Cherishing You (9 page)

I hear a ringing coming from Andi’s house. Bev must be trying to get our attention. Which means Ron is probably home too.

After breaking our kiss, I press my lips to her forehead and take a deep breath.

“I heard something. I figure it’s your mother’s way of telling us to come in for dinner,” I say with a laugh.

Andi chuckles. “Yeah, well, I’m glad she didn’t walk out here. I don’t know how she’d feel seeing her daughter in your lap, sucking face. Even though her daughter has thoroughly enjoyed it.” She has the biggest smile on her face that I’ve ever seen. Although she’s cute when she’s mad, she is gorgeous with a smile.

“All right.” I give her a quick kiss before saying, “I guess we better head in before she sends out the cavalry.” I’m just glad Bev invited me to stay, as I don’t want to go home alone just yet. I’d be perfectly happy if I never have to let go of Andi again.

“Okay, you’re right, we should go. Plus, I don’t know about you but I’ve worked up quite the appetite.” There’s a devilish smirk on her face.

“Oh, I have too, but I can’t say it’s for food.” I look her straight in the eyes and watch as they go from laughing to serious, finally darkening with desire burning in them. Oh, my God, they are so hot! I can’t help myself as I land a hard, hot, passionate kiss on her. She doesn’t back down either, kissing me back with just as much passion as I’m giving.

This girl . . . she has me on fire!

Finally breaking free to catch our breath, she leans her forehead against mine, her eyes closed. We’re both trying to slow our breathing. “Damn, Andi, you are so hot!”

With that cute little laugh of hers, she says, “Only with you, sweetheart!” With that, she unfolds herself from my lap and stands up, adjusting her clothing before she slips her sandals back on. I get up and roll down both pants legs then put my socks and work boots back on. She doesn’t say a word the whole time, but after I have my boots on, I look up to her beautiful face and see it’s lit up with a smile. She has to be my angel. I notice her lips are all swollen and pink from our shared kiss. I know as soon as her parents see it—and I’m sure my face matches hers—they’ll know what we’ve been up to. I know Ron wouldn’t mind; after all, he’s pretty much told me numerous times to talk to Andi. This is one “I told you so” I can tolerate.

I reach out my hand to her; she doesn’t hesitate to take it, and we walk hand in hand to her family home. As I suspected, I see Ron’s truck sitting in the driveway. We climb up the back steps to her house, and I step ahead to open the back door for her. She smiles up at me as she passes through and I can’t help but place a quick kiss on her cheek, making her smile even more.

As I come through the door myself, I realize Bev is there, looking at us, spoon in hand. She stands there for a moment then smiles and says, “Well, I’m glad to see she didn’t drown you in the pond.” Then she goes back to pouring the gravy into a serving dish. Dinner smells good; I hadn’t realized how hungry I really am.

Andi bumps my shoulder. “No, I didn’t drown him in the water, although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it for a minute!”

“Oh, really? You were thinking about pushing me in the water? Well, I see how you are. Just so you know, if you had tried, I would’ve just pulled you in with me,” I say, laughing. I know she’s just playing around; this is how we used to be, and I’ve missed it so much. It feels great to be able to joke around with her again.

“I’m sure you would have, I have no doubts about that.” While she has a smile on her face, she’s looking me straight in the eye and I can’t help but wonder if she has a double meaning to that comment. I decide to file that away and think about it later; I’m still on a high from the taste and feel of her out at the pond, so I’m not about to let any doubt spoil my mood.

“Okay, you two, help me carry these dishes to the table so we can sit down and eat.” Mom walks past us to the dining room, a bowl of mashed potatoes in her hands. As she passes me, she gives me a wink. I shake my head and look up at Ethan, who just smirks at me and picks up a stack of plates.

“Well, you heard the lady, let’s hurry it up. As much as I love your mom’s cooking, I’d like to continue our previous conversation, if you know what I mean.”

I reach out and pull his chin to my face, just an inch from mine. Looking into his eyes, I say, “Oh, we need to finish that conversation for sure.” I give him a quick peck on the lips then turn around and grab the plate of chicken. With that, we both go back and forth carrying all the food to the table, and then we all sit down and eat together. No one says much at first while we’re digging into our food. Mom has once again outdone herself; it also helps that I may have worked up more of an appetite than I thought. I can feel my cheeks heat up at just the thought of what happened on the pond.

It was amazing, so I can only imagine the things he could do to me after today. I’m getting all worked up again just thinking about it. Of course, it doesn’t help with Ethan sitting right beside me, one hand on my thigh the entire time. It’s almost as if he’s in my head, tightening his grip as if to say, “Easy, girl, we’re at your parents.’” I quickly shake off the thoughts of his lips on my chest.

“So, Dad, how was work today? I stopped by to see you, but you weren’t there. Ethan said you were at the café.”

“Yeah, I was picking up lunch. If I had’ve known you were coming, I would’ve got you some too. I saw you driving past when I was walking back to the shop with ours. You could’ve waited, you know. We would’ve shared.”

“I’m sorry I missed you, Dad. I had something, uh, come up.” As soon as I say this, Ethan chokes on his food. I pound his back a few times and he’s finally able to clear his throat. Dad is just smiling at him, which is odd.

“Here, have a drink of water, Ethan. That should help.” Mom hands him a glass of cold water. He takes a couple of gulps and thanks her.

“Are you okay now, Ethan?” I ask. Jeez, I didn’t mean to make him choke. Although it
is
funny, now that he’s okay. It’s hard to make him blush, but I think I’ve succeeded tonight.

