Lessons of the Past (7 page)

He took another sip of wine. “She’s a lawyer. Her entire family is actually. My parents met when they were in law school together.”

“Siblings?” I asked.

“I didn’t realize I was going to be interrogated like this.” He chuckled. “Yes, I have one sister. Her name is Amanda. We call her Mandy.” He placed his glass on the table. “Can I ask you some questions now?”

“I guess,” I grumbled, playfully.

“I guess? Wow. Now my questions will be even more…personal.”

“Ask away.”

Placing one leg on the cushion, he turned toward me. “What’s your major? And why?”

I laughed. “You are getting personal. I’m a business major, and I picked it because I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. Except maybe working with kids, but I don’t want to be a teacher.”

“I guess that’s why I chose math. I’m good at it, so I thought why the hell not.” He dropped his head back on the cushion. “You like working with kids?”

I tilted my head to the side. “Yeah. I mean, I used to volunteer at a youth center. I would tutor kids after school—nothing related to math—and I loved it. Those kids, seeing how broken their home life was, it was sad. They were amazing, fun kids who just got a bad lot in life.” I paused. “Seeing them made me realize not everyone has it easy. I’ve always told myself that one day I’d get a great paying job and help rescue a child by adopting them.”

“Wow.” He smiled and I knew he was thinking about his own daughter. “Favorite thing to do?”

Pursing my lips and squinting my eyes, I thought about his question. “I guess it’s a tie between eating and laying on the beach all day.”

“I thought for sure you’d say spending time with me.” He grabbed my waist and moved me to straddle him. “Now, are you sure I’m not on that list?”

I ground down on him. “I’m not sure. Maybe you could show me why you should be on the list.”

“Mmm,” he breathed as he nipped my neck. Tipping my head and arching my back, I made my body more accessible to him. He took full advantage, kissing down to meet the swell of one breast while massaging the other. “This is at the top of my list.”

“Really? Oh…” I trailed off as he bit down on my clothed nipple. My hands slid down his chest, finding the hem of his shirt. I pulled it up and he let go of my breasts long enough to finish taking it off. His tanned skin was smooth except the spattering of hair on his chest that led down to an impressive six pack. I let my fingers trail from chest to bellybutton, and down past his happy trail. As I reached for the button of his jeans, his hand covered mine. “What?”

Shaking his head, he said, “No. Just a little bit ago you were afraid I only wanted sex with you. I’m not taking this any further. In fact…” he said as he lifted me off his lap and placed me on the cushion beside him, “let’s see if we have any favorite TV shows in common.”

“Are you serious?”

He grabbed the remote off the coffee table. “Completely.”

My insides warmed at his attempt to make me feel more…secure. “Okay. Have you watched
Arrested Development
on Netflix?” He shook his head. “I’ve watched a couple episodes and it’s pretty good. Wanna watch that?”

“Sure,” he replied, resting his feet on the coffee table, and I snuggled in closer to him.

***

We were tangled in the sheets, silence surrounding us. “You know how you said you wanted to adopt a child one day?” Javier asked into the darkness.

“Yes,” I replied, not knowing where this was going.

“I was adopted. My sister, too. I don’t really remember our home life, but we were taken away by child protective services. My parents just happened to be who we were placed with and they adopted us.” Javier’s hand began stroking my back. “They gave us a great home I wouldn’t have had otherwise. That was one of the reasons I knew I had to be there for my daughter—try my hardest to give her a normal, loving family. Kids just need someone to be there for them.” He paused for a moment. “I love knowing that you feel the same way.”

“I do. I still volunteer once a month with the community center here in Beach Center.”

He rolled to the side and cupped my face. “And you just became more perfect. How is that even possible?”

“I’m far from perfect.”

His thumb stroked over my cheek, then my bottom lip. “I don’t know. Beautiful face, big hazel eyes, amazing lips, long, gorgeous brown hair, and a body that would make any sane man hard in a second flat…you sound pretty damn perfect to me.”

Wow. Javier knew how to charm. “You just want to get lucky again,” I joked.

“And let’s not forget your sass. Lots and lots of fucking sass.”

***

A loud bang had my eyes shooting open. I lay still as my heart pounded in my chest, but I didn’t hear the noise again. I let out a shaky breath, deciding the noise must’ve been a dream, and admired the man next to me.

