Just Perfect (5 page)

“I'm not walking on eggshells around her.  That's not
healthy or realistic for a relationship.”

“Be careful, don't assume you know what's best for her.  You
should get to know her first.”

Sam just nodded.  He could figure out on his own how to deal
with Lily. “I'm going to say bye to Johnathan and Glen.” He paused as he was
turning away. “Glen's a good man, Sarah.”

She blushed prettily.  Looking almost as young as her
daughter. “I can tell, thank you.”

He gave her the nod. “Tell Lily I want red velvet cupcakes
if she knows how to make them.  And make sure to add the last part.”

“Oh I will,” a smile lit up her sweet face. “You're in for a
surprise Sam. In more ways than one.”

Lily woke from the best sleep of her life before the sun
came up.  She stretched then snuggled back under the covers.  Memories started
to creep into her groggy brain bringing her instantly awake.  She sat up
straight in the bed and felt cold air on her breasts.  She looked down at her
open robe.

What had she done?
With a groan, she dropped back on
the bed.  What kind of mother has a.. a..
thing
with a strange man in
her bed when her child was at the movies with his grandmother?  She needed to
get it together and put her attention back where it belonged.  What did her son
think about his mother sleeping the day away?  What if he came in her room with
a bad dream and she wasn't wearing any clothes?

It was official. She was a slut.  Lily put a hand to her
forehead.  She certainly behaved like one yesterday with Sam.  The memory of
his hands on her body made her stomach flutter and her body flush with heat.
She begged him...
begged him
to do those things to her.  She could still
feel his hands on her body, his fingers inside her body.  She never had an
orgasm like that.  With John they had-

Instantly she was filled with shame.  How could she compare
Sam to John?  John was wonderful and sweet and would still be alive today if
she hadn't been so selfish and impulsive.  Just like yesterday, she begged Sam
to do things to her because she wanted it and couldn't put her needs aside. 
Not again.  Lily deliberately made herself think of the last time she spoke to
John.

After taking the home pregnancy test, Lily was terrified.
Pregnant.  What was she going to do?  How could she have been so careless?  How
would she tell her dad?  She was only seventeen.  John was leaving for college
in Texas in a few weeks.  She ran to her room to get her cell phone wanting to
talk to John right away.  With shaky fingers, she pulled up his number from her
call log.  It rang twice then his happy voice came on the line.

“Hey you,” he greeted, “I only have a couple minutes, I'm
almost to work.”

“Oh God, John...I'm pregnant!” Lily cried, unable to
control her worry or panic.

The response she heard was Johns terrified yell and a
horrible crashing and the crunch of metal before the line went dead.

Not one time since that day did she act impulsively.  She
didn't deserve to be selfish.  She needed to focus.  Lily got out of bed and
dug around for some clothes.  Time to get back on track.  She didn't have any
cake orders that morning so after she got Johnathan off to school, she was
going to Falls and look for a job.  Getting another job would go a long way to
saving the house.  The thought of having to leave the house made her sick.  She
was determined to get them out of this slump.  They've come so far.  She
couldn't give up yet.

Sam was in his kitchen early making coffee.  He wasn't able
to sleep much.  Thoughts of Lily kept him awake.  He decided to go see her
tonight after work.  He didn't want her to have too much time to think about
what happened between them and think it wasn’t what she wanted.  Sam wanted to
show her how good things could be for them.

“Good morning sunshine,” Dean said, grabbing a cup from the
cabinet.

Sam grunted a response.

“You say the sweetest things to me, big brother.  I must get
all my charm from you,” Dean placed a hand on his naked chest, “but I still
have so much more to learn.”  He added in all seriousness.

Dean had all the charm, period.  He was just like his dad,
Alan.  Sam remembered meeting Alan.  It was a few years after Sam's own dad
left him and his mom.  He was 13 years old at the time.  He and his mom lived
in a small house in Cincinnati.  His mom’s car broke down when they were
heading home from the store.  They couldn't afford a tow so they pushed the car
almost a mile to the closest garage.  Turned out it only worked on diesel
engines.  He remembered standing in the dirty office with his mom.  The old
women behind the cluttered desk told them they had to get the car moved because
they didn't work on gas engines and it was taking up space. Sam felt so
helpless watching his beautiful mother's shoulders slump in defeat.  He put his
arm around her shoulders and let her out of the office. 

