Meadowlarks (15 page)

             
“Bud?” he calls from the bottom of the stairs. “She's going to come over when she's done work. So I'm going to head out, okay?”

             
I come down the steps and sit on a stool at the island in the kitchen. “Thanks, Jer.”

What would I do without this guy? I really don't know. He gives me a one-armed
man-hug before he leaves, and I sit with anticipation for the next ninety minutes.               I can't stay inside and wait, so I sit, very impatiently on the porch steps.

Her car pulls into the driveway, and my heart starts racing. It feels like the
first time I've ever seen her.               When she steps out, I stand up, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans. She looks tired—beautiful, but tired—and is still wearing work clothes. I can't say I'm not disappointed when she doesn't run up and jump in my arms. She slowly walks through the grass over to me and smiles.

             
“Hi, Blaine,” she says, inhaling deeply like it's the last breath she'll ever take. “How are you?”

             
How am I? I'm beyond confused. I was expecting fireworks or something, not this cold feeling washing over me.

             
“Baby,” I start to say, and she looks away, at anything but me, it seems. I reach out and touch her crossed arms. “Please. I'm so, so sorry. I...”

             
I'm getting frustrated; why won't she touch me?

             
“Over the past week and a half,” she says, speaking as quietly as she can, very calmly, staring at her shoes. “I've had nothing but time. Time to think about everything I had and everything that I lost.”

             
“But you didn't lose me,” I burst. “Addy, I don't know why it happened. But it's all back now, I love you. Please.” I try to touch her again, and this time, she backs up two steps. I can feel all my blood leave my body and pool at my feet.

             
“Blaine, I realized that I love you more than I thought, and it frightened me. Watching you fall…and everything after was torture.” She starts to cry. The tears roll down her face, and she laughs while trying to wipe them away, but they just keep coming.               “I don't want to go through that again. My God...” She places her hands on her face. “You could have been killed. You hit your head hard enough to forget me, and I just lost it.”

This time I don't care if she tries to get away. I grab her and wrap her in my arms as tight as I can.
              She's sobbing, and I can't stand it. “I won't do it again, baby. For you. I won't ever ride a bull again. Please.” I promise and rock her gently in my arms.

             
We stand there forever, and she finally stops crying.               “I don't want you to stop doing something you love.”

             
Is she serious? I love her! I love her more than that—can't she see?

             
“Baby, you mean more to me than anything. I would do anything humanly possible for you.” I squeeze tighter and then take her up into my arms, into the house and up to bed.

             
“Jeremiah's gone, and I can't be alone. You have to stay. Doctor's orders.” I raise an eyebrow as I set her down on the bed.

             
She half smiles and pulls her ponytail so it hangs over her shoulder. I sit on the bed beside her, and we talk about everything that happened. She said she was in the hospital for the first two days, she couldn’t leave. I told her I remembered someone shaving my face.

             
“I knew when you woke up you wouldn't want to have grown a beard.” She laughs and crosses her legs.               “I had to go back to work, and I didn't want to leave you. Jeremiah and your family told me to go, that they would be there with you and call me if anything happened.” She clears her throat and then reaches down to pull of her shoes.               “They were so kind to me. When Nick called to tell me what happened when you woke up…he said I shouldn't come just yet.”

             
I think she's going to start crying again, so I pull her close to me, kissing her hair.

             
“I knew he was right, and I was so happy you were okay. But I was devastated at the same time.”

             
I pull her over so her legs are wrapped around me, sitting on me, we're face to face. I kiss her mouth, her cheek, all the way down her neck. When I pull her shirt off, I kiss her shoulder and chest. The clasp at her back opens with my touch, and her bra falls down, exposing her breasts. I kiss each of them, savouring all of her.

             
Once we are completely undressed and in bed, she rolls over so she's facing away from me, and I lift her leg so I can slowly enter her. She gasps, and I kiss her back. In this position I can reach around and caress her breasts while we make love.

Tenderly I pull her chin so her face turns up, and I kiss her mouth deeply. I can feel myself reaching my peak, and I try to hold out as she hasn't not yet climaxed.

              “Come on, baby,” I whisper in her ear. It sends her over the edge; her muscles tighten around me, and I pull her closer, our bodies heaving together.

              Over the next few weeks we discuss more about our plans for the future. I tell her I want her to move in, but she's a little hesitant.

             
“I don't know if Alex can afford the condo on his own,” she said.

I don't push,
instead I think of a way to make it happen. While she's at work I talk to Jeremiah about asking her to live with me; he thinks it's a good idea, too.

Then he suggests something I didn't even think of.
              “Well, I could rent Alex one of the bedrooms at my place.”

             
Hmm...
that might just work.

             
When Addison comes over after work I tell her about what Jer suggested. She smiled, agreeing that it's a good idea and that Alex will probably go for it.

             
One week later we're at her rented condo, loading what few possessions she has into my truck and Alex's into Jeremiah's.

