A Summer Romance (16 page)

She whimpered as he broke the kiss and
leaned his forehead against hers, still holding her body tightly
against his own. “Did you want to watch the fireflies?” he asked
breathlessly.

“What fireflies?” she asked, stretching up
on her tiptoes to try to find his mouth again. He chuckled and then
placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.

“Come on, the sun just set, it’s the perfect
time. You’re not going to want to miss this,” he told her as he
took her by the hand and led her to the ladder near the side
door.

They climbed the ladder to the narrow
landing above. The walkway that ran the length of this side of the
building was only wide enough for a single person, but it led to a
larger loft space positioned just above the big double doors
beneath. When they reached the loft Maggie saw that a pallet of
large cushions was set up just in front of the loft window. Aaron
gestured for her to have a seat as he unclasped the doors and
pushed them wide open revealing a stunning view of the grounds.

“Oh!” Maggie gasped as she took in the
spectacular view. The sun had just set and the sky was infused with
vibrant purples, golds, and reds. From this vantage point just
above the tree line the roof of the plantation home could be seen
as well as the expanse of manicured orchards that lay in the
distance. The space between the barn and the big house was filled
with dense forest. Aaron sat down beside her and pointed into the
woods.

“Look,” he said, and that’s when Maggie saw
the first spark in the trees, followed by another and another. It
seemed as if each spark was met by five more until the forest came
alive with the little sparks of lightening. It looked magical.
Maggie allowed herself to imagine that the woods were filled with
fairies dancing in the evening dusk.

“It’s magnificent,” Maggie whispered, afraid
to break the spell.

They sat together with his arms wrapped
around her as they watched the dance of the fairies until the sky
had darkened and the stars had taken over. Holding on to the magic
of the moment Maggie imagined that the stars were the fairies
ascending back into the heavens.

“That was amazing,” Maggie said, finally
breaking the silence. “Thank you for bringing me up here.” She
looked up at Aaron and found that he was already watching her.

“I’m glad you came,” he said, smiling down
at her.

“Are you?” she asked. “It seemed like you
didn’t really want me to.”

Aaron looked away for a moment and took a
deep breath before he spoke. “I know you only came to Sweetwater
for a short time,” Aaron began as he looked back into her eyes,
“but I was hoping that after everything that’s happened between us,
well, I was hoping that you might be considering staying a little
longer.” Maggie smiled at his words, which encouraged him to
continue.

“It’s just that I didn’t want you to think
that if you chose to stay, that you’d be choosing a life living in
a barn.” Aaron smiled weakly as he gestured at their surrounds.
Maggie finally understood.

“Aaron, what we have, it’s like nothing I’ve
ever experienced before. It’s true that when I first came here I
had only planned on staying the summer. But I didn’t expect to meet
you. The longer I stay, the harder it is to consider leaving,”
Maggie told him as she looked down at their clasped hands.

“But you are still considering it?” Aaron
asked cautiously.

“Yes,” Maggie admitted, “but it has nothing
to do with barns versus big houses,” she assured him, looking up
into his eyes. “If that was the only factor I would choose this
barn with you over the biggest mansion in the world.”

“But it’s not the only factor, is it?” Aaron
asked solemnly.

“No. It’s not. When I left Boston, I left in
a hurry. I left a lot behind.” Maggie took a deep breath before
continuing. “I was finishing my second year of medical school. My
whole life all I’d ever wanted was to be a doctor. I left the
Hamptons, left my family and all their wealth behind to pursue that
dream. My mother had never supported my aspirations and I had to
choose between a life of privilege or the one I really wanted. It’s
been six years since I’ve seen my family.”

“That’s a long time to be alone,” Aaron said
quietly, and Maggie knew that he of all people truly understood
what it meant to be alone.

“It is, but I promised myself that I
wouldn’t go home again until I was a successful doctor. So that I
could show them what I had achieved, so that they would be proud of
me,” Maggie’s voice faltered.

“But now you’re here.” Maggie could hear the
desolation in Aaron’s voice as he realized the gravity of the
choice that Maggie was facing.

