Feel Like Makin' Love (Rock and Roll Trilogy #3) (11 page)

“I can do whatever you need,” and he suspected
that he knew why she wanted it.

~ ~ ~

After Matthew stopped by the flat to grab the quilt, Andy and Geni were alone. He was helping her pack for her trip. “I’m leaving a lot of this, not taking the suitcase, just the small tote,” she mumbled.

“That means you’ll be back,” Andy said with a happy voice.

“I told you before that I was coming back.”

“Are you coming back because you want to? Because you’ll miss me?” he teased.

“I will miss you,” she said, not making eye contact with him, instead focusing intently on the shirt she’d refolded twice already. Finally she sat with the shirt on her lap and looked up to face him. “I’ve enjoyed this time with you, enjoyed the nights wrapped in your arms as you held me. Our time together has been special.”

She took a big breath to continue, “I don’t want to leave you. I find myself enjoying you more and more. I don’t wa
nt to go,” she said. “But I have to take care of some things at home. Our departure was so sudden that there are things left undone.”

“Don’t forget what you are leaving behind undone here,” he said.

Her head whipped up, meeting his eyes. When she did, she saw longing. She rose and quickly turned back to the few items she was packing.

Andy rose; placing his hands on her shoulders
, he turned her to face him. Looking in her eyes he took her face in his hands, fingers caressing the skin on her cheeks, he drew her near and leaned to kiss her.

They’d shared kisses before, but this one was different. She looked in his eyes and felt herself drowning in them, sinking into
a pool of molten gold; she felt the heat that went with it, too. This kiss was passionate and unexpected. She felt her knees to go weak, shaking as though the ground beneath her was moving.

“Andy…” she whispered, but the parting of her lips to allow the sound of his name
to escape only gave the opportunity for the kiss to deepen. She felt like she should break away, come up for air, but she couldn’t bring herself to break the hypnotic spell he seemed to hold over her.

Leading her to the bed, wrapped in his arms, he let one hand slip away to place the tote she’d been packing on the floor. He sat down
, moving to the middle of the bed, easing her along with him. She lay in his arms, breathless. “I just want to hold you, just like this, all night.”

She rolled into his arms;
his body spooning hers, he held her. His warm breath sent shivers up her spine, and he pulled her closer still.

~ ~ ~

“Now, we’ll freshen you up a bit,” Hatchet said when she finished checking the monitors for Carlee’s blood pressure and such.

“
Quick. I want to hurry so I don’t miss Matthew’s surprise!” Carlee replied, giddy.

“We’ve got a few minutes,”
Hatchet smiled.

Hatchet prepared the pan of water, grabbing Carlee’s shower gel and soft washcloth.
Ashlee, the aide helped her bathe. Hatchet was helping her slip into a new gown as Matthew came in the room.

“Perfect timing!” Carlee said, excitement in her voice as she saw him with two big bags.

Hatchet left and returned a moment later with a couple of flameless candles. She set them around the room. As she left them, she turned the overhead light out and closed the door behind her.

Saying nothing,
Matthew lovingly spread the quilt over the bed and then began unloading the bags without saying a word. He watched; her anxiousness at his choice pleased him. He opened boxes and put food on china plates that he’d taken from the bag - china that Carlee recognized from Six, and she smiled. He pulled a vase from the bag and opened a paper wrapper that contained daisies. Filling the vase with water, he placed the flowers in the vase. Next he removed two wine glasses and a bottle of sparkling water and poured. He placed his phone on the table with soft classical music playing. With all that in place, he crawled beside her on the bed.

Carlee folded herself into his arms and whispered in his ear. “Thank you, but what’s the occasion?”

“Just figured we needed another first date,” he smiled, placing a kiss on her lips that left fire behind. She reached to run her fingers over them to feel the heat.

“Hatchet put a
‘do not disturb’ sign on the door. We can eat and cuddle without interruption until it’s time for them to check your vitals again. But we can’t get too far gone,” he laughed, “just cuddling. Hatchet said so.”

Carlee pulled the tray forward, looking over the meal – roasted chicken with pasta and a light Alfredo sauce with small, diced bits of zucchini.

“Hatchet and Doc T told me what they thought you could handle, and Cook took over.
”

She inhaled and said the two words that Matthew
had hoped for. “I’m starving!”

“There’s my girl!”

They enjoyed the meal, pushed the table aside and enjoyed some cuddling, much like on their first dates in the past. Matthew’s fingers found their way under the gown she wore and explored, touching the soft skin of a body that he knew like the back of his hand. He’d missed the feel of her.

Carlee did the same and whispered in his ear, “I love you so much
, Matthew. I can’t wait to go home so I can explore the rest of you,” she said breathlessly.

“Carlee,” he said in a voice that made her
tremble. “I love you, more than words.”

~ ~ ~

Later, Danni Matchett knocked; when there was no reply, she peeked in and found them asleep, spooned together as though they belonged just that way. The quilt pulled over them as they slept, the flameless candles still casting a soft glow in the room. She decided that the vitals update could wait just a while longer.

~ ~ ~

Sunday morning, the alarm on Andy’s watch went off at 3:45; Geni turned in his arms to face him. “I gotta get ready.”

He pulled her closer,
wrapping her in his arms. He nuzzled her neck, leaving a blaze of kisses down to her lips. Finally, she slipped from his arms to go shower.

When she came out he was already showered
and dressed,
and smelling like heaven
, she thought.

“Thank you,” he said
easing her into his arms.

