Escaping Me (21 page)

I can tell this is going to take a while.  I kiss Whitney on top of her head and motion that I am going to take a shower.  She smiles sweetly and nods before her jaw drops at whatever her father said next.

“This is ridiculous,” she responds.  “You don't know the first thing about him, and maybe I should have said this sooner, but I don't need you to tell me what is or isn't good for me.”  The conversation continues during the duration of my shower, and I even take my time drying off to give her more privacy.  Even though I am trying to give her some space to deal with her dad, I still catch most of what she was saying, and I can't lie, it makes me smile.

“
I love him, Dad,” she says proudly.  “He is better for me than your precious Wesley.  At least Cole has never hurt me.”  She pauses. “No, Wes didn't beat me up.  I was talking about him cheating on me.  But now that you mention it, he did grab my arm pretty hard when he showed up here to pick me up for you.  And what the hell was that about?  Did you really send him here to pick me up?  I'm not five!”

I am so proud of her for finally standing up to him.  When I walk back into the bedroom, she is pacing the floor in nothing but my t-shirt with her hair a frazzled mess as she nervously twists a curl around her finger.  I creep in quietly, not wanting to distract her, and quickly change into a pair of shorts and cut-off t-shirt.  I give her a thumbs up as she continues to explain to her father just exactly why she is pissed about the way he acted the night before and head outside to get started on replacing a few boards on the river dock. 

About thirty minutes later, I see the prettiest thing tiptoeing through the backyard, barefoot and still only covered by the thin material of my old gray t-shirt.  I assume her conversation with her father went as planned because she has a proud smile plastered across her face.

“
Well?” I ask as I finish screwing in the last board.  I set my drill down and jump to my feet to walk over and meet her.  She rests against a birch tree growing near the river's edge.  “How'd it go?”

“
Better than I expected,” she grins.  “I'm pretty sure he was about to apologize when I told him I had to go.”

“
You didn't wait for it?”

“
Nah. Thought I'd let him sweat it out a little,” she snickers.  “He did say that he was going to back off the asshole routine, and if I wanted to date you, he wouldn't say another word about it.”

“
Gee, thanks, Pops,” I chuckle sarcastically.

“
It felt good to get it all out there.  I told him how I felt, what I thought... who I loved,” she beams up at me.  She runs her finger down my chest before grabbing a handful of my shirt and pulling me toward her as she seductively bites her lip.  “In fact, I'm feeling pretty good right now.  You know, all proud of myself and all.”  She raises her eyebrows and I see the wicked thoughts she is thinking glimmer in her eyes.  “Feel like making things even better?”

“
I can do that,” I say, reaching down and dragging my hands up both her legs as I press her back up against the tree.  Imagine my surprise when I feel under the bottom of her shirt to find she has nothing on underneath it.  “Look at you, coming out here half naked.  Someone could see you, you know?”

“
Out here?” she teases.  “In the middle of nowhere?”

“
Yeah, guys drive boats down this river all the time,” I remind her as I trace my fingers under the curves of her ass, careful not to let the shirt ride up too far.

“
Guess that's just a chance we're going to have to take.” She smiles as she reaches for the button of my shorts.  Her lips find mine as she starts to work the button free. I slide my hand under her shirt and fill my palm with one of her perky tits, squeezing it firmly as I work my tongue around her mouth.

“
Look at that,” she giggles when she finally springs me free of my shorts and slowly drags her foot up my leg.  “What to do? What to do?” she taunts, tapping her finger on her chin.  She lets out a squeal when I pick her up, wrap her legs around my waist, and slowly rest her back against the tree.  I can feel the heat coming from between her legs as I center myself. 

“
I've got a pretty good idea what to do,” I grin, dipping the head of my dick between her folds.  Her warmth seizes me like a fist, nearly pulling me in completely.  I still myself, not wanting this moment with her to end too quickly.  Isn't every day that your girlfriend asks for it outside in broad daylight. Nope.  This one is going to be a really fucking fond memory.  “I don't know...” I joke.  “I'm starting to think this is all you think I'm good for.”

“
It is,” she smirks.  “You've spoiled me with your willingness to accommodate all my sexual requests.”  I sink in a little farther, causing her breath to catch.

“
So you are using me,” I confirm, slowly moving the head of my cock back and forth, threatening to remove myself completely on each backstroke.  I relax my forehead against hers and tease her lips with my tongue, all the while keeping one ear out for the hum of a boat motor trolling down the river.

“
Mm-hmm,” she moans, her legs wrapping tighter around me to motivate my movement.   “You're just so good at it,” she whispers against my lips before flicking her tongue against them.  She wins.  I let my mouth overtake hers before I thrust into her, causing her head to fall back gently against the tree.

“
Is this what you wanted?” I ask, watching her savor each movement I make, her back arching as the intensity starts to build.  The moans and sighs she’s trying to keep silent are slowly threatening to overtake the sounds of the chirping birds and rush of the river.

“
Yes,” she cries out quietly.

“
That wasn't very convincing, Whitney,” I say as I kiss my way up her neck and down her jawline, slowly circling my hips against her.  “I guess we need to work on you expressing yourself a little more, huh?” I lean back to see her face as the first wave of her undoing begins.  “Why don't you tell me exactly what you want?”

“
You,” she breathes.  “I want you.”

“
You want me to...” I pause, waiting for her to finish the thought.

“
Fuck me,” she whispers, staring directly into my eyes.  I smile.

“
Tell me again.”

“
I want you to fuck me, Cole.”

“
That wasn't so hard, now was it,” I say as I drop both hands to her ass and do exactly as I'm told.