             
“I'm a little nervous that you two will be living together. I hope it doesn't turn into a frat house over there.” She laughs and pokes Jeremiah's shoulder.

             
“Hey, now. I think we'll be fine as long as there's beer in the fridge—right, Alex?” He laughs.

Addison closes the door once everything is out
, without looking back. I bend down to pick up the ceramic malamute with the welcome sign, and she smiles. I kiss her swiftly and we head to our home.

*
              *              *

             
August is a profitable month for the ranch; between the hay and cattle sales, I'm well into the red. During the last week before the end of the month, Alex, Addison and I fly to Maine so they can visit their parents, and I can finally meet them. They both make fun of me when I seem nervous about flying, which I have never done before. Once we are in the air, I feel much better. I have a window seat, so I marvel at the beauty of God's creation.

             
Their parents meet us at the airport. Addison is a spitting image of her mother, who doesn't look old enough to have two children in their twenties. Her father is very tall, stocky, and I'm a little intimidated.

             
“My babies!” Their mother beams and takes them both in her arms.

Their dad extends his hand to me.
              “You must be Blaine. It's a pleasure.”

             
I say the same and call him Mr. Cole; he quickly corrects me, telling me to call him Richard. I'm not used to addressing my elders by their first names, especially not the father of the woman I'm in love with on our first meeting.

             
“Dad.” Alex hugs his father, who embraces him back. I can tell he really does love his son. Momentarily I wish I had that with my own father.

             
“Mom, this is Blaine. Blaine, my mom Lillian.” Addison introduces us.

Lillian
hugs me and then holds me out so she can get a look at all of me.               “Addy, you weren't wrong when you said he was handsome!”

             
I blush, and I'm thankful I wore a baseball cap so when I look down, no one can see my face.

             
We climb in to their brand new Escalade, and I feel totally out of place, like some lost puppy Addison found on her way home from school.               Her parents’ house is about thirty minutes from the airport, and we drive through a beautiful landscape to get there. The houses along the street keep getting bigger and bigger as the numbers on the mailboxes get higher. We turn into a driveway, through an open gate, and I look at Addison like she's forgotten to mention something to me.

             
Their house is enormous, to say the least, with huge vaulted peaks, big white pillars and a massive brick chimney on the one side. We park outside a four-car garage, and I hope my jaw hasn't been on the floor of their too-clean Cadillac this whole time. Flowerbeds line the walkway, and the driveway, too.

             
The inside of the house is just as I expected, straight from the pages of a magazine, very clean and flowers everywhere. The walls are white, and the floors are a very dark rustic wood.

             
“Make yourself at home, Blaine. We have a room upstairs all for you, too!” Lillian beams and motions up the large staircase.

             
“Thank you very much.” I smile and start carrying our luggage up the black wooden steps of the huge staircase in the middle of the room. Addison shows me her bedroom, still decorated as if she never left. Posters are on the walls, a few ribbons and trophies on a little shelf above her desk. A large canopied bed in the center of the room, trimmed with light purples and pinks.

             
“It's very...girly.” I grin and place her bags on the bed.

             
“Yeah, well, I
am
a girl! And I haven't slept in this room since I was like, eighteen.” She laughs and takes my hand to show me where I'll be sleeping.

             
Across the hall is Alex's room; he's in flopped on his bed reading something, with one foot on the ground tapping loudly to the heavy music coming from his stereo.

             
The bedroom she leads me to, is just as big as hers. The bed in the center is covered in a blanket that's creamy white with dark blue flowers printed all over it. I drop my bag, the only one I brought, compared to Alex and Addy’s combined six.

             
“So, listen here, Mr. Blackstock. I better not catch you sneaking into my room in the middle of the night.” She kisses me, and I wrap my arms around her, wanting to climb on that flowered bed and make love to her.               “My dad sleeps with a gun under the bed.” She winks, and I can't tell if she's joking…I hope she's joking.

             
Her parents take us out to dinner. The restaurant is huge, almost as big as their house is, and decorated about as nicely, too. In my jeans, boots, and button-up shirt, I know I'm sticking out like a sore thumb next to everyone else in town. Her parents are dressed immaculately, and even Alex is wearing dress pants and a tie. Addison, is wearing a gorgeous black dress, accentuating her body, and for the first time I see her in heels. She's almost as tall as me in them, and I imagine her lying on the bed, her beautiful legs up and a black heel resting over each of my shoulders. I know where my mind is headed, and I shift to adjust myself in my chair.

             
Dinner is salmon. Smoked salmon
boursin
, to be exact. I have to read it a few times and listen to the others order it before I can pronounce it myself.               What is it with rich people anyway? Why can't they just say “salmon and cheese”?

             
It's delicious, but I'm disappointed when I realize that the only plateful I got served is considered the main course. How do these people not starve to death on so little food? To make myself seem more out of place, I'm drinking a draft beer, and they're all sipping from glasses of wine.