Javier lay on his back with one leg bent and the covers slung off his body. His opposite arm was behind his head while the other rested at his side. The moonlight highlighted his beautiful facial features, accentuating his perfect cheekbones and full lips.

I let my fingers drift over his chest and down his stomach. Licking my lips, I felt my desire and knew I had to have him. I wanted to have him in every way possible. I flung the covers away and moved to straddle his legs.

While pulling down his boxer briefs, he stirred. “What…?” he began as I ripped his underwear down his legs and licked my lips. His large cock hardened even further. “Fuck,” he gritted out as I took his cock in my hands and began stroking.

Locking eyes with him, I slowly lowered my head and took him into my mouth. “Damn, that feels good,” he said, his hands finding my hair.

I licked the underside of his length, then sucked him into my mouth once more as my hands stroked the base of his cock. From the way his body was reacting and his small shallow breaths, I knew he was enjoying it. Letting go of him with one hand, I cupped his balls and slid my mouth down until he hit the back of my throat. “Fuck…” he panted. The way he was responding made my own arousal pool in my core, and I so badly wanted to touch myself.

I continued my rhythm, taking him to the back of my throat with each thrust. He reached down with one hand and grabbed my heavy breast, kneading it, while his other hand pulled my hair. I took him in as far as I could, gagged a little, then swiped my tongue out to flick his underside. With a loud shout, he gripped the back of my head and came inside my mouth. I swallowed every last drop as he lay panting and sweaty on the mattress.

“Mmm,” I said, crawling up the length of his body. “You taste…yum.”

“Come here.” He grabbed my face in both hands and captured my lips with his own. I moaned as his tongue swept into my mouth, massaging mine. One hand left my face to knead my ass as the other held me close. “Let me repay the favor.”

“No. I wanted to. I woke up and you looked so sexy laying there, I had to. I didn’t do it so you’d reciprocate.”

He recaptured my lips in a gentle kiss. “Then I think you should fuck me.”

“I agree. I should totally do that.” And I did. I rode him until both of us were completely and utterly satiated.

I knew our relationship wasn’t ideal and to the outsider, seemed wrong, but neither of us could deny the force drawing us together. Life wasn’t always perfect. Neither was timing. It was what you made out of life and timing that was important. And I wanted to make the most out of what we had.

“I want this to work,” he uttered into the darkness as I lay on top of him. “I want
us
to work.”

Leaning up to look into his beautiful blue eyes, I said, “Me, too.”

“I know it’s crazy since we don’t know each other, but something about you…calls to me. I don’t know.” He paused, his eyes shining. “I also know I’m asking a lot from you. I’m basically asking you to have an illicit affair with your married professor.”

I closed my eyes, letting a tear escape. I wanted to focus on the positive. “You won’t always be my professor. Trust me, I won’t be taking another math class if I can help it.” I brushed my fingers through his hair. “As far as the wife part goes, I don’t like it. I feel like a whore, honestly, and I have a lot of guilt, but I can’t leave you alone. I know it’s not a real marriage on your part, but does she think that? Because that is the only thing making this okay.”

“It’s not real to her either. She keeps me around to watch Caroline. And my inheritance.”

“Your inheritance?” I asked, confused.

“Yeah, my mom’s family is pretty well off. I got a chunk of it when I got married—one of the big reasons I went ahead with the marriage. It gave me money to take care of Caroline and allowed me to provide a great life for her.”

I bit my lip while thinking over everything he had just told me. “Well, I guess that makes this okay then.”

My head hit the tile floor, causing me to wince. It was seven a.m., and I had been up since four puking my guts out. I felt completely weak, my body ached, and my head throbbed.

I closed my eyes and my stomach lurched. Scrambling, I heaved into the toilet, but nothing came up. I had been dry heaving, except a small amount of blood, for the last thirty minutes, and I knew I needed a doctor.

I was positive I couldn’t drive myself, Javier was an obvious no, and I hated to bother Courtney. Lane was the one person I could count on. I hated bothering him, too, but this was part of his best friend duties. Lord knew I had taken care of him in the past.

Grabbing my phone from the counter, I lay back down on the floor and called him.

“Alex?” he rasped, still half asleep.

