Heavy: A Contemporary Romance (14 page)

“
It’s been almost three months, California,” he said in gravelly voice. “You never contacted me. Why are you here?”

Conscious of how close our bodies and faces were
now, I felt the fight seep out of me. His hard thighs, stomach, and chest were so tight against mine, breathing was deliciously challenging.

“Why do you think I’m here?”
I asked as I reached out with my teeth and gently bit down on his bottom lip. Once I had a light purchase, I pulled his mouth towards mine. I heard him gasp right before he slammed his lips onto mine.

I forgot about my anger in the heartbeat it took for our tongues to start sliding together in perfect
rhythm. All I could think about now, was how unbelievably amazing it felt to kiss him again after all this time. His hot mouth was spellbindingly delicious – better than any drug-induced high – better than warm, gooey chocolate cake with a pint of vanilla ice cream on the side – and my insides melted.

He released my wrists and I allowed my arms to fall down to his shoulders
. I couldn’t stop my hands from making their way into his hair, clutching it tightly in order to bring him even closer and deepen the kiss.

Tongues danc
ing, mouths wide, his light stubble rubbing against the delicate skin around my lips, the sound of blood roaring in my ears, the feel of his soft hair against my fingertips and most of all his smell. I’d forgotten about how good he smelled. He smelled like freshly baked bread, with rich creamy butter and warm jam, and I wanted to devour every bit of that crusty smell. I wanted it inside me, flowing through my bloodstream and tingling across my skin. I wanted him to…

Thatch wrenched his mouth from mine and stumbled back a few steps.

“No,” he said wiping the back of his hand across his mouth as if he were trying to remove all trace of me there. “This isn’t going to happen again. I can’t have drugs anywhere near my kid.”

“
I spent the last few months at a recovery center. I’ve been clean and sober for almost three months now, Thatch. Your dad would’ve never let me in if it had been otherwise.” I formed my words carefully as I struggled to control my breath after that kiss. He still didn’t know that my main issues were with food and not drugs and alcohol, but it also wasn’t the time to go into all that either. I was trying to get through to him the quickest way I thought possible.

“I can’t take that chance, California – not where Thaddeus is concerned
. Three months isn’t long enough. I’ve seen into your world, don’t forget. This phase you’re going through is probably just that – a phase.”

“
How can you say that? You don’t even know me or anything about me, Thatch Reston!” Yeah, my anger at his assumptions reared its ugly head again.

“I know what I’ve read about you…and that’s enough.”

If looks could kill, Thatch would be lying in a pool of his own blood after the look I was giving him at that moment.

“Well, thanks for that vote of confidence
. Did you say the same thing to your father when he was at the three-month mark?”

“Look, California, I’m not going to deny we have something between us
. Something inexplicable and electrifying, and I almost stopped breathing when I saw you again. But it isn’t enough. I have Thaddeus to think about – and my kid always comes first. I can’t get involved with someone like you. And that’s that.”

“So what does that mean exactly
? Do you want me to go? Are you firing me?”

“Do what you want, California
. Just be aware that nothing else of a more… intimate… nature is going to happen between us. Understand?” Thatch shrugged as he walked past me and into the hallway.

“
Just so you know, drugs aren’t the main reason I was at the Recovery Center. I’m not technically a drug addict.”

“Yeah
? That’s almost exactly what Thaddeus’s mom said to me before she got high and crashed the car with him in it, killing both herself and my mother,” he called back over his shoulder as he made his way down the stairs.

***

By the time I composed myself and returned downstairs to the tattoo shop, Thatch and Thaddeus were gone.

“He took Thad over to the gym to catch up with the guys,” Bellamy said
. “I assume that it didn’t quite go as planned?” he added.

“It was rough, Bell.”

“Man the phones, Mo-Mo,” Bellamy called out. “Heavy and I are going next door for a coffee.”

“Copy that, boss,” Mo replied.