             
Addison sits across from me with her brother, and I have her parents on either side of me. She keeps looking at me seductively, and I think she's enjoying her little game because she knows I can't react while I’m sandwiched between Richard and Lillian. Almost as if it’s on purpose.

             
Dessert is some sort of pastry, filled with cheesecake and deep-fried. With a scoop of ice cream on top, drizzled with caramel, it looks too good to eat. Looking at it more closely I notice it's not just drizzle; it's drizzle spelling out the word
Enjoy!

             
Jeremiah would laugh if he saw me sitting in front of a plate like this. I’m almost tempted to take a picture with my phone and send it to him…but I don’t.

Alex
talks to his parents about everything he's been doing on the ranch, and they seem impressed with him. I glance at Addison, who is watching me. She dips her finger into the cheesecake and slowly puts it into her mouth.

Fuck..
.I'm going to die. Her father has a gun under his bed, but all I want to do is jump over this table and throw those heels over my shoulders...Yep, I'm going to die.

             
I remember the game she played the first night I spent at her house, with the pink lotion on her legs. I also remember that two can play at this game.

Game on, baby.
I raise my eyebrow at her suggestive finger licking, look away from her, and casually undo the top button on my shirt.               She smirks and sits up in her chair, talking to her mother, trying her best not to look at me.

             
“So Addy tells me you were in an accident. How long have you been riding those animals?” Richard turns and looks at me.

             
“Well, since I was nineteen. This was the first time I've been seriously hurt.” I look at Addison, who is still talking to her mom. “But it scared me enough that I don't want to risk it again. I'll stick to my horse.”

             
“It's a shame, really. It's a magnificent experience, I'm sure, but you're right that it's dangerous…” Richard says quietly. “Especially when you have loved ones watching you.” He looks lovingly at his daughter, and she smiles at him sweetly.

I'm assuming she didn't mention by bought with temporary amnesia because he doesn't bring it up, and I don't either.

              It's getting late, and Richard and Lillian tell us they're going home but we three should stay out and enjoy the night.

             
“Show him how we have fun in Maine, Addy!” Lillian gives her daughter a kiss on the cheek, and Richard shakes my hand. They leave, and we sit back down at the table, discussing what to do next. Alex suggests a club, which I am not really interested in, and Addison turns her lip in disgust at the idea.

             
“How about we go to THE club—and maybe I can get the girls to come out!” She almost squeals and has an ear-to-ear smile.

             
“Girls like who?
Riley
?” Alex raises his eyebrow quizzically.

             
“Yeah, Riley. And maybe a few others. Why do you care anyway? You're not going to stick around once we're there.” She elbows him in the ribs, and he acts like he's hurt.

             
Six text messages later, she's heard back from “her girls”, and I'm almost dreading what's next. The man at the podium in the lobby calls a cab for us, and we wait under the canopied entrance for it to come.

             
On the way to The Club, she tells me nothing about what I'm about to endure. Alex sits in the front, and I figure it's a safe time to tease her a little, considering how worked up she had me during dessert. I undo another button, showing off my pectoral muscles and what little chest hair I have. I shift in my seat so my knees touch the back of the chair in front of me and I rub my hand slowly across my abdomen.

             
“Mmm. Dinner was good, wasn't it?” I smile at her with salacious, hooded eyes.

             
She keeps her poker face well.               “Dessert was better,” she replies and puts the same finger that had the cheesecake on it back it her mouth, biting down with her front teeth.

Damn, she's good.

Thankfully the cab ride is short, as I was two seconds away from tearing her dress off and ordering the driver and Alex to get out of the car. The Club is just that—a country club with rolling green hills for golfing.

             
This should be interesting…but, I'm pleasantly surprised when we're inside, and I see that it's not full of middle aged people in khakis and polo shirts with argyle sweaters tied around their shoulders. Instead I see people our age; well, Alex's age, most likely—dancing and conversing around a large bar in the middle of the room. Alex sees people he must know because he leaves us and walks over to them, hugging and shaking their hands. He says something to them and points in our direction; they all look over.

             
Yeah, that's right. Say hello to the country bumpkin.
I smirk and Addison and I walk hand in hand over to another side of the bar to order drinks.

             
“I'll have a beer,” I say loudly to the too-tanned guy in the too-tight golf shirt.

             
“And I'll have a margarita!” Addison leans in, placing her order.

He nods and gets to work on our drinks.

              “Cole!” Someone shouts her name, we both turn to see four girls straight from a magazine standing in a line, walking toward us. I'd say something like a Victoria's Secret magazine, not because they're dressed in lingerie but because they're all hot enough to be featured in the catalogue.

             
“Hey, girls!” Addison exclaims in a voice I've never heard her use before; it's high pitched and very excited. They swarm around her, all hugging and bouncing at the same time, and I step back before I'm knocked over by a huge leather purse.