Catching Caitlin (16 page)

I stepped out of the
sweltering car and went inside, feeling anxious. I had to get this letter
finished; the sooner I got it done, the sooner I could apply.

After spending a couple
more hours on it, I had drafted a letter of appeal using my recovery as a
springboard to approach why I lost my scholarship in the first place. I asked
my dad to give it a look over.

“Looks great,” my dad
said, taking his reading glasses off. “I think you make a hell of a case.”

“Thanks Dad,” I said.
“I’m not sure if they’ll accept it.”

“Getting your alcoholism
under control sounds like extenuating circumstances to me. I’m sure they’ll let
you have it back, probably on a trial basis.” He handed the letter back to me,
and I sighed heavily, feeling the weight of reapplying push on my chest.

“Okay, I’ll send this off
then. We’ll see what happens.” I went back to my room to finalize some last
minute edits. I printed it up and popped it in the mail. It would be on its way
tomorrow, and hopefully, their answer would come soon after.

***

I
couldn’t sleep that
night.

I turned and faced my
dresser. I couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but I knew my phone was sitting
right there, doing nothing.

“I should have been more
forward with him. I should have asked if I meant anything to him. God knows he
meant something to me,” I whispered to myself. I sighed and turned back in my
bed, facing the wall. I shut my eyes, trying to force myself back to sleep.

After a couple of minutes
of nothing, I got up. It was no use. I wasn’t going back to sleep for the rest
of the night. I looked at my clock: 3AM. Too early to really stay up, too late
to take sleep medicine. Maybe a snack would help me fall back asleep.

I snuck down into the
kitchen and pulled out some bread and cheese. It would have to do, since it was
probably the quietest thing I could make. After finishing my meal, I moved back
up to my room. I felt a bit more calm now, and maybe my nerves would stop
freaking me out.

I got under the covers
and double checked the time again, clicking my phone on for a second. I had a
missed call from Hugh.

“What the hell.” I
redialed him, my mind burning with questions.

“Hey, what’s up?” I said
as soon as he picked up. My voice had an edge to it that I liked. Like I might
bite.

He started with an
apology, “Sorry if I woke you.”

“No, I was already up. I
couldn’t sleep.” I kept my distance, not letting myself get sentimental.

“I can’t either.” When I
didn’t answer, he continued, “I’ve been thinking about you.” His voice moved
away, and came back, “I had another dream about you.”

“Another? For all I knew,
you never thought about me at all.”

“Is that what you
thought? God, I’m an idiot sometimes...”

I softened a little. I
was probably too easy to win over. “No, no you’re not.”

“I probably shouldn’t
have even called you, but I felt like I should. I didn’t tell you that I dream
about you too, Caitlin. I lie awake some nights and just think about how much I
screwed up.”

I dared to be bold for a
change, “Were you talking about me in that interview? The woman who told you
about holding onto the past?”

“Yes,” he admitted, “that
was about you. After you left, I really had to think about where my life was
going. I was getting wealthier, but what was the point if I was stuck in
emotional purgatory? I panicked when I saw you at the hospital, lying in that
bed. It was too much for me, and I thought that I couldn’t live with you dying
on me.”

I sat up in my bed, the
sheets falling off me. I listened hard, trying to ignore the pounding of my
heart in my ears.

“I realized that I while
I might not be able to live with watching you die, I don’t think I can live
without watching you live either.”

“What are you saying?”

“I miss you Cay... I want
you — I want to be with you.”

I cooed over the phone,
and I felt a weight lift off me. “I want you too, Hugh, that’s all I was trying
to tell you on the phone earlier. I want to make this work.”

“I’ll see what I can do.
Maybe I can come see you soon.”

“You really don’t have
to,” I said, mostly out of obligation than actual honesty. “You can stay if
your company needs you.”

“They don’t. My project
is already moving along nicely, and I deserve a vacation anyway. You should go back
to sleep. I’ll talk to you soon.”

I sighed peacefully,
“Okay. And Hugh?”

“Mhmm?”

“Thank you. For
everything.”

“Don’t thank me yet.
Sleep tight.” He hung up.

I fell back against my
pillows, knocking my head against the wall. I laughed, giddiness overtaking the
pain.

Months of wishing he’d
call me, and all I had to do was call him first.

I’d like to say miracles
do happen, but really, it was just because I dared to try something for myself
for once.

***

T
hree weeks later, near
the middle of June, the answer to my appeal came. As I brought the letter into
the house, I tried hard to keep my expectations as low as possible. I was sure
they denied me. I sat down in my room, I wanted to be alone when I read it. I
slid my finger under the sealed end and tore it open.

I scanned over it quickly
trying to find the words that would say I got rejected.

”After reviewing your
appeal, we are happy to inform you of the reinstatement of your Bell
Scholarship for the University of Maine.”