“Now I’m here.”

“What happened?”

“I became obsessed with perfection. I had to
score the highest on every exam, had to be at the top of every
class. I had to be the best. I worked myself into the ground trying
to achieve that perfection. I rarely slept, barely ate. I studied
until my eyes felt raw and then pushed myself to study more. I had
no friends, no life, and no other purpose. Then one day it all
caught up with me. The pressure I put on myself, it was too much. I
cracked.” It felt therapeutic to say it out loud, to admit her
weakness.

“Anybody would have,” Aaron said
soothingly.

“Unfortunately that moment came for me when
I was taking the medical licensing exam. I had aced every other
test I’d ever taken, and yet the one test that mattered the most,
the one test that determined if I would go on, that was the one
that broke me. I had a panic attack. I completely froze. I couldn’t
breathe.” Maggie’s chest tightened as she remembered that awful
moment.

“I ran from the lecture hall straight back
to my dorm room. I felt as if my life was over. Like everything I
had spent my life working for had just slipped from my grasp. I
felt completely hopeless. And that’s when I saw it. A flyer tacked
to the corkboard in my dorm hall advertising the need for a summer
caretaker. It was like a saving grace,” Maggie explained.

“So you just left?” Aaron asked.

“I just left,” Maggie confirmed.

“And now it’s time to go back,” Aaron stated
sadly. She could hear the resignation mixed with pain in his voice.
He pulled her against him hugging her close, but it felt like a
goodbye.

“But I’m not ready to say goodbye,” Maggie
whispered against his chest. She wanted him to ask her to stay. She
needed to know that he wanted her to. Not just for a little bit
longer, but forever. Because only forever would be worth staying
for.

“Maggie, I don’t want to lose you, but I
can’t ask you to stay. I can’t ask you to give that up. Not for
me.”

“What if I chose to stay?”

“Don’t.” He averted his eyes, refusing to
meet her gaze.

“You don’t want me to?” Maggie’s voice
trembled as fear and doubt took root in her mind. Maybe forever was
too much to ask for.

“I was there last night, and I watched you
deliver that baby. You were meant to be a doctor, Maggie. As much
as I want to hold on to you, I love you too much to take that away
from you.”

Maggie’s heart skipped a beat. He’d just
said he loved her. It’s what she needed to hear. She made her
decision, now it was his turn to make his.

“There may be another option,” she said
hopefully. “Harvard isn’t the only medical school. There’s a
program in Savannah that I could apply for,” Maggie suggested. Her
heart was in her throat. She held her breath as she waited for his
response.

“You would do that?” she could hear the
excitement in his voice as he sat up propping himself on his elbow
to look down into her face. “You would really stay?”

“If you want me to,” Maggie whispered. “If
you ask me to, I’ll stay.”

Aaron grasped her face between his hands and
stared down into her eyes. Maggie looked up at him hopefully.

“Stay,” Aaron said as he brought his mouth
to hers. “Please stay,” he whispered against her lips. The kiss was
hot and demanding laced with a mixture of relief and need. Maggie
felt her body melting beneath his.

She wrapped her arms up around his back and
pulled him closer. Her knees bent as she curled her legs around his
waist. He slid his hand up her thigh, under her skirt as he kissed
her passionately.

“Make love to me, Aaron,” she begged.

He quickly undressed and then helped her
remove her clothing. He laid over her again, gently caressing her
face and placing soft kisses on her lips, her eyelids, and the tip
of her nose. His tenderness brought her to the edge of tears. She
could feel the smooth tip of his erection pressing against her
slick opening. She lifted her hips to him but he just rubbed
against her seductively, making her whimper. He was in no hurry. He
looked down into her eyes, holding her gaze as he slowly pushed
inside her.

She felt him fill her completely. She arched
beneath him, digging her nails into his shoulders as she opened to
him taking all of him inside her. But she never looked away, never
broke the trance that he held her in as he moved inside her. He
made love to her slowly and sweetly, just as she’d asked. Caressing
her, kissing her, loving her with everything he had. As their
bodies moved in a slow, passionate rhythm her tears finally
overflowed. She felt as if their souls were connecting, as if they
had become one.

