A Week for Love to Bloom (7 page)

“Oh,”
Lauren said with disappointment. Her gaze dropped to the ground.

“
It’s a long story as to why no one knows yet. I’ll share it with you next time I see you. I mean, I hope you’ll still let me see you.”

Lauren slowly looked back up at him.
“I’ll try. I don’t know what to think about you leaving. Can we exchange phone numbers?”

They put their numbers in each
other’s phones and walked to the door.

“Oh, wait here,” she said. Lauren went up to her room and returned with his jacket.

“Here,” she said as she handed it to him. “It smells great, by the way.” She didn’t want to give it back.

Justin
cupped the side of her face and kissed her on the cheek. “Goodnight, Lauren.”

She saw the worry in his eyes before
he walked away. Lauren was confused, but she thoroughly enjoyed his company. As she watched him walk to his car, she felt a need to lighten the mood and was puzzled by how he went from walking on the side of the road to driving such a nice vehicle.

“Hey, d
o you always drive a Mercedes?”

Justin turned to look at her.
“Are you making fun of me?” he asked, shaking his head as a grin curled from his lips. “Go ahead, get your laughs as you take my man card.”

“Aww
, it’s OK. I have a truck you can borrow whenever you need one.” Lauren was cracking up at that point.

Justin
ran back up the steps. “If you’re trying to give me a hard time, it’s working in a couple of different ways.”

Redness filled her cheeks again. “I was just joking.”

“That’s what I thought, young lady.” Justin grabbed her and gave her a bear hug, squeezing her tight before he jogged to the car.

The safety and warmth she felt in his arms had her missing him already.

Justin woke up throughout the night
aroused from the thoughts of Lauren. Since he struggled to sleep, he got up early that morning and packed his belongings. It was Monday, so Jonathan was working, and when he found the house empty, he assumed Emily went out to run errands. His property, his brother’s, and his parents’ were all in proximity off the same road he walked on that first night back in Masonville. He drove the Mercedes back to his parents’.

His mom met him at the door. “Justin,
I’m so glad you’re here. I see you have your bag. Are you staying with us?”

“Actually, I want to stay in the guest house.”

“I want you to know you’re always welcome to stay in our house, but I understand if you need more privacy.”

“Thanks, M
om. Can I have the key? I’ll put my stuff away, and I thought we could go to lunch later.”

***

“Justin, that is the most wonderful news ever,” Susan said to her son over lunch.

“I thought you’d be pleased.”

“Please tell me that means you’re going to law school.”

Justin took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Mom, but that’s not what I want. I don’t know how many times I’ll need to say it to this family. I need you to support me in whatever I want to do.”

Susan sighed and laid her napkin on the table. “You’re right, J
ustin. We should be more supportive and accepting of your career decision. I don’t want you to run off again, so I won’t say another word to you about being an attorney. I can’t speak for your father. It’s something you’ll have to work out with him.”

“Thank you, M
om. You have no idea what a relief it is to hear that.”

“
We’ll of course pay your college tuition,” she said.

“I already paid for the fall semester
. I’ve saved most of what I earned the last four years, and I still have Grandpa and Grans money. Speaking of that, I want to make another stop. Would you mind going over to the Ford dealership with me? I need to buy a truck. I thought you could drive the Mercedes home.”

Justin strolled along the path of the F150 trucks.
He wanted to take one home that day, so it was just a matter of which one. The salesman was on him heavy after Justin introduced himself. “I’ll take the loaded black one,” he told the salesman. He thought of Lauren’s truck.

They
worked out the details before he went to the bank to get the payment. Justin wasn’t happy about going into the bank. His checks were directly deposited into his account, and he figured Beth Humphrey snooped at some point to see his balance. He walked in and was greeted with a smile from Ashley.

“Hi, Ashley. H
ow are you?”

“
I’m fine, and you?”

“Good.
I just picked out a truck, and I need to pay for it.”

“
I’ll get Ms. Humphrey to handle that for you, but first I want to know something. She looked around before lowering her voice. “What are you doing with Lauren?”

“It really
isn’t your business. I mean, ask her if you want details.”

“Oh,
I’ll ask her, but I want to know that you’re not going to hurt her. She’s my best friend. You know I like you a lot, Justin, but I like her more, and you better not break her heart.”

“You need to stay out of
it. I’m being straight with Lauren, and I don’t intend to hurt her.” Justin felt someone beside him. He turned around to find Beth standing there.

“Hi, Beth. I need
to take out funds to purchase a truck. Can you help me out?”

“Sure, c
ome into my office.” She gave Ashley a short glare as she walked away.

“Justin, it was nice
seeing you at dinner. I’ve been hoping you’d come in to see me,” Beth said with a sly grin.

“Um, i
t was great seeing you, too.”

She
pulled up his account, and from the surprised expression on her face he could tell she hadn’t peeked at his balance. “I see you have plenty to cover this, so I’ll get it ready for you.”

Wages on the
oilrigs varied immensely, but since Justin had almost finished college and performed well on the job, he moved up quickly. Saving most of what he earned the four years he worked, added to the two hundred thousand dollars his wealthy grandparents left to him in their will, gave him an ample balance.