I cheered, throwing the
letter and envelope into the air. I couldn’t believe how excited I was, even
more than when I first got accepted. Maybe it was because I actually wanted to
go this time, not because I felt like I had to just to get away from home.

A second letter was
inside the envelope, detailing the pre approval of my acceptance to the
University of Maine. I didn’t even have to reapply, which was a load off my
shoulders. I couldn’t believe any of it. It almost felt like prank.

I found my dad out in the
garage, carving away at a table he was making. He had picked up wood working
when my mom came back home, and ever since then our house had been filling with
increasingly intricate wood sculptures and art. It was beautiful.

“I’m going back to
school!” I jumped up and down. He turned and took off his safety glasses,
looking a bit confused at first. I hugged him, and he chuckled as he understood
what I just screamed about.

He held me in front of
him, looking proud. “Look at you. I told things could change. Look at where you
were six months ago.”

“I know, I can hardly
believe any of it. Like, the letter feels fake! I gotta call Hugh, let me know
when mom gets home!”

Hugh and I had been
staying in touch for the last couple of weeks after our phone call. I dashed
back inside, leaving my dad to his work.

Hugh answered his phone
quickly, “What’s going on?”

“My appeal was accepted!”

“That’s great! When does
the semester start?” He seemed excited, but a bit distracted.

“The middle of
September.”

“That’s perfect. The
project should be at full tilt by then, so I should be able to come visit you.”

“Oh my god really? It’s
that close to starting?”

“Yeah, we’re mostly just
putting some finishing touches together...” he paused, “if it works out, we can
open one up on the east coast too.”

My eyes lit up. “That
means...”

“I could relocate
permanently.”

“That would be...
incredible,” I breathed. I swear I could hear him smile over the phone.

“I have to go right now
though, something is coming up. Congratulations, Cay.”

He hung up. I was
overwhelmed. Hugh was really talking about moving to the east coast? What would
that mean for us?

T
he next day, I saw a
strange car parked in the driveway as I pulled in from a kayaking trip. As I
hauled my kayak into the garage, I forced myself to not think that it could be
Hugh. That’d only make me disappointed. He was super busy after all.

But when I walked in the
living room and saw him with my parents, I felt like fainting.

“...Speak of the devil,
there she is,” my dad said. “We were just chatting about you. He showed up
earlier this afternoon.”

I sat down in a recliner
facing the couch, feeling out of breath. “Why didn’t you call?” I shook my
head. “You always manage to surprise me.” I couldn’t help but smile, he looked
so sharp. He looked more formal than I remembered, maybe he bought some new
suits. His hair was cut short and styled a little, and he pulled me in with his
blue eyes.

My mom chuckled a little,
waking me from my daze. “Let’s give them a little privacy, Dan,” my mom said.
“I’m sure they have a lot to talk about.”

“That won’t be necessary
Mrs. Winters,” Hugh said. “We can go back to my place and talk.”

“Please,” my mom said,
standing up. “We can just go to another room. It’s nice to meet you again Hugh,
and congratulations.” My mom and dad left the room, disappearing down the hall.

I was sitting in a chair
opposite of Hugh, but I felt that void between us, that heated space where our
skin just begged to be touched.

“It’s nice to see you
again,” he finally said. I broke my stare, and laughed with a sense of
giddiness. I stood up and moved closer to him, and he grabbed my waist and
pulled me in between his legs.

“God I’ve missed you,” he
said, standing up. Before I got a chance to say the same, he ran his hand up my
cheek and brought me in for a kiss. A long, deep, passionate kiss. I moaned in
his arms, feeling my legs give out underneath me.

He held me up, and bit my
lip, taking it into his mouth. He sucked on it gingerly, and I let out a small
moan.

It was unreal to be held
by him again, his masculine scent striking me in the heart. I clasped his
elbows. I could feel his heart beat against my breasts.

“Hugh, why did it take so
long for us...”

“Shh,” he cooed,
caressing my face, “we’re together now aren’t we? I’m not going anywhere.”

I took his hand off my
face and looked at it. His wedding band was gone.

“Your wedding ring...?” I
asked. He smiled at me. “You’re not wearing it?”

“I did a lot of thinking,
Cay,” he said. I got goosebumps across my neck. “I realized that Marcia would
have wanted me to be happy... thinking about it, she would have been downright
mad if she knew that I made myself miserable for so many years over her.”

“Hugh...”

“That wasn’t the life she
would have wanted me to have. She wanted me to be happy, and Caitlin, I have to
admit, I am happy. I’ve never felt happier, letting go of that pain.” He kissed
my cheek. “I’ll never forget her, and she’ll always be someone precious and
dear to me. I should cherish my memories of her, not shrink from them.”

I beamed, “Hugh, that’s
beautiful.”