“Come on, girl, the one you just bought is cold by now. Let’s go get you a fresh cup.”

My mind was still racing and I still felt a little numb from my encounter with Thatch, but I followed Bellamy silently to the coffee shop next door
. I took a seat by the window while Bellamy got us our beverages. I was still staring vacantly into the street when he finally came over to join me.

“Thaddeus’ mom was a drug-addict?” I asked as soon as he set my cup in front of me.

“Ah, so he told you.”

“Not exactly
. It was sort of a parting barb as he walked away. Why didn’t you tell me, Bell?”

“It wasn’t my place to
, Heavy. I also didn’t want to scare you off. If you knew what exactly you were up against, you might’ve left before he had a chance to see you.” Bellamy took a long sip of his coffee, the fact it was still hot didn’t seem to affect him any.

“Well, he saw me, and I’m not sure what I was expecting, but what just happened definitely wasn’t the scenario I imagined in my head
. You instilled a grain of hope in me over the last week that he might feel the same way about me as I do about him. Boy, were you wrong,” I laughed dryly.

“Are you sure
? I think I know my son pretty well by now, and he stormed out of there like a man possessed. Would he have been that angry if he didn’t care?”

“Oh, Bellamy,” I sighed
. “I know you want to see him happy, but you have to know that he’ll never want me involved with Thaddeus – no matter what kind of amazing chemistry he and I have. And, I can understand that. I think it’s best that I just ride off into the sunset so you guys can get back to your normal routine.”

“But
, that’s just it. The routine isn’t working for him, no matter how much he refuses to admit it. His distrust of women is going to spread over into Thad, and that just kills me. You’re the first woman I’ve ever seen him interested in and yes, while I get it, he might not think you have it in you to change, but Heavy, he hasn’t been around you long enough to see in you what I do. If you disappear from his life now, he’ll never know. Stick around a bit longer. A week at the most. Mo-Mo’s wife has a friend that might be interested in taking the shop manager position. Can you at least stay until she can start?”

“You just want to put me in a situation where I’ll be seeing Thatch on a daily basis, don’t you?”

“I’ll confess, that is my main reason, yeah.” Bellamy smiled. “But come on, Heavy, you aren’t going to quit on me just yet, are you?”

“Damn you Reston men and your twinkling eyes.”

Thatch

“How could you let this happen, Dad?”
I asked my father later that night after Thaddeus was in bed.

Dinner had been a little on the awkward side
. When Thaddeus and I had returned home that evening, California was already gone. I hadn’t asked my dad if she was planning on coming back or not. I hated the fact that I wanted to know in the first place. I suspected the phone call my dad had answered right before dinner might’ve been from her. I heard something about a meeting tomorrow and then my father hung up before I could hear any more.

Thaddeus had been unusually chatty during dinner
. His primary topic was California and her fucking pool that he wanted to go swimming in. Damn my father for allowing her to infiltrate our lives like this.

“Let what happen
? Allowing a perfectly nice young woman, who is obviously nuts about Thaddeus, into our lives?”

“A drug addict and promiscuous
, self-absorbed socialite, you mean.”

“If I thought you meant those words, I might have to knock some sense into you, my boy.”

“Okay, so maybe the ‘self-absorbed’ might have been too strong – but the rest fits.”

“
Pfft. Did she even tell you about her disorder?”

Disorder
? What the fuck was he talking about?

“Tell me everything you know, Pops.”
God, I hate the fact a little pleading tone had crept into my voice there.

My father smiled
. “I think that you and California still have a lot to talk about. There are a few things she’ll need to tell you herself. There are also quite a few things you need to tell her, too.”

My dad was referring to Charity – Thaddeus’ mother.

“If you’re not careful, you’ll end up losing her, you know. Trust me, you don’t want to let that one get away,” my dad added.