Chapter 23 – Whitney

I've all but moved into Cole's house by the end of the week.  I still go to my mom's every day to help her out with the business, but I haven't slept in my own bed since the night of the Picnic.  Honestly, I really don’t ever want to leave his bed—you know, except for the occasional outdoor rendezvous.  Apparently, our extra-curricular activities are taking their toll on my body because when I walk into the barn on Monday morning to help Mallory organize all the things my mom bought over the weekend, my stride may be a little wider than usual to accommodate the dull ache I feel between my legs.  Leave it to Mallory to totally call me out on it.

“Jesus, sister,” she says, popping her hand up on her hip.  “You been riding a horse all week or what?”  She waggles her eyebrows and starts laughing.  “Yeehaw, Cole Pritchett.”

“
Very funny.” I roll my eyes.  “I guess my muscles haven't built up a tolerance the same way yours have,” I reply. 

“
Touché,” she nods with a smile.  We get started on our work and I decide that now is as good a time as any to bring up the subject of paternity.  Mallory may have acted like it didn't bother her when she found out the truth about who her father is, but I know better.  We may have different daddies, but we still have Leanne's DNA, and that means, whether we want to or not, we try to keep things bottled up inside.

“
So, you wanna talk about it?” I ask.

“
About what?” She is playing dumb, ignoring me as she busies herself at the workbench, pretending to be writing down something super important.

“
You know what I'm talking about.  You don't even have the cap off the pen,” I note.  She lets her head fall in a shake, looking down at the pen in her hand.

“
Oh,” she finally says.  “You mean about Papa Vince.  Yeah, not really.”

“
Come on, Mal,” I urge.  “You can't just ignore it.  I know that it had to be hard to find out the way you did.  Have you even talked to Mom about it?  She should have told you before now.”  I understand that my mom was trying to protect Mallory, but my dad was right about one thing—we are old enough to handle to truth.

“
A little,” she says, keeping her back to me.  “I mean, yeah, it kind of pissed me off that she kept it from me, but she's the only one who’s been around for me, so it's not like I can afford to write her off too.  I'd like to have at least one parental figure in my life.”  She turns to face me, and for the first time ever, I see a bit of uncertainty in her eyes.

“
Well, I'm not much of a parental figure, but you've got me,” I assure her.  I don't want her to think that the revelation of her paternity changed anything between us.  I am happy to have her back in my life and need her to know that I'll always be there for her.

“
I know.” She smiles.

“
What about Vince?” I hoist myself up, sitting on the edge of a dusty old dresser.  “You think you want to meet him?”

“
I don't know. Mom doesn't even know where he is.  At least that's what she told me.”

“
Let's hire someone to find him,” I suggest.  “Even if you just find out where he is and do nothing with the information, at least you'll know.”

“
I don't know.” She wavers.  “Isn't hiring a private investigator kind of expensive?  And then what if they don't even find anything?  Or worse, what if they find out he's dead?  Or in jail?  Or some kind of lunatic?”  I can see all of the emotions she was trying to hide from me as she babbles out her train of thought.  I wonder if this girl actually ever lets herself cry.  She works so hard a being the tough girl.  I am sad for my sister and a little bit mad at myself for missing out on her life.  I know she must have buried a few things deep down that cause her to act this way.

“
Relax.”  I jump down and walk over to give her a hug.  “I highly doubt our mother would have had an affair with someone that was deranged.” 

“
Well, from your father's performance the other night, I'd say she married one,” she chuckles.

“
Touché,” I reply with a laugh.  “Speaking of him, don't worry about how expensive the PI is.  I've got a credit card with Robert Vandaveer's name on it and I think the least he can do is pay for us to find your real dad.  I mean, he did act like an asshole, right?”  I giggle.

“
I like the way you think, sis,” she adds before hugging me tighter than she ever has before.  I know it is scary for her to find out who exactly Vince became, but at the same time it is something she needs to do.  “Now that that elephant is out of the barn, tell me about your love affair.”

“
Omigod,” I sigh, releasing my arms from hers and reclaiming my seat on the dresser.  She pulls a stool from under the workbench and settles in for all the details.  “He's freaking amazing.”

“
I gathered.”

“
I mean, seriously. He's the sweetest, funniest, hottest... I could go on for days.”  I feel like a fool, knowing I am sitting here with a dumb grin on my face, but she wants the details and I really want to tell her about him.  “I am so in love.” I shake my head.  “It's borderline ridiculous.”

“
I'm really happy for you, Whitney,” she says before asking the one question that has been on my mind for the past week.  “So what happens when summer's over?”

I sit, silently pondering the same way I've done a hundred times this week. 
Should I stay here?  Should I ask him to go with me?  Can we make it work long distance?
  My college is about four hours away, and the thought of not being able to see him every day—worse, not waking up with him everyday—sucks.

“
I don't know,” I answer Mallory's original question.  “We really just met.  It would be crazy to completely change our lives for one another, right?”

“
It is crazy, but maybe that's why it's so great.”

I shrug. “Maybe.”  She has a point.  I thought I was in love with Wesley.  I even followed him to the college he picked and made it my life's mission to do everything to make him happy.  What I feel for Cole is completely different.  It is life changing. It’s Beyoncé-singing-and-dancing, do-whatever-it-takes, crazy in love with him, so why can’t I just jump in?  Maybe it is the fact that I've finally started to figure out who I am and what I want.  I want to finish school and find a job I love.  I don't want to have a guy define me the way Wesley and my father tried to, even if he is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  “We're going to have plenty of time to talk about it all,” I say.  “This weekend we are going back to his hometown for his brother's wedding.  The drive should give us plenty of time to figure it all out.”