Down 'N' Derby Page 15

  She’d been absolutely spot on earlier. I did treat her like I loved her—there was no doubt that I did. Something had changed the night before. She changed me. She was completely right. I wasn’t nine year old Maddox anymore, holding onto scars and nitpicking memories. The touching thing was him; it was that Maddox defending himself. It made no sense. I didn’t kill my mother—a disease did. I felt like an idiot for spending so many years of my life in defense. She flicked a light on in my life. I sat there for hours berating myself for the years I’d spent on pins and needles.

  I heard the bathroom door open and I stood in recognition. Her face was stuck between the door and the jamb looking at me.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked her.

  “Um, can you hand me my robe? It’s on top in my bag.” She made a cringe face after she finished. I didn’t mind at all.

  I got the flimsy thing from her bag and it slipped through the fraction of open door easily. I scrubbed my face as I realized she was about to come out of that bathroom in nothing but that robe.

  She came out and I should’ve run for it. She had the robe on alright, but barely. It was wrapped around her, off her shoulders. She threw her bag on top of the bed and racooned through it, scavenging and searching. There was something about the way her shoulders moved as she dug in her bag. One droplet of water fell from the nape of her neck and slithered down her back between her shoulder blades and my resolve to behave myself disintegrated before me.

  I stalked over to where she stood, oblivious to my intentions and gently let my hands grasp the curved of her that I’d craved since I first saw her. She sucked in a breath and froze in place.

  “I do, you know,” and I flexed my hands on her hips.

  “Huh,” she breathed out. Her hands clenched a shirt.

  “I do love you. I have since you told that guy on the beach to go away while he still had use of his nuts.” She laughed at that.

  The nape of her neck beckoned me. I couldn’t stop myself anymore. I placed my lips on her neck, right where her neck meets her shoulders. Then I gave another droplet of water the attention it begged for. I licked it off of her shoulder taking the time to taste her skin, still warm and wet from her bath. It was honey again. She tasted like rich, sweet honey and smelled like apples. If I thought I was drunk on her touch then I was completely high on her smell. I closed my eyes to shut off the sense hoping to double my reaction to her scent. She turned around and backed up against the bed and I knew what was coming. I needed to show her.

  I took one step towards her as I held my breath and I could see that she was just as rattled as I was. Even before our lips touched I was lit like a sloppy campfire, crackling, throwing sparks. And there was a familiar buzzing in my skin but not the defense mechanism I’d grown so accustomed to, this was something raw and carnal—and needy. It was as if tiny testosterone buzzed members of the male species sprung to life from every pore demanding that I quench their thirst for contact, commanding me to experience her touch again and again and again. I didn’t want to move too fast. I’d been waiting for this all my life.

  She let out a quaking breath, then she inhaled making her chest meet mine; but her eyes, those magnificent fountains of life, never broke their gaze from mine.

  “I swear Mad, if that’s the only place you plan on touching me, I’d rather you not touch me at all.” She spoke these words and I inhaled them, closing my eyes, letting her words and the sweetness of her breath seep into my core.

  “I don’t think I can stop now. I’ve been a junkie since the first time I touched you.” And it was true. I was the junkie and she was my pusher.

  I let our bodies brush against each other, breathing together before I even attempted a kiss. This was more intimacy than I’d experienced in my life and I just wanted to make it last forever.

  “For the love of all that’s holy Mad, please.” My hands were now on her wrists. She slid her hands into place on top of mine, entangled her fingers between my own and gave just the slightest squeeze.

  She started another sentence but was cut off by my lips touching her top one and then the bottom. Her warm lips tasted like warm sugar cookies. And when both of my lips met hers they fit together—two halves of the same mold reuniting to make one whole. I pulled back, not wanting to jinx what had transpired and when I opened my eyes hers were still closed and a lone stream flowed down her cheek.

  “Did I hurt you?” That was my first instinct. Stupid, buffoon of a guy that I was, plowed into her and marred her.

