Shackled Lily (5 page)

“Nothing! Jake and I were just celebrating your waking up!”

At that point I knew Avery had been drinking and I scowled knowing that Jake was the reason. “Have you been drinking?” I asked, trying to sound lighthearted. “And with Jake of all people?”

“Just a couple of glasses of champagne, nothing big.”

“Avery, champagne is the worst. No wonder you are slurring your words. What happened to Parker?” What had I missed in five days?

“Nothing! Jake and I are just friends.”

Just friends? Yeah right. I shook my head and cursed Jake a little. I knew exactly what he was doing. I thought about New Year’s and the look on Jake’s face when Avery left the apartment with Parker. I hadn’t even shut the door before I saw Jake’s fist hit the wall, sending white powder everywhere. His eyes were wild, desperate. I hadn’t seen that look since his mom died, and it scared me. I was suddenly worried for Avery. She was no match for Jake. He had mastered the art of manipulating girls to get what he wanted. I knew how he worked, mostly because I would do the same thing to men, and I suddenly felt very protective of Avery.

“Avery, I love Jake, you know that. But he cannot be trusted with you, ok? He’s not there out of friendship. You didn’t see him last night…I did. I mean New Year’s, whatever. Anyway, Parker is a good guy, and I’ve seen the way you are with him. You need to really think this through.” I didn’t know how to be more clear and hoped she would at least stop and think.

“It’s good to see you are back to your old, opinionated self,” she said after a stretch of silence. Her voice was more reserved now…a good sign.

“Would you expect anything less?” I asked and then continued, “Hey, since he’s there, will you let me talk to him for a minute? I can’t seem to get ahold of my mom. I’m guessing my dad verbally accosted her pretty well.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty efficient at that,” she blurted out and my anger burned.

“You too? Man, he’s a piece of work. Every nurse on my floor shakes when he’s around!” How could my dad yell at Avery? There wasn’t a sweeter person in the world. I was about to continue on my rant until I heard sniffles in the background. “Avery, what’s wrong? Are you crying?”

“Maybe,” she sniffled. “I’m just so glad you are ok. I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to you.”

I felt myself tear up for the second time tonight and irritation consumed me. “Avery, this here is why you stay away from champagne! Give me Jake,” I demanded. 

I heard shuffling and then Jake’s hearty voice. “Hey sweetie, what’s up?” He sounded distracted, no doubt watching whatever Avery was doing.

“What are you doing?” I scolded.

“I’m having a drink with a friend. Goodness Issy, is your confinement starting to get to you?”

“Jake, don’t treat me like I’m stupid. Avery is dating Parker. You need to leave her alone.”

I heard his voice change as his anger was clear even through the phone. “A minor problem that will be remedied soon. Probably already would have been if not for your impeccable timing.”

“Jake…hear me when I tell you this. She is in love with Parker, whether she realizes it yet or not. You need to let this one go.”

“Like hell she is!” he screamed into the phone. “He’s just the rebound guy!” I jumped from his voice. I was actually navigating new territory here with Jake, leaving me a little unclear as to how to deal with him. I couldn’t see him, so I didn’t know how close he was to losing it.

“Fine, whatever,” I relented. “Have you talked to Mom? She’s not answering my calls.”

“Yeah, I talked to her after you called. Your dad had already told her you woke up.”

“What? She knows and she didn’t call me?” Our relationship had been strained since aunt Kathy died, but this was ridiculous. “What did she say?”

“Nothing really, just that she was glad your dad was there.”

I let out an audible growl. Since when did they team up?

“Listen, Issy, can I call you later? I’m kind of in the middle of something here,” Jake asked, his voice distracted again.

“I bet you are,” I whispered and then hung up the phone. I looked around my empty room and grabbed my slippers to head out the door. There had to be someone on duty I could talk to.

4. First Kiss

Last Summer…

Age: 19

It had to be the worst summer on record, I decided. My aunt Kathy had died on a Tuesday, and we had the funeral two days later. My mom and Jake were like zombies walking around, barely speaking to anyone. I felt bad for them, but I couldn’t take it anymore and actually had chosen to come to my dad’s house. I mean, I missed her too, but goodness, she was finally free from that rotting body. They should be happy for her. I certainly was.

I walked out to the lake with my towel and magazine, hoping to soak up some of the hot North Carolina sun. I didn’t know why I bothered. My skin was so fair, I needed SPF 50+ just to keep from burning. I had given up trying to tan a long time ago. As I approached, I saw Grant lounging on one of the chairs with a book in his hand. His shirt was sitting next to him, and I felt a tingle go from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes as I watched his muscular chest gleam in the sunlight. I stood there frozen knowing I should retreat back to the house and avoid him. My body didn’t seem to agree, and I was suddenly walking past him to the adjacent chair.

I set down my things and then made a point to remove my swimsuit cover in front of him, exposing my red bikini. He didn’t move and his sunglasses covered his eyes, but I could see the muscles in his neck strain a little. I smiled internally. It was about time he noticed me. Every other man in the state had, but Grant had always somehow managed to stay casually aloof.

