Shayla's Story (The Mathews/Clemmins Family Series) (10 page)

She released his
finger, nodding at the last bit of sweet syrup, indicating one more lick. She
bit back a sultry grin, watching color rise in his tan cheeks. “Shame to waste
it.”

He gathered the
remaining syrup on his finger and watched intently as she took it into her
mouth. “Oh, fuck,” he murmured in a guttural strained voice.

The doorbell rang,
breaking his daze.

“Oh, fuck is right,”
Shayla warned coyly. She wasn’t sure, but swore she heard his breath hitch.

In that moment,
everything changed. His eyes filled with seriousness, pulling the gravity in
around them. The morning had been so full of mischievousness, playing off their
secrecy, but nothing was funny now. Her feet felt like concrete, polarized by
his keen stare. John tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, lazily
massaging the strands between his fingers.
 

Neither moved,
gazing into the other’s face.
 

His brows creased
and he tilted his head slightly. Time crept by with utter slowness. Her heart
beat wildly, pulsing frantically in her forearms and neck. Her nose stung and
her vision blurred through a slick of tears. Tentatively, he reached for her
hand, bringing the heel of her palm to his chest.

John pulled her into
his arms, but stepped back when the commotion from the living room spilled into
the kitchen, breaking the significance of the moment.

“What is this?
Rocky’s making breakfast and doing the dishes?” came a rough bark of laughter
echoing through the kitchen. Benny Levi strolled towards John with a glint of
sarcasm in his eyes. His lip curled in a smile as he grasped John’s shoulder in
a firm welcome. Benny was average height with dirty-blonde hair, a square jaw
and cocky smile that drove fans straight to the box office. Almost every woman Shayla
knew found him irresistible, including his wife.

John tore his gaze
from Shayla, fighting to keep his expression neutral. He rolled his eyes. He
dried his hand on a dishtowel, gripping Benny’s hand in a vise hold. “Great.
Here we go. I’m never gonna hear the end of this shit, am I?”

“Nope!” Lisa Levi
declared, throwing her clenched fists in the air with a one two punch. She
jabbed John in the arm with a wink, sauntering toward Shayla. She kissed Shayla
on one check then the other. “Hello, sweetheart. Be careful hanging around this
guy. He’s bound to get you in trouble.”

Shayla embraced
Lisa, surveying John’s bright red face from over Lisa’s shoulder. She managed
to choke feebly, shooting him a timorous grin. “Nah, he’s not that bad. I can
handle him.”

Benny and Lisa Levi
were Tommy’s closest friends for more than twenty years. Having been happily
married for over fifteen years, the Levi’s led the pack when it came to the
Hollywood “It” couples. Each Levi was famous in the film industry, but together
they became legendary. They survived years of harassment in the media and
paparazzi, focusing their attention on their family. Benny and Lisa went to
great lengths to keep their two children Tommy, age twelve, and Kim, age six,
out of the tabloids.

“John, it’s so nice
to see you again. And it couldn’t be under any better circumstances.” Lisa
turned her attention and innate charm to John. In true Italian tradition, she
clutched his jaw in her hands while pressing kisses to each cheek. Her hands
fell to rest on his shoulders. “Beats the hell out the last time we met. Oh
wait a minute…did I just say that?” Lisa covered her mouth with one hand,
ribbing on the jeering even further. “Oh! That’s right you were beating the
hell out of Tommy the last time we met.”

Shayla burst out
laughing, hugging Benny and exchanging hellos. She wasn’t sure which she found
more amusing, Lisa’s teasing John or the fact his face verged on a near shade
of purple having Lisa Levi just kiss his cheeks. Lisa was one of the most
beautiful women Shayla knew and most men she knew grew up with posters of Lisa
on their walls when they were in high school. Lisa started her career with a
bad-girl persona that softened over time, turning into a well-respected artist
and humanitarian.

“Ha ha ha!
Very funny. It is
a wonderful day,” he smirked. John’s attention turned to Benny, who wandered
toward the backyard searching for Tom. Seeing an opportunity for escape, John
quickly followed.