  “No,” she breathed and touched her fingers to her lips. I had hurt her. I was like Owen the Oxen just barreling through life, knocking over anything that got in my way.

  “I never knew a kiss could be like that,” she said, tearing me out of my own self-beat up.

  “Like what?” I needed to know what I was doing right. I had no freakin’ idea what in the hell she liked and didn’t like.

  “Innocent, sweet, but hot and sexy as hell, at the same time.” And then she smiled at me, an approving smile that answered the questions I hadn’t even asked.

  I looked in her eyes as I pulled her robe over her shoulders. They were just too damn tempting. “For God’s sakes, Storey, please put something on—preferably a turtleneck and ugly pants. And no hearts on your ass. I swear if I see one more heart on the ass of your shorts or whatever, I’m going to implode.”

  “Ok, but you should know that most of the clothes I own have a heart on my ass. So next time, instead of verging on spontaneous combustion, just do something about it.”

  She picked up her clothes and walked back into the bathroom. She looked over her shoulder at me and I had to hold onto the bedpost to stop myself from following her.

  I dug in my own bag and pulled out boxers and shorts, fully intending to take the coldest shower of my life. She came out and I kept my gaze on the bathroom, determined to make it into the shower without temptation. But my eyes betrayed me. I turned to watch her go back towards the bed and sure enough there was a red heart on those black shorts. I tried to warn her, and she told me to do something about it. My hand reached out and gently slapped her behind and she jumped. A squeal broke from her throat.

  “Maddox,” she yelled at me, trying to feign appall.

  “Oh no, don’t act shocked. I tried to warn you.”

  I heard her laugh as I entered the bathroom. I was surrounded by steam that smelled like her body. I couldn’t escape her.

  I cranked on the cold shower and stepped in after ridding myself of my clothes. A shiver wracked through me as I realized what was happening. I started laughing right there in the shower like a damned idiot. The water was cold. It was freezing ass cold. And I could feel it. She’d woken me. I was alive. Not just breathing or moving, but alive.

  I soaped up and scrubbed everywhere. I shut the water off and dried myself. I threw on my boxers and shorts. I didn’t bother shaving, just brushed my teeth and went to face the music.

  She laid on her stomach, legs scissoring back and forth while she laughed at Jimmy Fallon on the TV. It was a sight to be held, her small stature on a huge King sized bed. The white comforter and pillows gathered around her like a nest. I jumped up on the bed, bouncing her almost to the other side. She scooted back to her place next to me and took up laughing again. Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake were singing about gold medallions and chest hair in white jumpsuits. It was one of my favorite SNL skits ever.

  She wasted no time burrowing in next to me, letting my body replace the wall of pillows she’d constructed. I thought maybe the feeling between us would change after the kiss but we were the same. She wiggled and squirmed beside me, the ants in the pants thing again.

  I moved to sit, my back against the headboard and she got my drift. She sat between my legs and pulled the comforter over as she laid back against my chest. I had no shirt on and hers rose as she jostled into place. The bare skin of her back was against my stomach but now instead of scaring me, it gave me the touch I yearned for.
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br />   We spent the rest of the night like that, laughing at the comedians on the TV. A while later, I woke up and we both must’ve fallen asleep, because the TV was now playing an infomercial for some machine to remove hair. Storey was turned on her left side, both of her arms around my middle. I didn’t want to move her but she looked so damned uncomfortable.

  I situated her laying flat next to me and covered her. She mumbled something about me but it was unintelligible. But just my name on her lips while she slept was enough for me. I turned my back to her and tried to fall back asleep and just when I’d hit the wall between lucid thought and concrete sleep, arms and legs wrapped around me. She nestled her face into the scissure between my shoulder blades. Sleep claimed me seconds later.

  The sun broke through the window lined wall and shone directly in my face. I was on my stomach. I tried to stretch but was being held in place by some creature with appendages plastered all over me—soft, warm, silky appendages, but still.

