Indulgence (391 page)

“Come on, Jake. Help me get her into bed,” he whispered. “I
don’t want to deal with her tomorrow if she’s cranky because she slept in this
position all night.”

I carefully removed her shoes, then Rick picked her up and
carried her into the bedroom.

I walked ahead of them and turned down the crisp white
duvet. Rick gently placed her on the mattress. Sam stirred briefly and then
turned on her side, tucking her praying hands under her cheek. Rick lay on the
bed behind her, draping his arm around her waist.

I flopped down on the other bed, exhausted. Sleep came
quickly when my head hit the pillow.

As Sam rolled over on her back, Rick stirred, draped his arm
across her stomach. She promptly pushed him away from her.

“What did you do that for?” he asked in a groggy voice.

“You reek of cigarette smoke and stale beer,” Sam
complained.

“Well, you don’t smell much better,” Rick retorted.

I groaned and threw one of my pillows at them. “If you don’t
get in the bath right now, I will!”

Sam laughed as she grabbed Rick’s hand and pulled him out of
bed, leading him to the bathroom. I placed the other pillow over my head and
went back to sleep.

Later, I woke up to Sam’s soft voice. “Jake, come on, get up.
Rick won’t stop whining about how hungry he is and I’m going to throttle him.
Come to breakfast with us.”

I removed the pillow from my head and placed it on the
floor. “Why don’t you order room service?”

“You know how Rick eats. Room service is too expensive.
Besides, I have so much planned for today!”

Opening one eye to take her in, I smiled. “You know I can’t
say no to you.”

She was grinning from ear to ear. “Yep, I know.” Sam grabbed
my arm and pulled me out of bed. “Get in the shower, now.”

I shook my head, chuckling to myself. “Yes, ma’am.”

After a big breakfast in the hotel restaurant, the three of
us walked out into the New York sunshine. We walked up Fifth Avenue. Sam would
stop from time to time to take in the jewelry displays at Tiffany and Harry
Winston. As the brainiac of our trio, Samantha was intense her head was always
in a book or she was riding Rick and me about our grades. But today, she was
just a girl in awe of the big city and happy to be with her friends.

Our destination was Central Park Zoo. I’d had no idea there
was a zoo in the middle of Manhattan. It was wonderful to watch the young
mothers leisurely walking through the park with their children in strollers; an
old couple sitting on a park bench watching with merriment as a small group of
school children filed by; Sam and Rick walking ahead of me, holding hands. The
last time I had visited a zoo I was eight years old and my parents were still
alive.

I sat on a low stone wall and closed my eyes, remembering
that day. The sounds and smells of the animals transported me back in time. My
parents had taken the day off from work for our family outing to the
Philadelphia Zoo. My heart ached at the memory. Why did losing people you loved
hurt so much? I was lost in thought when that familiar sent of perfume lingered
under my nose.

“Jake, are you okay?” Sam whispered, taking a seat next to
me.

“Yeah, I guess,” I replied, trying to smile.

“Is your leg bothering you? I knew we should have taken the
subway instead of walking,” she muttered to herself.

“My leg is fine. I was just remembering the last time I went
to the zoo with my parents. Sometimes stupid things trigger my memory and I’m
reminded just how much I miss them. I don’t mean to be a downer,” I apologized.

“Of course you miss them,” she said, linking her arm through
mine and leaning her head against my shoulder. “You’re not alone, though. You
have your grandfather and the Welshes and me.”

“I know. I am grateful for that,” I said in all honesty.
“Where is Rick?”

“I left him in the reptile house.”

“He’s probably trying to scare some poor little schoolgirl.”

Sam laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past him. We should probably
go get him.” She stood up and offered her hand. I gladly accepted it and we
walked toward the reptile house.

After the zoo we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sam
and I browsed the nineteenth and early twentieth century paintings on the
second floor while Rick explored arms and armor on the first floor.

“I can’t believe you got Rick to step foot in a museum,” I
admitted in a hushed tone as I admired Van Gogh’s
Wheatfield With Cypresses.

Sam softly giggled. “I just have to appeal to his masculine
side. That’s why he’s looking at guns and weapons.”