“I hope you come ba
ck to see us soon,” Beth said after she helped him with the transaction. He gave her a faint smile in hopes she wouldn’t get the wrong idea again.             

Beth
walked over to the teller next to Ashley and spoke loudly. “Justin Garrison is even more attractive than he was when we dated for a year in high school. I had dinner with him at his parents’ home Saturday, and I told him to visit me at the bank, but I didn’t expect him to show up this soon.”

***

Justin drove his truck home and called Lauren. He could hardly wait to show it to her. He thought she’d find it humorous after her teasing the night before.

“Hi, beautiful.”

“
Thank you. How are you this afternoon?”

“
You can't thank me every time I say you're beautiful because if given the chance, I plan on saying it a lot.”

Lauren was silent.

“Are you blushing again?”

Lauren giggled. “Maybe.”

Justin got a warm feeling ins
ide when he imagined her smile. “I told my mom I quit my job. She was thrilled I left the oilrig but was disappointed when I told her I wasn’t going to law school. I dropped out of college and moved away because they refused to support me in what I wanted to do, but I can tell you more about that later. That is if you’ll let me.”

“Is tonight too soon
?” 

“The sooner the better.
I have something to show you, and I think you’re going to like it.” Justin chuckled.

“
Wow, you do move fast.”

“
Look whose mind’s in the gutter. That’s not what I meant, young lady.”

“
I’m curious now, so you better be here at seven. My mom will be playing cards at her friend’s house.”

Justin was silent
as his heart pounded.

“
We can go out if you’d prefer,” Lauren said.

“Being alone with you is tempting, but I believe I have a problem keeping my hands and mouth to myself when it comes to you, and I
don't want to screw this up.”

“Everything is cool
, Justin. It was just ... intense.”

“I know, I felt it.”

“Please come. I’ll have dinner for you this time.”

“OK. I’ll
see you at seven.”

***

After showering, Lauren
put on a light blue, spaghetti strap sundress. It was made of thin cotton with small, pink flowers on it. She pulled her hair up into a loose bun and let pieces lay gently around her face. She painted her nails and her toe nails a soft pink the night before, so she decided to go barefoot in the house.

Justin parked where Lauren couldn’t see t
he truck from the door. Letting out a heavy sigh, he knocked.

Remember, Justin, s
elf-control!

“Hi,
I’m glad you came,” Lauren said, beaming.

Shit, she looks hot.
I’m in trouble.

Justin looked down at Lauren's
bare feet.

“Grab some sh
oes and walk with me,” Justin said.

Lauren put on
her sandals and took his hand. Her mouth opened wide when they walked around the house.

“Is this yours?”

“I bought it today due to you making fun of me.”

“Oh my gosh, I was joking!”

Justin put his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

“
I’m just kidding. I planned to buy this truck the second

I
got on that bus in California.”

“
That was cruel. I thought you were serious.”

Justin could feel the c
urve of her waist through her dress, so he let go of her.

She immediately went to check out the truck
. “I love it, but I think you’re trying to outdo me. This truck is so much nicer than mine.”

“You want
to go for a ride?” Justin asked.

“
You’re not afraid to be alone with me in the house are you?” Lauren asked as she walked back to him from the truck. Her playfulness made him want to kiss her.

Justin gave her a giant grin. “
There you go again, crushing my manhood by calling me a chicken.”

Lauren giggled.
“My mom cooked us dinner, so we better eat first. I hope you like meat loaf. I swear I can cook, but she insisted.”

After supper Justin took Lauren for a ride in his new truck. She showed him some of the things that had changed in the area while he was away; new businesses and those no longer open.

“Do you want to go back to the lake?” Justin asked.

“
Are you sure you won’t be afraid of me there, too? We'll be alone you know—in the dark.”

He felt her eyes on him.
“You might be the one trying to get away,” he said, glancing her way with an intense look.

“Sure, let’s go,
” she said.

He thought she appeared nervous yet excited at the same time.
Justin backed up close to the water and turned off the ignition. “Let’s sit on the tailgate,” he said. They sat quietly for a few minutes, absorbing the view of the still water. Justin noticed the same sexual tension filling the space between them.

He
was turned on the entire evening from seeing how much skin Lauren had exposed. Her neck and shoulders were bare from her spaghetti strap dress and her hair in an up-do, so when he saw her from the gleam of the moon he couldn’t resist touching her any longer. His conviction to respect her was in a constant tug of war with his sexual urges, and his restraint was losing.

Justin leaned in s
lowly and kissed her neck.

“
Your scent is intoxicating,” he whispered.

After a few kisses were
delicately placed along her neck, she turned toward him. Justin could see the ardent desire in her gaze, so he claimed her mouth, seducing her with his taste.

Lauren
lay back in the bed of the truck, pulling him down with her. He was on top of her in a second. After several minutes of passionate kissing, the heat between them was blazing as the desire emanated around them. Justin moved his hand from the back of her neck down the front of her dress.

“You’re driving me insane, Lauren. I can feel
you through this dress.” Justin took hold of her full breast and circled his finger around her taut nipple, feeling her hardened arousal. Lauren whimpered.