“For?”

“Last night. I can’t wait to do that naked.” He chuckled and turned away to grab his keys and wallet, leaving her mind to wander. He heard the sound she made when she sucked in to catch her breath, and he smiled.

The drive to the airport was quiet. Andy didn’t initiate conversation because he wanted her to think about what he’d said. He was ready for the next step in their relationship, but he wasn’t quite sure where she was in her
personal ‘take it slow’ scheme of things.

He dropped her off at the terminal and went to park the car. When he reached security, she was waiting for h
im. She stepped into his arms and he leaned to whisper in her ear, “Think about me, Geni. Think about last night and the kisses we shared.”

“How the hell could I forget?” she laughed.

“Miss me, Geni,” he said as she turned to go through security.

I will
, she thought, but she didn’t look back.

~ ~ ~

When Andy arrived at the hospital later that morning, Tamara was in the room. “Good morning! You’re here early this morning. I was just getting ready to share a few things with Carlee and Matthew, so I’m glad you’ve joined us.”

“Got your m
om off and came straight here,” he said turning to Matthew.

“Carlee is doing very well, but I’ve decided that she will
stay in the hospital a little longer. I want to avoid her having to come back and forth for the tests and preliminary things we need to do to ready her for the radiotherapy. Riding in a car may not be the most pleasant experience for a while,” she told them. “There’s still a lot of swelling, and movement might not be so pleasant, we’re keeping her on steroids a bit longer. But I promised her she’d be home in time for the holiday.”

She looked around the room as Hatchet entered
. “We need to get a good look at this,” she said, motioning to the bandage. Dr. Lincoln should be along in a moment. We’ll need you to step out a moment when he arrives.”

“Good morning all,” he said as he entered
. Matthew and Andy stepped out to get a cup of coffee.

Dr.
Lincoln slowly, tenderly unwrapped the bandage on Carlee’s head. “It looks good. Want to see?” he asked, bending down so that he could see Carlee’s face.

“No
pe,” Carlee replied quickly. “I’d just as soon move forward without ever seeing it.”

“It looks good,”
Tamara said as Hatchet cleaned the wound and replaced the bandage. “After it heals another day or so we’ll take you for the markings for the radiotherapy. It’s the first step.”

“Tao said, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,
’” Carlee replied.

I love her attitude
, Tamara thought.

~ ~ ~

Geni arrived in Orlando at ten Sunday morning, and made the hour-and-a-half drive to Andy’s house. Kimmy was there waiting with a fresh pot of coffee. The two women sat at the kitchen table to share a cup, and Geni filled her in on all that had been going on with Carlee. Kimmy had talked to Carlee several times, so she had an idea of what was ahead. She and Geni had talked a few times as well, but as they talked now, they both cried.

“Jenna
and Nanny are having the hardest time,” Kimmy said. “Since no cancer was found, I’m going to believe that all of this is going to turn out OK, but they can’t get past Beth. Pops won’t even look at anyone who’s talking about Carlee.” She smiled, remembering him - his love and struggles with Beth’s diagnosis and passing.

“She’s so poised and strong,” Geni said. “She just amazes me. Andy sits on the edge of his seat to listen, process every single word any of the doctors say
, and she knows his fear and asks something crazy like what color the ink is that they will use for her radiation markings.”

“They have this special
relationship. When she was younger, she would stay with me if John was away, and she would ask to call him to make sure he was OK.”

“Their grief…”

“Made her the beautiful old soul she is today,” Kimmy interrupted. “John loved her so much before Beth got sick. He doted on her, but when Beth asked for Andy, I think John knew what was ahead, and after she was gone, he took Carlee home with him, but it was never the same. None of us ever really understood; it was like something just turned off and turned him away. It was so sad; she was only four when Beth passed away. She needed him, but he couldn’t be there for her. He tried. I saw it, but he was so bitter over Andy, he just couldn’t do it.”

Kimmy sat quietly to gather her thoughts, tears streaming down her cheeks. “We should get things going so that you can head home
; you still have a drive ahead of you.”

They went to Andy’s room,
found a suitcase, and she and Geni gathered up what Andy asked her to bring back - clothing, personal items, and his mail. Geni went to the spare room and gathered what she had left. As they did, Kimmy noticed that both Andy’s bed and the bed in the spare room had been slept in. She wondered…

“I’ll come back and tidy up. You need to get going,” Kimmy
told her. Geni loaded the car, hugged Kimmy, and was on the road.

~ ~ ~

Thomas and Brian met her at home with dinner. That evening was a short visit; she was exhausted from the flight, the time difference, and her emotions. Andy called later and filled her in on the day and his unsuccessful attempts to get Matthew to go home.

“Dan’s covering his classes ‘til the first of the year
; I just can’t get him to leave. He wants to sleep right there in that bed with her.” Andy told her, but Geni noticed the smile in his voice as he did. “I miss you.”

She thought about that a moment before she responded. This would be the first night in over a week that she wouldn’t sleep in his arms…
“I miss you too,” she said finally.

“Did you have to think about that?” he said noting her hesitation.

“No, I had to shake the thought of those last kisses away,” she laughed.

~ ~ ~

Monday morning, Thomas, his wife, Angela, and their daughters, Percy and Megs, came to visit early. The girls were out of school for the holiday and were excited to see Mimi G. Angela fixed breakfast while Geni was gathering things and packing. Brian and his wife, Malia, were there by ten. Geni was returning to London early Thursday morning and had much to accomplish in a short amount of time.