  “No, no, no, it’s too damned early,” the creature moaned.

  “If you let me move, I’ll get you coffee.”

  “No, I’ll get it. You stay here. No arguments.”

  She kissed the back of my neck and I felt her get off of the bed. I turned my head, the rest of my body unwilling to move yet and watched her. She slipped on some heart flip flops and a short sleeved hoodie thing.

  “You’re gonna get coffee for free with those shorts on.” I teased her.

  “Well, that’s what I was planning. I was gonna go down there and shake my red heart a little and get free breakfast, duh.”

  “That’s it.” I kicked the covers off, stalked over to my bag and wrestled a t shirt on. “There will be no heart shaking on my watch. I’m going with.”

  “Ok, let me brush my teeth,” she said. I pulled on my shoes while she did and then took my turn in the bathroom.

  We walked a few blocks down to a weird, healthy, very California place with smoothies instead of coffee and granola bars instead of pancakes.

  “What I wouldn’t give for a big bowl of grits.” I said as I starred at the menu.

  “Oh man, and some alligator sausage and biscuits.”

  “Ahhh, there’s my Coonass girl,” and she nodded.

  Despite our craving for Cajun breakfast fare, we got smoothies and she managed to find the last chocolate chip muffin in the place. I paid and had to shake my head at a hornball behind the counter whose eyes were about to get poked out. His gaze turned covetous when he realized she was with me. Yeah, that’s it buddy, be jealous.

  We got back to the hotel and even though I wanted to stay there longer, I told Rex I would be back to see Einer tomorrow.

  “I have to go see Einer tomorrow.” I said as she packed up her stuff.

  “I thought I was coming with you,” her hands helped her by fisting on her hips in protest.

  “Come here,” I beckoned her.

  She walked over and looked up at me. I could never tell her ‘no’ but I would try to convince her that it might be an iffy situation.

  “I’m telling you. Something was off. I don’t know if he was high or insane or what. What if I wasn’t looking or not paying attention and he flew off the handle. If he hurt you, I’d kill him. Then I’d go to jail and…” I rubbed my jaw back and forth, trying to be funny, “and I’m way too pretty for prison.”

  “Well, that’s true. You are way too pretty for prison. But I know you. You aren’t gonna let your guard down with me there for one second. I trust you to keep me safe. I’m not worried at all.”

  Well, didn’t that just backfire.

  “Ok, I’m supposed to be there at noon tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be ready. Maybe he was just nervous. That must be it.”

  “I’ll let you be the judge. What are we doing today?”

  She cringed and then schooled her face, “Um, whatever you want to do.”

  I’d been watching her mouth throughout the whole conversation and I knew one way to make her tell the truth. I licked my lips in anticipation. This wasn’t the first kiss. This was something entirely different. Our mouths knew just what to do this time. Well, hers did. Mine just followed suit. She opened her mouth and when I felt her tongue on mine I was crushed. I took her lead. I sucked on her top lip, the one that was shaped like the top of a heart and then nipped at the bottom one, the cheeky one that taunted me every time she pouted. I pulled back and sucked in a breath when I felt her hands on my stomach. She looked at me, questioning.

  “Is this ok?” She said.

  “You can touch me anywhere you want, anytime you want. But I warn you, I’m gonna react.” That made her snicker.

  “Ok, now that I’ve got you in a daze, what do you want to do today? Truth.”

  “I really want to skate. But I can go by myself if you don’t want to. I also need to pick up my paycheck and pay some bills.”

  “I need to get some laundry done today anyway. So we’ll split up and get our stuff handled. You can call me if you want to meet up for dinner or whatever.”

  “Sounds good.” We finished packing up and left the hotel. We drove back to Venice and she dropped me off at the motel. I piled my dirty clothes into the Rover and took off towards a Laundromat. I got it all done and brought it back to the motel. I called everyone in the family and checked in. Owen said he was a little pissed because I called Falcon before him but he quickly got over it. I asked Reed and Falcon about the wedding but they both dodged my questions. I wondered if something had happened. Owen probably knocked out the preacher or something.