“Caitlin, you’re
beautiful. I can’t believe how great you look. You have this glow, a glow I
remember from before. It was this spark of life that first brought me to you,
this irresistible urge.”

“Was it gone?”

“It was diminished.” He
squeezed my hands. I felt dizzy from his touch. “But that glow is stronger than
ever. It’s maddening really.”

I glowed? Probably one of
the most powerful people in the country at the moment was telling me how full
of life I was.

“So I wanted to see if
you were free tonight...?”

I grinned, remembering
that from when he first recaptured me at lunch. “I am, Mr. Evans.”

“Let’s make a date of it
then. I’ll go back to the hotel and freshen up a little, and come pick you up
around... eight?”

I reached out and grabbed
his arm. “How about I come with you and help you freshen up?” I took his hand
and put it between my legs, where he immediately took the helm. He pressed his
fingers against my clit. My knees shook and I moaned a little louder than I
wanted to.

He gave me a look that
made me turn to butter. He twitched his fingers a bit more, and I gasped and
pushed him away.

With a grin, he answered
me:  “That could work.”

***

A
t the hotel, Hugh
started working on me in the elevator. He pushed me against the mirrored wall
and slipped his hand up my shirt, giving my breast a squeeze.

I moaned, dragging my lip
against his ear, tugging with my teeth. He grunted, and worked at undoing my
bra.

“Oh my god what if
someone gets on?” I gasped.

He turned and pressed the
STOP button. “They won’t.”

“Hugh, you’re a bad man,”
I whispered, pulling him back to me. He lavished my neck with his lips,
dragging them down my chest. He finished unstrapping my bra, pulling it free of
my body.

Hugh threw it on the
ground. I loved that feeling of exposure. We couldn’t just fuck in the elevator
could we?

I dragged my fingers
through his hair, scratching his scalp. He moaned my name when I squeezed his
cock through his pants, his girth threatening to tear his pants open.

He knelt down and
unbuttoned my pants, pulled them down to my knees. I leaned back against the
railing in the elevator, my thighs and pussy suddenly chilled with the stagnant
air.

He kissed my hips and
thighs, only stopping to inhale me deeply. “You smell fantastic,” he mumbled.
His voice traveled through my body, sending shivers up my spine.

I grabbed his shoulder,
urging him closer to me. I could feel his breath on my wet lips now, that
unspeakable anticipation flowing over me. My legs were bound at the knees
because of how he had pulled my pants down, but I managed to separate my thighs
a little with his help.

He slid his tongue
against me, making me squirm. I marveled at the look in the mirror, this
handsome man in a business suit eating me out in an elevator. I couldn’t
believe it.

His tongue danced against
my lips, and he sucked on me, pulling my clit into his mouth just a little. The
only thing keeping me in the air was Hugh’s strength, and my ass hanging off
the railing. My sweaty back pressed against the cold mirror.

I pushed him deeper into
me, biting my lip in the process. I could have screamed into that empty
elevator, but god forbid someone was actually expecting it to arrive on
whatever floors we were jammed between.

He yanked my pants down
to my ankles and slid one leg out, kissing it in the process. Now I could
spread out for him as much as he wanted. And he wanted a lot.

He pushed my knees apart
almost completely, exposing me to him.

“Mmmm, this is delicious.
Do you like being taken advantage of in this elevator, Ms. Winters?” he said, with
a smooth growl on his tongue. I only nodded weakly, still swept up in his
aggressiveness. If there was something I did learn from him when we were
together before, it was to be more aggressive.

He wetted a finger and
tickled it against my folds, enticing another groan out of me. “Push it into
me, Hugh,” I whispered. He slipped the tip of his finger into my pussy, and put
his tongue back on my clit. He wasn’t playing nice, and I didn’t want him to.

He kept my legs from
squeezing his head with his free hand, while he slowly curled his finger inside
me. I threw my back against the wall, thudding against it with each successive
heat wave that burst from me. I felt so wet, so naughty.

He slurped me up,
drinking me in. Making me so wet. All that ran through my mind was him inside
me, his cock filling me up. He held onto my thigh for balance. I couldn’t
believe what he was doing with his tongue and finger, this inexhaustible man
thrusting into me with everything he had.

I could feel his sweat
against me, yet his rhythm was unfaltering. I braced myself against the
railing, gripping it until my knuckles turned white as an orgasm exploded
through me. There was no way I didn’t gush all over him, my pussy completely
enraptured and taken by him. For anyone else, it might have been enough, but I
needed his cock now, I needed to taste it.

I started laughing
uncontrollably, my euphoria making me feel high. He caught my chuckle as he
stood up. He grinned at me before he wiped his mouth, probably ruining his
shirt.

“Oh my fucking god,
Hugh,” I finally said. I was catching my breath when he pushed the start button
on the elevator again, and it ascended towards his penthouse.