I settled myself into the chair, finding the most flattering position I could and pulled out my magazine. I had already read this one and didn’t really care for any of the new fall fashion it showed. Orange seemed to be the up and coming color, and I hated orange. My guess was the fad would last maybe two months…if that.

I set down my magazine and whined, “I’m bored.”

Grant didn’t move, but I saw one of his eyebrows lift under his glasses.

“You wanna go out on the boat?” I asked, turning to him. My internal voice was screaming at me, but I didn’t care. I needed interaction with people, and he was all that was available. End of story.

“You’re asking me to go on the boat with you?” Grant asked incredulously, finally turning to look at me full on.

“Yeah, why not?”

“I don’t know, maybe because we’ve barely spoken in five years,” he answered, his honey voice still able to bring butterflies to my stomach.

“Semantics. You coming or not?” I asked in a bored tone, masking my face of any emotion.

“I’d say no, but I’m a little too curious,” he admitted with a sly smile.

I leaned into him, placing my elbows on my knees while I used my most seductive tone. “Well, you know what they say?”

“What’s that?”

“Curiosity killed the cat.” I was flirting shamelessly at this point. I knew I should stop, but it was actually working on him. I guess years of perfecting my talent were finally paying off.

Grant sat up and leaned toward me, leaving very little room between us. He had a full on smile at this point and answered in the same seductive tone I gave him. “Good thing I’m not a cat.”

We stared at each other through our sunglass
es, and I felt my body flush with a scorching heat that had nothing to do with the sun. Grant was the first to break the spell and stood up, offering me his hand. His touch sent more sparks through my body, further reminding me why I avoided it at all cost.

I grabbed my cover
up and sunblock and then followed him down the pier to the boat. My dad always left his keys in there, and Grant kept the gas tank full, so minutes later we were slicing through the blue water and feeling the wind on our skin. I stood at the rail and lifted my hair to dry the sweat starting to bead on my neck. Slowly releasing the black strands, I let the wind blow them around until I felt the ends tickle the small of my back. As I turned to lean my back on the rail, I noticed Grant’s eyes boring through me. I shot him a coy smile, enjoying how aware of me he was, and walked towards him.

“I want to ski,” I announced as I approached. He slowed the boat down and anchored us as we pulled out the equipm
ent. His muscles were tense as he moved. I placed my hand on his back as I reached down to grab a life vest, making him stiffen even more.

“One or two?” he asked curtly as he pulled out the skis.

“Two for now. I’ll drop one if I want to.” I had become an accomplished skier since my dad had moved out here. Mostly because there wasn’t much else to do when I was forced to visit.

Grant moved away from my touch and threw the skis in the water. He then tied the rope and threw it out there as well. I zipped up my vest and jumped off the back of the boat and into the water. It was chilly, but comfortable enough to swim. I put the skis on, got positioned and waved at Grant. The boat bolted forward, and I was immediately out of the water and flying across the surface. Adrenalin surged through my body, and I squealed with delight as the boat raced forward. I tried all of my old tricks and even threw off the other ski.  Once I felt my arms start to burn, I let go of the rope and
slid in the water. Grant circled around, picked up my abandoned ski and then came back to where I floated in the water.

I climbed back in the boat and began wringing out my hair. “Wow, I forgot how much fun that is,” I exclaimed, smiling.

Grant didn’t say a word, just stood there staring at me.

“What?” I asked, confused.

He shook his head and turned. “Nothing, just thought I saw someone I used to know,” he answered sadly.

I shrugged it off and pulled out the wakeboard, shaking it mischievously in front of him.
“Come on, Grant, you know you want to.”

He grinned and then grabbed the board out of my hand. “There are places for women like you, Issy.”

“Really? And where is that?” I asked flirtatiously, placing a hand on my hip as I met his eyes.

“Somewhere with fire, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth,” he retorted as he threw the board in the water, following quickly behind it.

I laughed out loud, feeling it echo through my body. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” I yelled back at him in the water.

I pushed the boat along as soon as I saw Grant’s hand go up. He was incredibly athletic and did flips and turns like he had been wake boarding his whole life. Seeing Grant on the water, so full of energy and life, made me almost forget that he spent most of his time stuck in an office doing my dad’s bidding. I wondered why he still did it. He had graduated from college this past May, yet had stayed working as my dad’s assistant. It didn’t make sense to me. I’d so be out of there.

I watched Grant drop into the water and turned the boat around to pick him up. He was smiling ear to ear when he got back in the boat and shook out his hair, pelting me with little water droplets.

“Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve done that?” he beamed as he toweled off.

I slowly pulled my eyes from his perfect abdominal muscles and brought them back up to eye level. He grinned at me as he put his shirt back on.

“What now?” he asked as though spending the day together was a normal thing for us to do.

“Sandbar?”