  I decided to go back to the beach where I met her. I was gonna miss the beach even though I’d only experienced it a handful of times. I hadn’t noticed before how many people there were here in the middle of the day. And not just young people on summer break. Older people, families with children, they were all beach bums. I went into a little more depth with Reed about Storey in our conversation that day. I told her everything I knew about her. But both of us avoided the touchy subject. She didn’t ask and I was happy to let it be a surprise to her. I also couldn’t wait to try it out on them. I could touch Storey all day long but I wanted to see if I could actually hug my mom without the twitch. I hoped I could.

  I swam in the ocean for hours. I swam out past the breakers and found a spot where the water was calm. I floated there for a while and then decided to go in. By the time I got back to the Rover it was well past four in the afternoon. I’d been there longer than I thought. I had a missed text message from Storey.

  Just wanted you to know that I miss you. Call me when you get your stuff done.

  I called her right back.

  “Hey! You feel like dinner,” she asked.

  “I’m actually starving. I’ve been swimming all afternoon.”

  “Good, because I skated for like three hours. I could eat a horse. Where?”

  I shrugged even though she couldn’t see me. “I don’t know. I have to go back and shower first,”

  She cleared her throat, “Well, speaking of showers, I was thinking instead of spending all that money staying at the hotel every night—why don’t you just stay here for the rest of the summer?”

  I sat, dumbfounded for a few seconds.

  “Are you sure?” I asked her. I wanted her to be sure about something like this.

  “Absolutely. So just go get your stuff and then come straight over. I ordered pizza!” Damn, she had me on a hook with pizza and her bed. How could I possibly turn that down?

  “I’ll be there in fifteen.” I answered her and hung up.

  I put the Rover in gear and headed to the motel. I’d been paying every night so all I had to do was check out. I gathered all my stuff, packed it up and looked back one more time before leaving.

  I got to her house a little while later, I went up by myself at first, just in case she’d changed her mind. I knocked on the door and she looked around.

  “What,” I asked her.

  “Where’s your stuff? Unless you chang
ed your mind. If you did, that’s fine. I mean, I get it. We’ve only been together a few weeks. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m so sorry.” I just let her go. She was incredibly cute when she was flustered. Even after she stopped blabbering, I waited for her to work through it herself. She turned her eyes up at me, her long eyelashes nearly touching her eyebrows.

  “Your stuff’s in the car. You just weren’t gonna bring it up yet,” It wasn’t a question. It was her figuring out how silly she’d been. I tucked in a smile, my lips between my teeth.

  She rolled her eyes, grabbed my hand and dragged me in.

  “You could’ve stopped me. I just went on and on.”

  “Why would I stop you? It was kinda cute. Plus, it’s the first time I’ve rattled you. It was a nice change of pace.” I laughed to make sure she knew I was kidding.

  “I wouldn’t have bought you pizza if I knew you were going to pick on me all night.”

  “One—one time I picked on you. What kind of pizza did you buy?”

  “Well, since you have only had the carnivore and the one with everything I got you two new ones—the Margherita pizza and the breakfast pizza.”

  “Yeah, but what are you gonna eat?” I had to admit, it sounded just like Owen. What’s happening to me?

  “I got the Honey Bee pizza. You can have a slice, but don’t get any ideas about more than that. It’s all mine.”

  “What, does it have honey on it?”

  She smiled and put the box behind her, as if that would stop me, “Yes, bacon, ham, mozzarella and honey and it’s mine.”

  “We’ll see.” I taunted and picked up my boxes.

  We sat at her table and ate until we were both sated. She cleaned up while I went down to get my stuff. I went down for one more bag and she’d moved all my stuff into her room.

  “Do you want to go to the beach? I mean, I know you just were there, but the beach at night is a whole other experience.”