I looked at him with reproach
. “I can never leave her alone with Thaddeus – even you have to understand that. How can I even think about getting involved with someone I can’t even trust to be alone with my son? And what the hell is this nickname you have going on for her? Heavy?”

My dad chuckled
. “That’s something else you’ll have to ask her about. Take a deep breath and spend some time with her. All three of you spend some time together. Maybe it’ll turn out there isn’t anything between you guys more than friendship. Or maybe the strong physical attraction you seem to have going on might burn out eventually, and it’s just a temporary thing. From what I can see, you both need each other right now, whether you want to admit it or not. We can provide her with the support group she needs to overcome her issues – and you
and
Thaddeus would benefit from some female influence in your life. You don’t trust women, and while that’s understandable, you have to get over it at some point for your son’s sake. Your mom and Charity both let you down, but not all women are like them. Do you want Thaddeus to grow up thinking it’s wrong to trust?”

“I never talk badly about Charity to Thaddeus
; you know that, Pops.”

“Yeah
, I know. But, that kid worships you. He wants to be exactly like you. You don’t want him to develop a fear of commitment too, do you? Have you also noticed how much he’s come out of his shell in the last week or so since that young lady came into his life? That kid is surrounded by men. The two of us here, the guys downstairs – even over at the gym. It’s no wonder he’s so drawn to her. She’s the first female to show him any real interest. You know Lisa never gave two shits about him when she worked here.”

“Maybe it’s the new
preschool bringing him out?” I suggested hopefully, even though I suspected my father was right.

“Maybe
. He’s one of many kids there though. There’s a difference.”

“Look, Pops, it’s not my fault Thaddeus doesn’t have a mother.”

“I know, I know,” my father said calmly. “What you’ve done for that kid is nothing short of a miracle. You’re an amazing father, Thatch. I know you didn’t get that from me and you astound me every damn day. It kills me that you had to go through all that stuff back in New York on your own. I should’ve been there for you.”

“You were here for me in the end and that’s really all that counts.”
I gave my dad a small but appreciative smile.

He reached over across the table and gave me a pat on my shoulder.

“Is she coming back?” I finally asked, kicking myself on the inside for doing so. I didn’t need to say who I was referring to.

“She’s only going to be working here for a little more than a week
. Mo-Mo has someone interested in the job. I meant it when I said it would be up to you if she stays. Stays in Las Vegas I meant.”

“Wh
o are you, fucking Cupid or something?” I asked with some sarcasm.

“Has a day gone by since you first met her where you haven’t thought about her at all?”
My father raised a questioning eyebrow in my direction as he posed the question in that all-knowing tone of his.

I sighed and pushed myself up from the table.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Pops, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, son.”

***

After
I left my dad in the kitchen, I headed into the large room at the end of the hallway that had become my studio. I didn’t get the chance to paint as often as I’d like to, but I still had a fair amount of work hanging around, or piled up against the wall on the floor of the room.

I went over to the back and rummaged through a stack of canvases until I finally found the one I was looking for
. I pulled it out and placed it on top of the nearest vacant easel.

I looked at the painting I’d done over two months ago
. I always thought that I’d never quite got the color of her eyes right. After seeing her in person today, I was now sure of it.

California Huntington’s face looked out from the canvas at me, in all its perfection
. She was sitting on that hotel-room couch, a blanket partially covering her lusciously long legs, her bare shoulder peeking through the neck of her shirt. One hand was resting on the back of the sofa while the other was covered by the throw. I wondered if anyone else would be able to work out what that hidden hand was doing. I knew it was a moment I’d never be able to forget.

For all my problems with getting the exact
color of her dark blue eyes, I had no problem at all with her hair. Using artistic license, I depicted it as I’d seen it later on during our encounter, when it was cascading over her shoulders, wild and untamed and unforgettably beautiful.

This
temptress had weaseled her way into my son’s life – all while I’d been out of town. It was under-handed and conniving and she had no right to do that.

Unfortunately, it didn’t make me want her any less.