Between the Sheets (17 page)

“
Hi, honey, I’m home,” I
hear Ty shout along with the door closing shut.

The sound of Ty’s voice startles me
awake. Oh, crap. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.

“
Hey,” he says, coming to
my side. “A little afternoon nap, huh. Isn’t summer vacation
great?” He drops his bag and removes the body pillow from between
my legs and slides onto the bed next to me.

“
Yeah, I love it.” My arms
find their way around his waist and instantly, I feel all gooey
inside. He cups my ass, dragging his hand down my thigh and pulling
it over his own. “For some reason, I don’t think you got into bed
to nap with me.”

He arches a brow at me. “Not really.
Seeing you here in those little shorts and this flimsy tank has
worked me into a sweat already. There won’t be any
napping.”

“
I have dinner in a slow
cooker. It’s ready.”

His lips touch mine for a brief, but
hot, moment. “I want dessert first.” He reaches under my tank to
fill his hand with a bare breast. I can feel the sizzle work its
way from my nipples down my belly to my core. Every little touch,
flick, pinch is heightened to red alert now, and I can hardly hold
it together long enough for him to strip me of my clothes before
I’m trembling with desire.

“
Slow down,
babe.”

“
Not now, Ty. I want it
fast and hard. Don’t make me wait.”

Within seconds his clothes are off and
he’s positioning himself between my legs. He reaches for the drawer
of his nightstand and I grasp his wrist. “Don’t bother.”

“
Huh.”

“
I’ve got us covered. I
just want to feel you. All of you.”

“
Done.” He lowers himself
on top of me, looking deep into my eyes as he slides inside me inch
by inch, slowly while I let curses fly out of sheer
pleasure.

Ty sprinkles kisses on my mouth and
neck, all while I can’t help but pound the palm of my hand into the
bed and cry out and moan like never before. The sensation coming
from our joined bodies slapping against each other is more than I
can handle.

With one last thrust, both Ty and I
come at the same time, although his whimper is no match for my
scream. I’m sure his neighbors think I’m the howler from the
Porky’s movies, but I can’t help it.

“
Fuck me,” I say, as Ty
collapses on his back next to me.

“
I just did. And I’m going
to need the rest of the night to recover.”

I chuckle so loud I let out a snort.
“I can’t breathe.”

He reaches out to hold my hand.
“Neither can I. I may kiss you silly sometimes, but you just fucked
me silly and I can’t even see straight.”

I glance over and see the rapid
heaving of his chest going up and down. He’s not kidding. He’s
huffing and puffing just as much as I am.

“
What got into you, Melly
Belly?”

“
I don’t know,” I say
between gasps. “Maybe it was the skin to skin. I have no idea. But
I just couldn’t hold back.”

“
Babe, don’t ever hold back
with me. I can handle anything.”

My chance was there and I didn’t take
it. I should just totally bitch slap myself for being such a wuss.
He was practically egging me on to tell him the truth and I just
let the time pass. Damn it.

“
You ready?” he asks when
we park outside the teen center.

“
Definitely. I can’t wait
to see what your kids have been working on.”

Ty and the rest of the staff have
arranged an open house tonight, a mini art-show of sorts, where the
kids can show off their pieces to the community and their parents.
For the parents who show an interest anyway. For many of the kids
involved in the program, parents are not real active participants
in their lives. That’s why they’re in the program to begin with.
At-risk teens who need a place to stay out of trouble. Those who
have a gift and need a way to focus their energy in a positive
way.

He scoops up my small hand in his and
kisses the back of my knuckles on the way into the center. As soon
as we cross the threshold, Ty’s eyes light up and his smile reaches
all the way to his eyes. He looks like a little boy on Christmas
morning. The center is bright. A palette of many colors, dark,
bright, primary, pastel, fluorescent. There are pencil sketches on
the walls, along with watercolors and oils. A spray painted canvas
is an amazing display of street art and should be in a museum
somewhere. Not only wall art though. A variety of sculptures in
clay are displayed on a few tables.

“
This is amazing,
Ty.”

His smile beams down on me while he
squeezes my hand. “I knew you’d love it. C’mon. Let me introduce
you to some of the kids.”

He practically hops over to a group of
teens. While miles separate my students from his, they don’t look
much different. All shapes and sizes, ethnicities and colors. Ty
introduces a few and they are very polite and respectful, shaking
my hand and telling me what a pleasure it is to meet me. I have a
feeling this place isn’t all about art. These kids are learning the
social skills they’ll need to succeed in the real world too.
Manners can go a long way.

While Ty tends to business, I roam the
center admiring all the work. There are definitely varying levels
of skill but each piece sends its own message.

I stop before one which totally
reminds me of Tyler. Whoever painted this one has been influenced
greatly by his teacher.

“
Like it?” a young girl
asks.

“
Yes, I do. Is it
yours?”

“
Yeah.” I don’t know why
but I automatically thought a guy painted it. Not this thin little
girl who can’t be older than thirteen. She looks so
innocent.

“
Is that you?”

“
Yeah. It’s the first time
I met my dad.”

What can I possibly say to that? The
painting depicts two hands, which reminds me of Ty. The detail is
stellar. The softness of the child’s hand shaking the rough hand of
a man. A man in handcuffs. Not what I expected at all from this
girl who wears a ponytail, no makeup, a pink tank, jean shorts and
cute flip-flops. Not what I expected at all.

“
I really like Tyler’s
work. He’s always painting or sketching hands. It made me want to
do this one.”