“I thought I heard
your voice!” Tess beamed. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

Lisa held her arms
wide. “Are you kidding me? Get over here! I’m so excited for the two of you!”

Emotions of joy
trapped in her chest and tears pooled in her eyes watching Tess and Lisa
embrace. They had become instant best friends from the moment they met and
acted as if they’d known each other a lifetime instead of a few short months.

“I knew you were the
one.” Lisa reached for a paper towel, dabbing the corner of her eyes. “Now
don’t make me ruin my make-up. Get your ass in there and go get ready to marry
Tommy. Today, you’re going to be a twelve.”

Tess stood tall,
wiping the tears from her face and nodding with a warm subtle laugh at what
seemed to be a private joke. “Today, I am a twelve.”

She gave Lisa
another squeeze, going over the schedule for what she hoped to be the perfect
day. Tess insisted on a small intimate wedding, only needing their most
cherished of friends and family by their sides as they exchanged I do’s. Tom
could’ve and would’ve given Tess the wedding of the decade, but that wasn’t
what she wanted. She didn’t need an extravagant
    
formal ceremony to
announce their love. “I just want him. Only him. I don’t care about a fancy
ceremony or what the rest of the world thinks. This is our day. I have all
that’s important to me here, right now.”

“Screw everyone
else.” Lisa nodded with a quick jerk of her head. “Do you need any help?”

“No. Marco is helping
me.”
 

Tess retreated to
her room.

Shayla and Lisa
smiled at each other. “Have you ever seen your uncle so damn happy?”

“No. It’s nice to
see him part of a family. They all seem easy going and…wonderful.” She plucked
a grape off the vine from the yellow bowl on the counter and tossed it into her
mouth.

“I haven’t really
gotten a chance to chat with her girls yet, but I met John when he was punching
Tommy’s lights out.” Lisa smiles. “He’s a great kid.”

“I wouldn’t…I’m not
sure kid is the right definition.” Shayla stammered, a bit of defensiveness in
her tone. Heat from her chest climbed up her throat. The ghost of John’s
masculine touch traveled up her torso.

“Twenty-four may not
be a kid to you, but it is to me.”

“Twenty-four?”
Shayla balked, choking on a grape. She coughed and sputtered. “There is no way he’s
only twenty-four!”

“Well, he was
twenty-four. Maybe he’s twenty-five now.” Lisa scoffed, lifting her shoulders
with an indecisive shrug.

A visual memory of
provocative moments from the night before hit Shayla like a tidal wave. Her
head jerked back and her lip twitched in contrition. Shayla stood tall,
straightening her spine. Her mouth opened then snapped shut. Shame washed over
her as a few unpleasant slang terms popped into her head. She faltered and folded
her arms across her chest, dropping her gape to the floor. “There’s no way he’s
that young.”

 
Lisa’s eyes narrowed with suspicion,
followed by a very long observant gape, absorbing every ounce of Shayla’s
demeanor. She watched in silence, analyzing every detail of her reaction.

Shayla felt like she
was standing naked, fully exposed, in the middle of the red carpet.

Tommy entered the
kitchen, grabbing a glass of water.

Shayla’s gape met
Lisa’s.

“Tommy?” Lisa
questioned, drawing her words out ever so slowly keeping an intense fixed stare
on Shayla. “How old is John?”

Shayla turned away,
yanking the refrigerator door open. Standing at the open door trapped in her
own ignominy, she pretended to rummage for anything within the reach of her trembling
fingers while trying to get a grip on the panic running wild in her head.

“He’s twenty-four.”
Tommy leaned against the counter, joining in the conversation.

“Are you talking
about me?” John’s rich voice filled with mischievousness, but there was an
added hopefulness floating in his tone.

Shayla didn’t dare
turn around. The scorch of heat coloring her face burned so hot, not even the
cool air from the fridge helped.

“Shayla and I were
trying to figure out how old you are,” Lisa chimed in so sweetly and endearing that
no man would know she was fishing for answers.