He nodded in agreement and took over the driver’s seat. The sandbar was on the other side of the lake and was one of the more secluded spots because the lake level dropped to only three feet. Ben and I had been out there for more than a few lake parties, and it was a known make out spot for teenagers who lived on the lake. Lucky for us, the area was empty when we anchored the boat and swam out there.

As soon as I could touch, I felt Grant lift me off my feet and dunk me into the water. Water surged around my face as I barely shut my mouth before going under.

“Oh, you are so dead!” I screamed after getting to my feet again. I tried repeatedly to get him under the water, even climbing on his back at one point, but it was no use. My five foot four frame was no match for his. Secretly, I liked his strong arms around me, even if it meant I became waterlogged. I finally surrendered, and he beat his chest like a Neanderthal. I laughed as I splashed him one more time.

Collapsing on the dry beach, I felt utterly exhausted, but happier than I had in a long time. I was even sober and feeling this way, which
never
happened. Sand stuck to my bare back and slid in my bikini bottoms as I lay there, but it didn’t matter. It would wash off the minute I got back in the water. I watched as Grant sat down next to me and I leaned up on my elbows to look at him.

“You have a talent, Issy,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“What’s that?”

“You make people forget just for a moment that they’re all grown up. Hanging out with you brings me back to my childhood.”

“I’m no child, Grant.”

Grant just sighed and nodded. “Trust me, I’ve noticed. That’s not what I’m saying. It was meant to be a compliment.”

“Thanks then, I guess.”

We sat in silence for a while until Grant finally spoke again. “I’m sorry about your aunt.”

I was surprised he knew, but then again, not. My dad probably had him send the flowers. “Its fine,” I muttered. After a few more seconds I continued, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m kind of glad for her. Does that make me a bad person? I mean…she’s free.”

I sat up and crossed my legs, keeping my eyes locked on the water in front of me. G
rant slowly took my hand in his and rubbed his thumb over my palm. I closed my eyes, feeling lost in his simple touch until his voice broke through the silence.

“Is that how life feels to you, Issy? Like a prison?” he asked carefully. I finally turned to look at him, not sure how to react to such an honest question. His eyes held all the compassion I remembered growing up, and I felt my stomach turn as emotion I hadn’t felt in years started to churn.

I stood up abruptly, pulling my hand from his. “We should probably get back. Sun’s starting to set,” I said dryly. The walls around my heart had stopped trembling, and I felt in control again.

Grant stood up too and brushed off the sand. Before I could react, I felt my head being crushed against his solid chest as he embraced me. His arms were firm and deliberate, holding me in such a way that for one moment, I almost felt safe. It only lasted for a second before reality slipped in, and I quickly struggled out of his hold and bolted to the water.

“Come on, slowpoke,” I yelled playfully as I swam to the boat. I needed to seriously diffuse the situation. Too much emotion…too much hurt.

I climbed into the boat. It was getting colder
, and I threw my cover over me to stop the shivering. The boat was rocking in the water, creating an idyllic scene as the sun settled down over the horizon. I turned, enjoying the view, keeping my eyes far away from Grant as he climbed in the boat.

I could feel him approach me as if my body was magnetized to his. He stood behind me and placed his hands on the rail, caging me between them. My heart was fluttering as I felt his breath on my neck. “You don’t have to run away from me.”

I turned around to look up at him, trying to steady my breathing. His caramel eyes locked with mine, and I could see his chest was moving as erratically as mine was. I glanced at his lips, slightly parted and so soft that I couldn’t stop my body from moving forward. I leaned into him and lightly put my lips to his.

He wrapped his arms around me, cradling my head and kissed me fully and completely. It was a kiss that made me forget any other I had ever felt. I had spent years dreaming of this kiss and it was beyond even my overactive imagination.

When he finally released me, his hand was immediately on my neck, his thumb running softly over my flushed cheek. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he admitted.

“How long?” I asked in the same labored voice.

“Way longer than was legal,” he stated with a grin.

I smiled back at him, the knowledge of that sending shivers down my spine. “That’s not really an answer. How long?” I pressed. I needed to know.

Grant still held my neck, but used his other hand to move a small piece of hair from my face. “Since I saw you wobbling around on those ridiculous high heels.”

The memory made us both chuckle a little and I reached up to slap his shoulder. “I walked perfectly in those, thank you very much,” I scoffed, but then watched him closely. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Grant let out a heavy sigh and dropped his hands from my face. “You were thirteen, Issy, and I worked for your father. He gave me one rule when I came to live here…just one. You were off limits. Period.”

I reached out to grab his waist and pulled him back to me. “So why no
w? You still work for my father.”

Grant put his hands on the rail behind me again and leaned in until I was completely trapped by his large frame. I felt heat surge through my body as I stared into his intense eyes. “I don’t care anymore. All I’ve ever wanted is you, and I’m done trying to fight it.” His words were soft, but held a promise. I pulled him towards me and kissed him again, giving more of myself than ever before.

Grant’s arms stayed wrapped around me as we turned and watched the sun set.