“Come on, Mom,” he looked down into her tear-filled eyes. He
was already several inches taller than her. “I’ll push, you steer.”

She offered a shaky smile. “Well, we’re getting a workout
and
we get to spend quality time together.”

She always tried to look at the bright side of things, even
when his dad started spending more and more time away from home.  One day, he
just never came back.

Just as they reached the car, someone called to them from
the garage.   They turned to see a man jogging in their direction.  He was tall
with pale blond hair and a smile that seemed to stretch wider when he took in
his mother lovely face. 

Sam’s mother had straight jet black hair that reached past
her shoulders, sharp, exotic features, and startling dark blue eyes.  She was
of medium height but had curves that always made men do a double take.  Not
that she ever noticed.  Or she just chose not to.

“What seems to be the problem with the car?”  the guy asked
once he was a few feet away. 

Sam was a little taken back.  Most guys ignored him when he
was with his mom.

I'm not sure,” he finally said when the guy kept staring at
him, waiting for an answer. “The lights and gauges were flickering when my mom
tried to start the car, then, nothing.”  He wished he knew more car talk. “The
battery’s new,” he added.

The man nodded as if he understood Sam’s lousy explanation.
“Let's have a look,” he said then turned his eyes to his mom, “is that okay
with you?” He stuck out a large work-roughened hand to her. “My name's Alan.”

Sam could see his mom’s reluctance and didn't understand
why.  Looking back now, Sam realized she knew what was coming.  Alan fixed
their car and then pursued her mom relentlessly for weeks afterward.  It was
hard to find anything about Alan to dislike.  He was always kind, helpful,
supportive but most of all charming.  For the first couple of weeks of Alan
coming around and helping around the house and teaching Sam about cars, his mom
was uncharacteristically snappy and moody.  Alan was never deterred.  In fact,
it made him try harder.  The only time he ever saw Alan upset was when his mom
accused him of using Sam to get to her. Sam thought that was crazy since he
never hid his intentions.  He wanted her and told Sam from the very beginning.
Alan was pissed.  He left that evening.  He didn't come back for a week.  For
that week, Sam saw his mom watch out the window for him, just like she used to
for his dad.  He was so angry with Alan for leaving and hurting her.  But he
came back.  And when he did his mom answered the door with tears in her eyes.

“Are you over your snit now, Janie?” he asked. “Can we move
past the bullshit and have a real relationship?”  His face was hard and his jaw
clenched.  His green eyes were demanding.

She nodded. “Yes,” she whispered.

Alan's face melted into a relaxed smile. He'd been smiling
ever since.  Just like Dean.

Sam didn't know how anyone could be so damn happy all the
time.

“So,” Dean sprawled his long body in a kitchen chair.  He
scratched his head making his hair stand on end. “How did it go with your young
lady yesterday?”

“I don't know,” he answered honestly.

“How can you not know?  You don't know if
she's
interested?  Or you don't know if
you’re
interested? 

Sam ran a hand over his bearded chin.  The feel of it made
him wonder if he marked Lily's soft neck and breasts.  He hoped he did.  He
liked the thought of her seeing it and thinking of him.  “I'm interested.  She
just has some hang-ups.”

“Like what?”

“She has a seven-year-old son.”

“That's a hang-up?” Dean sounded surprised.

Sam narrowed his eyes. “No. It’s not a hang-up for me.  She
thinks she doesn't want or need a relationship.”

“I take that to mean you want a relationship with a woman
who doesn't want one with you?”

“That about sums it up.  She'll come around.”

Dean was silent for a minute.  “You might try being nice and
maybe take her on a date.  You know, say nice things and try to convince her
you’re not an ogre that's demanding something she's not ready to give.”

Sam's face turned dark and he aimed a glower at his brother.

“You didn't look at her like that did you? Cause if you did
she probably moved out of town already and changed her name.”

Sam clenched his jaw in irritation.  “I was plenty nice to
her yesterday.”

“Really?  It's a wonder she's not here knocking down our
door trying to see you.”

“We're done talking,” Sam said. He turned and grabbed his
coffee cup.

“I'm just trying to help,” Dean defended himself. “You don't
have the friendliest disposition sometimes.  Let's practice smiling in the
mirror after work today.”