“And I’m here looking at impressionist masterpieces. How
masculine does that make me?”

“Jake, the fact that you even know what an impressionist is
makes me very happy. I like that you’re in touch with your feminine side. You
are going to make some girl a fantastic husband one day.”

I did a double take when she said that. She didn’t look back
at me, however; she just continued to study the Van Gogh. Funny thing was this:
when I let myself contemplate the future, the only person I could see by my
side was Samantha. I couldn’t tell her she belonged to Rick. A more realistic
future would be spending time at Rick and Sam’s house surrounded by their rowdy
kids and two dogs one day.

“My leg is cramping up, Sam. Would you mind if I went back
to the hotel to rest. You and Rick should enjoy some time alone.”

“Okay. Are you sure you don’t want me to come back with
you?”

“I’ll be okay.”

She agreed. We left the gallery and headed toward the
elevators.

I took a taxi back to the hotel and sighed as my weary body
hit the mattress. Even after all the physical therapy I’d gone through after
the accident, the pain in my leg could be unbearable at times. I grabbed an
Aleve from the nightstand and swallowed it with a swig of water. After taking
off my sneakers, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

When I woke up the room was dark. How long had I been
asleep? I looked at the alarm clock. It was seven o’clock. I heard the sound of
running water from the shower and then the faint sound of music from the
sitting room. Stretching my arms overhead, I yawned. The bed was so
comfortable, I didn’t want to move. Best of all, the pain in my leg had
subsided.

The water from the shower cut off and the sound of the hair
dryer clicked on. Sam must have been getting ready for dinner, so Rick must
have been watching TV in the other room. I slowly sat up and made my way to the
sitting room. Rick was stretched out on the couch watching a movie.

“Hey, man. How are you feeling?”

“Better, thanks,” I replied, sitting down in the empty
chair.

“Did you two have a nice afternoon?”

“Yeah, I dragged her to
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
.”

I chuckled. “She must have loved that.”

“I went to the museum.”

“And I spent time with her while you looked at guns,” I
reminded.

“It’s good for couples to have their own interests. If we
did everything together, we’d probably kill each other.”

I nodded. “You have a point.”

We watched TV in silence until Sam finished primping. When
she joined us, I think Rick and I both held our breaths. She was wearing a
denim skirt and a black, beaded halter top with ballet flats. Her eyes were
lined with smoky charcoal and her long, brunette mane was shining in the
lamplight. I had never seen her look so stunning. “Wow,” I muttered under my
breath.

Samantha turned pink with embarrassment. When I realized
that I’d said that aloud, I also blushed.

“Shower is all yours, Jake.” She tousled my wild
raven-colored hair and I swear I felt a surge of electricity jolt through my
veins.

“Thanks,” I said, standing up and pulling my tee shirt over
my head, catching a glimpse of her eyeing up my well toned upper body muscles a
little longer than she should have. I might have a bum leg, but I made up for
it by lifting weights. The upper body strength made it easier to use my crutch.
It also helped my ego because I didn’t feel like such a weakling.

“Hey, beautiful,” Rick greeted her with a kiss. “You look
amazing. Too amazing to leave this hotel room.”

“You promised me a night out on the town and a late dinner.”
The mention of food worked every time.

“If we must,” Rick conceded, “but later, you’re mine.”

“Deal,” she agreed, giving him one more kiss.

I closed the bathroom door behind me and stripped off the
remainder of my clothes. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, opened the text
messenger, and typed.

Jake: HI, WHAT R U DOING?

Jenna: HI, AT THE MALL. HAVING FUN IN NYC?

Jake: YES. I MISS YOU.

Jenna: MISS YOU MORE.

Her comment made me smile. I placed the phone on the
countertop and then got in the shower.

I sat across from Rick and Sam in the restaurant. Throughout
the entire dinner, they only had eyes for each other, whether it was a
smoldering look, the caress of a hand or words spoken in a whisper. I couldn’t
take much more. I put down some money on the table once the dessert plates were
removed. “I’m going for a long walk. I can’t stand all this sexual energy. Put
the hotel room to good use while you have it to yourselves. I’ll be back in a
few hours.”