“
Well, you did an amazing
job. Don’t tell him, but I like this one more than any one of
his.”

She smiles, looking down at her
shoes.

“
It must have been hard for
you to capture that moment and share it with everyone. I’m glad you
did. I’m honored.”

“
Thank you,” she says,
before she skips away.

I stare at it a minute
longer.

“
I see you’ve met Devin.
She’s a special girl.” A taller woman with long blond hair dressed
like she’s ready for Woodstock stands next to me.

“
Hi, I’m Melissa.” I hold
out my hand.

“
I’m Taylor,” she says,
with the grip of a UFC fighter. Holy fuck! “I work here with
Ty.”

Oh. He’s never mentioned working with
a hipster beauty. She maybe funky but she’s definitely a
looker.

“
Devin’s spent the last two
summers with us and has worked through a lot of issues. Ty deals
with all the art stuff while I work with the group therapy part of
the center. The two sides go hand in hand to create an atmosphere
that really heals the soul.”

“
That’s fantastic. You must
be very proud.”

“
You too. You must be very
proud of Ty to pull off something like this. I don’t know what the
center or these kids would do without him.”

She turns and walks away, having
filled my mind with guilt.

I glance over at Ty who is having the
time of his life. He is standing in front of the graffiti mural
along with a kid, who is probably the artist, and his parents. He
chats with the adults while patting the kid on the shoulder. The
look on the parents’ faces is stern at first, but by the time Ty
finishes talking, they’re all smiling and sharing a
laugh.

I make another round of the center
before Ty makes his way back to me.

“
Just give me fifteen more
minutes and we’re out of here.”

He still hasn’t let that smile fall.
His cheeks are going to hurt later. “No prob. Take your time. I’m
having a blast.”

He bends down to press a kiss to the
top of my head before he shuffles away.

As I watch Ty with more kids and more
parents, for the first time, I really start to believe we can’t
work. He can’t leave all this.

It’s his life. It’s his
home.

But it’s not mine.

After watching two hours of morning
talk shows, Ty gathers his things to head down to the
center.

On his way out, I stop him at the
door.

“
Kiss me silly.”

His mouth lifts on one side, a sexy
grin spreading across his face.

He drops his bag.

A gentle touch of his fingertips
brushes the hair out of my face before his hands cup the back of my
neck.

He tilts my head up to meet his. I
watch in awe as he lowers his lips to mine. Slowly and gently, soft
pecks press to my lips one after another. Then, he urges my mouth
open and his tongue slides in making my knees go weak and my girl
parts tighten. Oh yes, I’m silly all right.

He pulls away for a second before
continuing the nip at my neck. My body can only take so much as he
sucks so hard I’m afraid he’ll leave a mark. “I love you, Melissa,”
he says, the warmth of his breath caressing my skin.

“
I love you, Tyler
Gelson.”

“
And don’t you ever forget
it.” He showers my lips with a few more pecks before he leaves the
apartment with a sexy as hell smile and quick goodbye.

“
Never,” I murmur as the
door shuts behind him.

The rest of the morning I spend
packing my shit. I head into the bathroom first. Taking a reusable
shopping bag from the kitchen with me, I clear the counter of my
stuff in one swipe of my arm. I can’t take the time to pack
everything nicely or I’ll never be able to do it. I have to make
this quick. Like ripping off a Band Aid.

When I’m finished with the bathroom, I
make my way to Ty’s dresser. The top row of drawers is no longer
mine. He can have it back. I grab all my clothes and stuff them
into my suitcase on the bed. I’ll fold them all again when I get
home. When I’m sure I have everything, I heave my bags down the
steps of Tyler’s apartment and pack them in the trunk of my
car.

I run back upstairs and take a sheet
of notebook paper and a pen from his desk.

Dear Tyler,

I swear this is the
hardest thing I’ve ever had to do so please don’t be mad at me for
being the ultimate pussy and writing it in a letter instead of
saying it to your beautiful face. I’m sorry, but I just don’t have
the strength to do that.

You are truly the best
thing that has ever happened to me. From the time I was a little
kid till now, I’ve been in love with you and I’m sure that will
never change.

Since Christmas, I’ve had
the time of my life reliving all the old memories from the time you
held my hand at the Grand Canyon to the homecoming dance when you
gave me the most beautiful first time any girl could hope for. But
the thing is. Those are all memories. We had a past. A wonderful
past, but that time has come and gone. We can’t live there
forever.

Now, we have to look to
the future and our futures are in two different places.

I can’t leave home and
after last night, I’m more sure than ever that you cannot leave
your home either. Your home is San Francisco. I can’t kid myself
any longer. You belong with those kids and the center. If you could
have seen the smile on your face last night, you’d understand what
I see.

I can’t stand in the way
of that.

So, I’m bowing out. Not so
gracefully. But I am.

I love you, Tyler. And
just as you said, I’ll never forget it. I just love you enough to
let you go. To let you be who you want to be.

I’ll be in touch. There’s
so much more I need to say and so much more you need to know, but I
just don’t have the strength or the mindset to get it all out right
now.

I hope you can find it in
your heart to forgive me but I’m sure you’ll come to find that it’s
for the best and it was really inevitable anyway.

Enjoy the rest of your
summer at the center. Those kids and their work are amazing.
Especially Devin. You must feel so proud to be such an inspiration
to her. I’m so proud of you.

I love you, Ty.

Melissa

Shelly

“
Where is she?” The sound
of Ty’s voice coming through the phone is panicked.

“
Where’s who? What are you
talking about?”