you.”
“No problem Merewyn. That’s what friends are for.”
He looked so stoic again. This made me feel worse about this morning. He hadn’t even done anything wrong. “I’m sorry Jessie. I’m very sorry.”
“Water under the bridge. Your mom called me said you had some lunch for me.” He looked down at her picnic, “But it looks like you already ate it.”
I brought my hands up to my face and put them over my eyes, dear god could my parents interfere anymore? “Well I have some more under that tub you’re welcome to it. My mom, she called you eh?”
“Yeah mentioned something about a family history of mental illness too. Seems your parents are convinced your crazy.” He grinned at me and for some reason that made this whole event better.
“Well just remember whatever I have got, it came from them. Come on, I’ll dish you up some food.”