Sam heaved a heavy sigh. “I'm not going to pretend to be
someone I'm not to attract a woman who has issues with being in a
relationship.  How do you think she would feel when she realized I'm not who
she thinks I am?  That's called lying, dumb ass.”

Dean looked thoughtful. “I think you have a point there,
Sam.”

Sam rolled his eyes and left the kitchen. “I'm going to eat breakfast
before work.  Get dressed if you’re coming.”

“Hopefully, that's not another line you use with the
ladies.  It may work on me but I'm easy.”  Dean called.

“So I've heard.  I'm leaving in five minutes.”

Sam and Dean sat in the cafe waiting for breakfast to arrive
when he saw a familiar blue Honda pull into the parking lot. Lily got out of
the car looking so different from what he was used to.  She wore a pink dress
that came almost to her knees and lightweight denim jacket.  On her feet, she
wore flat leather sandals.  He couldn't see her toes but he already knew they
were painted pale pink.  He watched her through the glass of the diner as she
approached the door.  She was so pretty his gut clenched.  But for some damn
reason, she straightened her beautiful curls.  Why would she do that?  Those
curls were perfect on her.

Had she come looking for him?  Was she actually seeking him
out?  Hope bloomed in his chest.

“Is that your girl, Sam?”  Dean asked.

“Yeah.”  Sam never took his eyes off her as she opened the
door and walked inside. She scanned the crowd, then stepped to the counter and
smiled a sweet smile at the older waitress standing at the register.  They
spoke for a moment and the other women disappeared into the kitchen briefly before
coming back out with a man in his early forties.  He took Lily in from head to
toe then motioned for her to follow him to the back.

“What the hell?”  Sam was on his feet before he even
realized it.

Dean grabbed his arm and yanked. “Sit down.  What are you
gonna do?  Bust in there and drag her out?  I'm sure that will endear you to
her much more.  Sit back down Sam, you can talk to her when she comes out.”

Sam slowly slid back into the booth. “She's here looking for
a job.”  He accused.

“Looks like it.  What's wrong with that?”

“She already works too hard.” He hardly noticed when the
food arrived, his eyes were trained on the kitchen door.

When Lily finally emerged ten minutes later, Sam stood and
made his way to her.  The guy she followed to the back smiled at her and they
shook hands.  Sam clenched his jaw.  He was obviously more than happy to give
Lily a job and it made Sam want to break his nose.  The pissed look on Sam's
face must have shown because the guys eyes got wide when he caught sight of him
standing over Lily.

Lily's heart thumped in her chest when she turned and saw
Sam looming over her.  All she could do was stare at him for a few seconds and
he just stared back.  Jeff, her new boss, cleared his throat.  “Oh...thank you,
Jeff, I'll see you next week.”

“That will be fine, Lily.”  He glanced curiously at Sam
again before walking back to the kitchen.

“Are you hungry, Lily?”  Sam asked.  His deep voice brought
back all the memories from the day before and her body started trembling.  She
needed a little space from him before she found herself begging for his
attention...again.

“No, thank you.  I need to get home.”  She turned and was
going to walk out the door when he snagged her hand with his much larger one.

“I’ll walk you out then.”  His voice was mild but she could
hear steel behind it.  What was his problem?

He practically dragged her to her car and then turned her so
her back was against it and he faced her. 

“What are you doing?”  His sounded irritated...no...
exasperated.  Her spine stiffened.

“Excuse me?” 

“Did you come here to get a job?”

“That's none of your business, Sam.” She snapped.  Did he
think he owned her now because of what they did yesterday? 

“You can't work here.”  He sounded firm as though that was
the end of it.

She was dumbfounded. “Excuse me?”  she repeated.  Her heart
beat wildly in her chest.  “You have no right to tell me what to do.”  How dare
he tell her what to do.  She took a deep breath trying to calm her frazzled
nerves.  “Things got a little out of hand yesterday, Sam, but that doesn't give
you the right to tell me what to do.”  She licked her lips. “I had a weak
moment but don't want to do it again.” Lie, lie.

“Did you like the way I touched you, Lily?” His rough voice
made her shiver.

“What?”  She hadn't expected him to actually bring up
yesterday's activities.

“Did you like the way I made you feel?”

Lily's eyes swept the parking lot. “Sam, this isn't the
place-”