“Yeah, I’m okay, thanks. I guess I swallowed my food the wrong way or something.” He stares at me with a sly look on his face. Well, I hadn’t meant for the conversation to go that way; it happened before I realized it. However, I can’t help but laugh as I think about it. My humor is short-lived though, because Ethan puts his hand back on my thigh then moves closer to my core, making me squelch a small gasp.
Checkmate!
I give; I’m not about to embarrass myself any further with my parents, who are looking at Ethan and me like we’re crazy.

“Dinner is delicious, Bev,” Ethan says, taking another bite.

“Why, thank you, Ethan. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Mom smiles, and Ethan winks at me.

“Hey, Ethan, I almost forgot to tell you that the Wilsons were very happy with their car. They said they were impressed with how fast you were able to fix it, and they left a tip for you. I locked it up in the bottom drawer under the office counter.”

“Thank you, Ron, I’m glad they liked it,” Ethan says, taking another bite of his chicken. Oh, how I wish I was that piece of chicken right now. To have his lips on mine . . . mmm! Just the thought makes my cheeks burn again, and I’m squirming in my seat. His hand is still on my thigh, making little figure-eight patterns with his index finger. He has to stop or I’m going to go insane. For God’s sake, we’re are at my parents’ dinner table; I should not be having these naughty thoughts right now.

I figure the only way to slow my hormones is to hurry up and get this dinner done and Ethan out of here, so I pick up the pace. I need to think about everything that’s happening, and I can’t do that with him touching me—or even in the same room as me, for that matter. The moment I see him, I’m like butter and he is my sun; I melt into a big, sloppy puddle at his feet. That’s dangerous, considering I have no idea what happened to Kelly. I assume from the things he was saying at the pond—you know, before he gave me the best orgasm I’ve ever had, which either makes me really pathetic or him really talented—that he either isn’t married to her anymore or he doesn’t care. I really hope it isn’t the latter, because I refuse to be that kind of girl.
Ever!

As I’m finishing my food, I feel Ethan stop the circles and squeeze my leg again. That’s when I hear Mom ask, “Andi, are you okay?”

Looking up at her, I say, “Of course, Mom, why do you ask?”

“Well, I’ve been talking to you and you just keep moving your food around and staring at your plate, not saying a word. And your cheeks are red, so I thought maybe you weren’t feeling well.”

I give Ethan a quick glare. “I’m fine, Mom. Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just deep in thought and not paying attention. What was it you needed?”

“You’re fine, honey, I just thought something was wrong. I was just saying that I’ve enjoyed having you home so much. And how I hope you can find time in your busy schedule to come home more often and see us. I know you’re excited about starting your new job, and we’re very proud of you and the things you’ve accomplished, but we miss you terribly. That’s all I was saying.”

“Oh, Mom, I’ve missed you all so much too! I don’t know what the future holds for me, I have a lot of thinking to do. One thing’s for sure though, I won’t make my decisions lightly, and I’ll keep you all informed,” I say while looking at each of them in turn. “And when I do go back to Texas, I’ll come home as much as possible. I promise I won’t stay gone long.” I feel Ethan’s hand pull away from my thigh and he clears his throat.

“Well, Bev,” he starts as he rises from his seat, “thank you for dinner. It was very delicious, as always, but if you will excuse me, I have some things I have to take care of at the house before I crash for the night. Thank you again.” With that, he picks up his plate and glass and carries them to the sink. I sit there frozen in my chair for a second. I know I’ve upset him. We haven’t had a chance to talk about the future, and I don’t even know how either of us feels right now. I just know I can’t stand the thought of not talking to him. It’s time we get everything out in the open.

I excuse myself from the table and go to the kitchen to talk with him. Except he isn’t there. Just as I get out the back door of the kitchen, I see the taillights on his truck as he’s driving pretty fast down the driveway. Now I
know
he’s upset. Damn it, this is not how I planned tonight going at all. Then again, I don’t know what I really expected to happen. Either way, it wasn’t Ethan taking off, upset with me. I’m not even sure where he lives anymore. I’m sure I know someone who does though.

I run back inside and yell out, “Dad? Hey, Dad?”

“Still in here, honey,” he calls out. I start talking as soon as I get into the dining room.

“I need you to tell me where Ethan lives. I know I should’ve asked him before and all that, but I haven’t had the opportunity. It’s not like we’ve had much chance to actually talk anyway.” I know I’m babbling like an idiot, but I can’t seem to help it.

“Andi, take a breath, sweetie. He still lives in the same place he did when you left, with his mom. Same old situation. Some people never change, you know.”

Hmm, I didn’t know he still lived at home. It seems there’s a lot I don’t know about Ethan anymore.
I plan to change that though, if I have anything to say about it. I don’t know what we’re going to do when I go back to Texas, but I do know that since I’ve had a taste of Ethan, I don’t want to go without him ever again. My heart hurts for the time we lost while I was in college. Hell, I don’t know, maybe we can make this work long-distance. I’ll have to slow down and collect my thoughts after I get to Ethan and make sure he’s okay.

“Thank you, Dad. And thank you, Mom, for dinner. It really was good. I’m going to go talk with Ethan. Mom, is it okay if I borrow your car again?”

“Of course, honey. I told you to use it for as long as you need.”

“Andi, the parts are finally going to be in, so I should have your car done tomorrow afternoon. I had to special order the line that broke. I could’ve used rubber hose on it, but with you being so far away I didn’t want to take the chance on it not working out and you being stranded again.”