“I wasn’t…we were
just talking…Lisa said—” Shayla pulled open a cooler drawer,
unconsciously examining the freshness of an apple with a flick of her finger.
She felt his presence by her side, stealing the words right out of her mouth.
Her skin turned damp at her nape and chest. Having nowhere else to hide, she forced
herself to meet his gaze. “I just thought you were...you seem older than
twenty-four.”

“Nope, twenty-four.”
A haughty grin the size of the Grand Canyon covered his gorgeous face. John
reached across the front of her to grab a bottle of water, slyly grazing the
delicate peak of her nipple. “How old are you, Shay?”

The sweetness in his
voice sent spasms rippling through her muscles still tender from the night
before. Part of her was completely mortified over their age difference, and the
other part wanted to tackle him to the floor. “Thirty.”

“Really?” He played
it off casually, stretching in front of her again, offering waters to Tom and
Lisa. He smelled so damn delicious her thoughts fractured, leaving her unable
to utter one syllable.

“Are you still
hungry?” he added, saving her from a loss of words. His voice remained casual
and sedated, but the lust in his eyes gave another meaning. John took a long
guzzle of water and set it on the counter. Propping his hip against the
granite, he scrubbed his fingers through his rumpled morning hair. His flexing
bicep stretched the fabric of his white tee, capturing her undivided attention.

Shayla’s gaze
wandered over each contracting muscle, craving connection. She scowled in
disgust, mortified by her own lust. Closing the refrigerator door, she found
Lisa and Tommy glaring straight at her, both wearing confused expressions.
Shit!

Tommy and Lisa faced
each other with curious insight, and then stared straight back at her with
arrogant smirks.

“I gotta get ready,”
she grumbled, leaving the kitchen and their bright stares of speculation.
Walking briskly down the hall, she ignored the echo of footsteps coming from
behind, willing them away.

“Hey. Wait up,” Lisa
called in quiet manner.

Shayla refused to
turn.

“Shayla Maria
Clemmins!”

Shayla glanced over
her shoulder, but continued to her room. “What’s up?”

Lisa caught up by
the time she stepped inside. She waved her finger in front of Shayla in the
design of an S. “You tell me! What the hell is going on?”

“Nothing.” She
withdrew to the closet, mindlessly straightening of her wardrobe, which merely
consisted of two dresses.

“Bullshit!” Lisa
threw her hands to her hips, draping her eyes up and down Shayla, throttling
her in women’s intuition. “You like him.”

Shayla’s heart
thundered. “I didn’t know he was twenty-four,” she said in an ache of a murmur,
burying her face in her palms. “Honestly—”

“Did I miss
something?”

She dropped her
hands, hesitantly nodding. Her head fell back as she searched the ceiling for
answers. “Kinda.”

“Oh fuck.” Lisa
paused. “I was just messing with you. Did you sleep with him?”

The ceiling wasn’t
providing any answers so she tried the floor, shaking her head numbly,
mortified she hadn’t even asked how old John was prior to making love.

“You did? Oh shit.”
Lisa gripped her thin shoulders. Her perfectly penciled eyebrows rose to a point,
astounded by the break in Shayla’s squeaky-clean image. “Last night?”

“He looks thirty!
Thirty-five!”

“This has nothing to
do with his age, honey.”
 
Lisa
grabbed her shoulders, guiding her in a motherly fashion out of the closet to
the upholstered chair beside the bed. “Sit down.”

She plopped back
into the blue chair, folding her sweaty palms in her lap.

“Last I heard, Mat
asked you to marry him in front of his whole family. By the way, I personally
think that was a little messed up. It’s like political peer pressure. Did you
turn him down? Tom said you hadn’t given him an answer.”

Shayla opened her
mouth and the entire story gushed out. The proposal, his family, her mixed
feelings. “When Mat and I first started dating I thought I was the luckiest
woman in the world. How could a man like him even be interested in me? I mean,
for a man like him, who comes from such a predominate family, and my family, I
just—”

“Stop right there!
Don’t say another damn word! It doesn’t matter where you come from, Shayla
Marie Clemmins. You are an amazing woman. Just because you weren’t given
everything on a silver spoon—”