Beyond Eighteen(98)

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Max stood with me at the main gate of this huge mansion. There was no snow on the ground but instead bushes, lush with dark green shiny leaves, lining the driveway. It had to be summer. He was in shorts and a t-shirt and I was in a soft, flowing purple-and-white sundress with spaghetti straps. He collected my hand and we went up to the keypad and pressed the microphone. I looked back, no car, nothing but the asphalt of the mountainous road that snaked behind us.

“Where are we?” I kept asking.

He would just smile and say, “You’ll see.”

I kept staring down the long, narrow, winding road that descended toward the massive, bright white mansion with pillars of marble supporting arches made of aged brick and Spanish tile. It looked like an impossible driveway to walk down. When I glanced down at my feet, blood red stilettos shone back up at me, hidden below a little bulge protruding from my belly. My heart pinballed down through my chest as Max’s hand rubbed circles across my stomach.

“It’s the perfect place to raise him…or her,” Max said as he leaned down and kissed my belly through my sheer cotton sundress. He then proceeded to drag his lips up between my breasts and kiss right where they swelled. I felt my legs go weak and the space, always reserved for him, dampen. With his arms wrapped tight around me, I leaned back and his lips tracked their way to my mouth. My breathing sped as my lungs raced to catch what little breath I had left.

I pulled at his hair, pushed and wedged my fingers behind his ears, and dragged my hands across the sharp build of his jaw line. His hair was cool and smooth, his jaw rugged with a day or two growth—sensual thorns crawling across my palms.

Max’s mouth vacated mine I heard him take in a deep, slow breath.

“Wilson, babe…I am here,” he whispered as I felt him press his lips to my temple.

I felt the space behind me push against my back and the landscape in front of me disappear. Black swallowed my eyesight as I became lost somewhere between my dreams and awakening. I felt soft pressure against my lips, and something delicate tickle across my cheek.

“I’ve missed you.”

Forgetting where I was, confused by being lifted from a dream, and consumed by the moment of semiconsciousness, my mind adjusted. I rectified where I was and reality claimed me. I was in Mendocino, in my bedroom and…all alone. I never opened my eyes, but I fell back to sleep.





Chapter Thirty-five


~ Max ~





Knocking on a door knowing I had somewhere else to be, fucking sucked. I felt my blood flush through my body fast. My heart pushed and pounded, sending every anxious moment into overdrive. Maybe I should’ve just walked in, but I didn’t want to intrude. I needed to end the anxiety and finish what I started. I checked the door knob, cold to the touch, but it turned and I was in. I noticed a fire blazing in the fireplace and the smell of good food filling the air. I guess the hectic meetings had taken precedence over my need to eat. I didn’t realize until then how hungry I really was. I pushed the door and it closed with a slight click. I expected it to be just a bit louder so I wouldn’t have to announce myself.

I heard a voice in the kitchen having a one-sided conversation. Maybe if I walk heavy they’ll know I’m here. Kicking a chair or table leg announcing my arrival probably would have been good. Instead, I crept around the corner and scared the shit out of her.

She screamed. I jumped. I didn’t expect such a high-pitched shriek to come out of that girl.

“Holy shit, you scared me!” Joanie said without realizing she was still on the phone. “Hello, Nick? I need to call you back…No—everything is fine…we’re okay. Max just showed up…I know!” She pushed the button on her iPhone and dropped it on the counter.

“Oh my God, how in the hell did you get here?” she asked.

“I flew into the local airport and caught a cab.”

“Wilson is going to be so happy. She’s just been a mess without you,” Joanie said as she picked up a wooden spoon and stirred whatever was in the pot.

“I didn’t get to talk to her today. Between meetings and getting here…where is she? Is she okay?” I asked.

“She’s had a couple of intense days. But she’ll be much better now you are here. She’s upstairs sleeping in her room.”

“Maybe I should let her sleep.”

“Shut up! She would be pissed to find out you were here and you didn’t go up there and wake her up. Get your ass up there now,” Joanie said as she swung her hands and pushed me out of the kitchen.

My heart thrashed in my chest as I took two stairs at a time. I couldn’t wait to get Wilson. I remembered that her room was to the right of her grandparents’. All the doors were closed except hers. It was opened just a crack, like it was inviting me in. When I pushed on the wooden door, it creaked a tone until the door slowed to a crackle. I sneaked in and pushed the door closed. It creaked louder than when I pushed it open. But Wilson didn’t even move, so I twisted the lock on the door.