“I love you!” she cried out as she
climaxed.

“Forever,” he promised as he buried his face
against her neck.

Forever was all that mattered. The rest
would work itself out.

Maggie lay with her head on Aaron’s chest
listening to the steady beat of his heart.

“We should go. It’s getting late,” Aaron
said as he softly stroked her hair.

“I don’t want to go,” Maggie said with all
the petulance of a small child. She felt his chest rumble as he
chuckled.

“Don’t you have to work in the morning?”

“Yes,” Maggie sighed. She wasn’t ready to
let reality seep into the moment.

“Then you need a good night sleep, and
you’re not going to get one up here in this loft,” Aaron said
reasonably.

“I’m comfortable,” Maggie insisted as she
snuggled against him. The balmy night air made it quite comfortable
to stay just as they were with their naked bodies entwined. She saw
no reason to leave.

“If we fall asleep like this we will be
eaten alive by mosquitoes come morning,” Aaron warned.

“Okay, I’m up.” Maggie leapt up from the
pallet on the floor with comic speed. Maggie had learned her lesson
about mosquitos the day she’d napped on the rock by the pond. She
wouldn’t make that mistake again. Aaron laughed as he sat up with
her.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you move
that fast,” he teased as he pulled on his jeans. Maggie was
searching for her clothing but so far had only come up with her
wrinkled skirt.

“Here take this.” Aaron tossed her his
t-shirt. “I think some of your clothes may have gone out the window
accidentally,” he said apologetically, glancing out the loft window
as he closed the doors.

Maggie pulled the t-shirt over her head as
she followed Aaron to the ladder. He climbed down first and then
braced the ladder from the bottom as he gestured for her to
follow.

Halfway down she glanced over her shoulder
to find Aaron staring up at her. More specifically staring up the
shirt she was wearing, with nothing underneath. Maggie recognized
the desire burning in his eyes and she smiled seductively as she
slowed her movements down the ladder. As soon as she reached the
bottom she felt Aaron’s arms snake around her waist.

“I can’t seem to keep my hands off you,” he
whispered against her neck.

“I’m not asking you to,” she replied coyly
as she turned her head to the side, exposing the length of her neck
to him. She felt him laugh against her shoulder as he brought his
mouth to her bare skin. She shivered as he began leaving a trail of
kisses up her neck.

She continued to hold onto a high rung on
the ladder as his hands moved from her hips around to her thighs.
He pressed against her backside as he kissed her neck and began to
slowly slide his hands up. She rotated her hips against him,
feeling his excitement and taking pleasure in the groan her
movements elicited from him.

His hand moved between her legs, finding her
wet center ready and waiting for him. He slipped a finger inside
her and she arched her back in response, leaning her head back
against his shoulder as she pressed against his palm. He continued
to stroke her as he kissed and nipped at the back of her neck. She
held onto the ladder as her knees buckled beneath her and she began
to whimper. Then she felt him pull his hand away and she began to
protest but before she could form the words he was inside her,
entering her from behind as she held onto the ladder for
support.

She cried out in pleasure as he began to
pump into her, gripping the sides of the ladder and caging her in
between his strong arms. She arched her back, pressing her backside
up against him so that he could enter her fully. This allowed him
to reach a new depth inside her that had her screaming in ecstasy
and begging for more. She braced herself against the ladder as he
pushed into her over and over, with each thrust she cried out until
finally she felt the flood gates released between her legs and all
her strength seemed to flow from her. She began to collapse and
Aaron caught her in his arms, lifting her up and carrying her to
the bed.

~∞~

Over the next several weeks Maggie fell into
a wonderful routine. She loved working with Ms. Brandy at the
antique store, having lunch with Andi each day at their favorite
café, and coming home to Aaron every night. One morning when Maggie
came into work she found a brochure for Mercer University
conspicuously lying on the counter. She picked it up and began
flipping through it.