Sam blushed while Rick silently mouthed, “Thank you.”

I wandered around the streets. The noise helped numb my mind
for a little while. I found a bar and went inside. Taking a seat at the end of
the bar, I ordered a beer, glad Rick had gotten the fake IDs. As I sipped my
beer, I watched various mating rituals play out in the room, but I couldn’t get
Sam and Rick out of my mind. What were they doing right now? I knew what they
were doing and the trouble was my imagination was too good. I didn’t want to
think about Samantha naked in Rick’s arms, making love to him. I had a thought
to call Jenna, but nixed it. It would be too weird to call her and talk about
her brother and Sam hooking up.

I walked back to the hotel around 1:30 a.m. When I entered
the room, I could see the light from the bedside table glowing from the crack
under the door. It was quiet. Grateful for the silence, I crashed on the sofa
and fell asleep, but strange dreams invaded my slumber: I was the one naked in
bed with the girl. The only problem was the girl’s face would continually
change between Sam and Jenna.

“Sometimes I hate you, you know that!” Sam shouted.

“You can be such a bitch!” Rick retorted.

I groaned, feeling around with my hand to find anything to
cover my head and deaden the sound of their argument. No such luck. Since I’d
stayed on the couch, there was no blanket or pillow in sight. Sitting up, I
reached for the phone to check the time. It was ten o’clock.

Rick came storming out of the bedroom. “Jake, you try to
talk some sense into her. I give up.”

With that, he was out the door and I was left alone to deal
with Sam’s wrath. The way I chose to deal with it was to do nothing at all. I
reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

Sam walked out of the bedroom dressed in blue jeans and a
long-sleeved blue tee. She gave me a genuine smile. “Good morning, Jake.”

“Hi.”

“I’m hungry. Do you want to grab some brunch?”

“Sure. Do you mind if I shower first?”

“Of course. You know, you didn’t have to sleep out here all
night.”

“It’s probably best that I did,” I said, patting her on the
shoulder as I made my way toward the bathroom.

I showered in peace, taking more time then I should have.
The hot water felt so good and eased my muscle pain. The couch wasn’t the most
comfortable place to sleep. I dressed in a pair of khakis and a plaid
button-down shirt and then joined Sam in the lounge. My hair was still damp,
but I slicked it back and I was freshly shaven. Sam appreciated good grooming,
so if I could do just this one little thing to make her happy, all the better.
Rick was one of those guys who would just throw himself together with no
thought whatsoever. Being good looking and popular worked in his favor. I
wasn’t that lucky.

“You look very handsome, Jake,” Sam complemented.

“Thanks. Ready to go?”

I waited until after she was fed before I broached the
subject of Rick. “So, what’s going on with you two?” I gently asked as we
walked arm in arm up Fifth Avenue.

“Rick can be so infuriating sometimes,” she ground out.

I nodded my head and waited for her to continue.

“I mean, we’re a couple we should do things together,
right?”

“Yes, but that’s not one of Rick’s strong points. He kind of
just does whatever he wants.”

“Tell me about it! Why can’t he be more like you, Jake?”

I chuckled. “Well, if you ever get tired of him, you can
always date me instead.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop
them. She probably thought I was joking.

“I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”

When we came to Henri Bendel’s, I opened the door and
escorted Samantha inside. Her eyes lit up like lights on a Christmas tree. The
first floor of the store was laid out in three rooms: one had handbags, one had
jewelry, and the last one had cosmetics. Sam’s mind must have been going a mile
a minute. She looked to her left and then her right, not sure where to start,
so I guided her towards the jewelry.

We perused the selection of bracelets, rings, and necklaces.
Sam was in heaven trying on different pieces. It was a busy place, crowded with
shoppers and sales assistants, but that didn’t bother Samantha. I spied a gold
necklace with an antique skeleton key. “I like this one,” I said, picking it up
to show her.

“It’s beautiful, Jake. You should get it for Jenna.”

The only problem was, I wasn’t thinking of Jenna. “I thought
it would look great on you.” I unhooked the claps of the necklace. “Turn
around, Sam.” She did as I requested and I fastened the necklace around her
neck.