I was almost too exhausted to speak. “Lane.”

“Holy shit. What’s wrong?”

I licked my dry lips. “Can you take me to the doctor?”

“Yeah,” he answered swiftly. “I’m on my way. What’s wrong?”

“Sick,” I choked out.

“I’ll be there in a minute.” The line went dead and I dropped the phone. “Crap,” I muttered, realizing I’d have to get up and unlock the door for him. After that, he’d have to carry me.

Grabbing my phone, I very slowly got up. I caught my reflection in the mirror, but didn’t really care what I looked like. I had on a t-shirt and shorts—good enough.

I don’t remember walking to the living room or unlocking the door. The next thing I could remember was Lane picking me up. Then I remembered being in the waiting room.

I couldn’t stay awake, but would jolt awake long enough to dry heave. Lane stroked my back and held me close until they called my name.

Waking up again, I was lying in a hospital bed, Lane sitting beside me.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He stood and reached for my hand. “You okay?”

I wanted to laugh at his question, but I still felt too weak. “Great.”

“You’re a little dehydrated.”

“Really?”

He brushed my hair back. “Okay, a lot. You have a nasty bug and lost too much liquid.”

“Can I go home?” I asked.

“Can you go home?” he snorted. “No, Alex, you can’t go home. You were puking blood.”

Lane’s face was full of concern. “I’m sure I’m fine.”

“Yeah,” he scoffed, shaking his head. “You have to stay for a while.”

“What time is it?” I closed my eyes, exhaustion hitting me again.

“Ten-fifteen.”

I managed a small nod. Lane had missed his first class and I had missed calculus. “You should go to class.”

“No.” I heard him sit down in the chair again, still not able to open my eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, and he sighed. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere. I’m probably going to sleep anyway.”

“What if—”

“I’ll be fine. If I need you or the nurses need you, we’ll call. Please. I need you to go to class.”

“Why?”

I finally cracked an eye open. “I don’t want you to miss anymore classes because of me.” Lane rolled his eyes, but I knew he was considering it.

“Fine,” he muttered. “Only because I have an important test.”

“Good. I promise I’m just going to sleep. I’m exhausted.”

He kissed my forehead. “That’s the meds they gave you. Get some sleep and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“Love you, too.” He placed my cell phone next to my hand and left.

I was staring at it when my phone rang, Javier’s name lighting the screen.

“Hello,” I croaked.

Javier sighed. “Alexandria. Thank God.”

I tried to sit up, but my body felt heavy. “What’s wrong?”

“Why were you not in class?”

Was he worried about me? “Oh. I’m sick.”

I could hear the breath rush out of him. “Why didn’t you tell me? I’m coming over.”

“I’m not home.”

“Where are you?” he asked, irritated.

“I’m in the hospital. I have a nasty stomach bug or something.”

I could hear shuffling. “Why the fuck didn’t you call me?”

“Javier…we don’t have…I didn’t know if I could. Besides, I’m fine. Lane brought me.”

“I’m on my way,” he growled.

“No, you’re not.” I sighed, so very tired. “Think about it. You can’t. Just come by tonight.”

“How are you getting home?”

“Lane.”

“Fine. I’ll see you tonight.” He disconnected and I lay there in stunned disbelief at his anger.

Putting the phone down and not wanting to worry about Javier, I let sleep pull me under.

***

“Hey,” Lane whispered, placing a kiss on my forehead.

I blinked against the light a few times. “You’re back.”

“Yep. And the nurses tell me they are getting your discharge papers ready.”

“Good. I’m not sure why I couldn’t just go home this morning.” I sat up a little. “All I’ve done is sleep.”

He pointed to my IV. “I think that has something to do with it.”

“I’ve got some papers for you to sign,” a nurse said, bustling into the room. “You look much better.”

“Thanks,” I answered, reaching for the papers.

The nurse walked around the bed. “Let me take this out first.” I nodded and she began removing the IV. “All set.”

I nodded, still really tired. I signed over the highlighted areas then gave the paperwork back to her. “All right. You can get dressed and leave when ready. We’ve sent a prescription for nausea medication to the pharmacy you listed. Make sure you stay hydrated, and if you feel worse or the vomiting or anything else comes back or worsens, come back to see us. Everything is explained in the paperwork.”