Thankfully, no one needed
it, so we were undisturbed for the rest of the ride up. As the doors opened into
his room, I took my chance. I pushed him out of the door with both my hands
clasped on his collar, his surprise knocking him off balance.

There in the entry way, I
took advantage of him. The elevator closed and left us as I ripped his pants
open, pulling them down to his knees.

He was braced against a
small table that was in the entry way, probably used for keeping mail or keys
on. I didn’t really care, I just wanted a chance at his cock.

When I pulled it from his
boxers, it was already glistening with precum. I licked my lips and glanced up
at him, meeting his dazed eyes.

I slid his cock into my
mouth, tasting the proof of his pleasure immediately. I moaned as I took it in,
gauging his twitches and groans as signs to not stop.

He put his hand on the
back of my head, but I brushed it off; I wanted to be in control. I took him
all the way in, tapping my tongue on the underside of his cock as he slid in,
meeting the back of my throat. He grunted, his cock twitching inside my mouth.

I sucked on it, trying to
suck on him the same way he managed to do me. When I rolled his balls in my
hand, he fell against the unsteady table, nearly making it collapse on itself.
I pulled his cock out of my mouth and jerked it a little, making sure he
grimaced with pleasure each time, and winced in delayed satisfaction.

“Cay, I wanna fuck you,”
he mumbled. I answered him by squeezing the base of his dick as hard as
possible, before slipping it back against my tongue. “Please,” he begged.

I popped him out of me
again, “Not yet,” I said. I ran my tongue from his balls up to the tip,
swirling it around it as I took it in again. He took a handful of my hair and
jammed his hips into my face, and I didn’t blame him. I was doing a number on
him, after all. He started thrusting into me, and I matched his pace.

“Don’t cum yet, we’re not
done.”

I ran my hand up his
stomach and chest, admiring his chiseled body. It felt like my thighs were
slick with excitement, and I was beginning to lose control of myself too.

His tongue rippled
against mine, he caught me by surprise by picking me up with one quick motion.

I gasped as he took me
into his bedroom, his pants dragging behind him. He threw me onto the bed and
started unbuttoning his shirt.

Soon I was completely
naked, ready for him to fuck me until I was raw.

I watched as he finished
stripping down, and he climbed onto the bed. He lavished me, immediately
falling to my chest and kissing me there, cupping my breast. I moaned as he
sucked on my nipples, making sure to treat them both equally.

I burned for him, my
insides feeling hot to his touch. I wanted him, I needed him. “Hugh, come
here,” I said. I motioned for him, grabbing his ass and bringing him to me.

I laid down on my back,
and our eyes were locked as he scooted closer to me. The tip of his cock
brushed my wet lips, and I held his ass as he pushed into me, one inch at a
time.

It didn’t take much, we
were both soaked and ready. His face contorted and he moaned as his cock dipped
into me. “Just hold it here for a moment,” I whispered, “Please.” I held him in
with my gentle touch. He pulled out a condom he had retrieved from his suit
pocket.

“Good idea,” I admitted.
He slipped out and slipped it on, and then pushed back into me. I felt a fire
grow in my eyes. He looked divine, and he could no longer control himself. He
started thrusting into me, and my body coiled around him, my legs and arms
clasped against his dewy skin.

His scent of manliness
reached me, and I moaned louder. I threw myself off of him and against the
pillows, trying to focus on and capture that point, that point where I could
just stay all night, locked in pleasure and ecstasy. I wanted that.

“Hugh, don’t stop,” I
cried out.

“Caitlin! Oh my god!” he
screamed. He started bucking wildly, and there was no way he’d last long now.

“Hugh, fuck me, oh shit!”
He pounded me, and I caught that point, and focused on it. I brought myself to
it, feeling a warm wave of heat growing in me, filling my pussy. His cock
throbbed in me, and he let out a guttural roar.

“Caitlin, I — marry me,”
he breathed, slamming his hips into me. I grew wide-eyed. It was exactly what I
needed to push over the edge. I screamed as my orgasm overtook me, throwing me
into a world I barely recognized. I thrashed and my sticky skin kept the sheets
stuck to me. My pussy felt like it was seizing up.

He leaned onto me and
held me tight, letting me fight my way through it. “Holy shit,” was all I could
muster. My voice trailed off and I started panting, completely blown away.

The sounds of our
breathing filled the room, that hot sweaty smell of sex lingering in the air. I
held him against my chest, holding my hand against his sweat-dampened hair.
Just letting him lie there, letting me stay with him.

“Yes! Hugh, Yes!” I
whispered to him. He squeezed me tighter than he ever had, and thanked god he
had met me.

I felt like I should be
the one giving thanks.

***

W
e laid there for a
while, just catching our breath. Finally, he started to sit up, and I caught
him.