Keep Me Safe (14 page)

“Well, yeah. I wouldn’t be too happy with you wanting a wife either.” He laughed and I hoped I’d dodged that for now. He used the back of his hand to brush some curls behind my shoulder. “I was rambling and I interrupted you. I’m sorry. What did you want to talk about?”

My brain was trying to come up with something logical to answer with.

“Um, I was just curious if you found out anything about the note on my car.”
Nice save Sadie.

“Oh! Yeah, let me get the papers I had over here earlier.” He walked back to the stack of papers he moved and brought them back over. “I checked it out, but he was in class when you were at the movies.”

“Class?” Brent wasn’t taking any courses when we split up. Not that we had been talking about much of anything towards the end, but he never mentioned wanting to go back to school.

“Yeah, apparently he’s taking two classes at USF this semester. I talked to his professor from that night’s class and he said he doesn’t take any kind of attendance, but there was a paper handed in from Brent that night.” I sat there quiet for a couple seconds. I guess I had overreacted.

“I guess it really was meant for someone else. Thanks for finding out what you could. I hate you wasted your time though.”

“No time helping you is a waste. If it made you feel even a little better, it was worth it and then some.” He put his arms out and I scooted in to lean into his chest. When his arms were wrapped around me and I could hear the slow, rhythmic beating of his heart, I finally calmed down. I tilted my head back to look up at him.

“Parker, there are things that I need to tell you. I don’t want to ruin tonight by telling you now though. I don’t want to hide anything from you, but I guess I’m asking for you to trust me to tell you when I’m finally ready.”

He took his middle finger and lightly brushed the few stray hairs on my forehead to the side. He slowly alternated between looking me in the eyes and at my lips. He was quiet for what seemed like forever.

“You’ll tell me when you’re ready. But I can promise you that when you do, that won’t change how I see you. I’ve never felt like I do right this minute. I can’t remember a single moment in my life where I was happier than I am right this very second. I’m crazy about you.”

A familiar peace washed over me as his lips touched mine. His hand, lightly against my cheek, pulled me slightly harder into his kiss. Our kiss intensified as my hand swept across the short hair on the back of his head. He leaned me back against the arm of the couch and leaned slightly on top of me while he continued to kiss me. Everything about him and his kisses were perfect.

A part of me wondered if he really was too good to be true. I was setting myself up for a huge heartache if he couldn’t accept certain things about me. I wanted him so badly, I really did. But I’d feel like I was betraying him if I wasn’t willing to tell him of my demons before I gave all of myself to him. 

It was almost as if he read my mind when he broke the kiss and sat back up.

“I could kiss you forever.” He leaned down and kissed me on my bare shoulder. “I don’t want you to feel rushed. I’d love to take you to my bedroom and never come out, but I wouldn’t feel right. I care about you too much to pressure you into something you’re not ready for.”

I could feel my eyes begin to fill with tears when he pulled me into the now familiar embrace, feeling his breath through my hair. He laid his chin on the top of my head and rubbed my arm.

“Do you want to watch a movie or are you ready to go home?”

“Let’s watch a movie. What do you have?”

“You can take your pick.” He got up and searched through a drawer in his entertainment center and pulled out a couple of movies. “Do you mind if I go change my clothes really quick? The collar on this shirt has been bothering me all night.”

“Oh, not at all. Go ahead.”

He walked towards the back of the house and I looked through the movie choices. I decided on a comedy, having had my fill of seriousness tonight. I sat back on the couch when Parker came back out holding a blanket. He was wearing dark jeans and a gray t-shirt that was tight enough to hint at his defined torso, but loose enough to be comfortable.
How did he always look so good?

“Did you find one you liked?” He unfolded the blanket and laid it over me when I held up my movie choice. When he put it in the DVD player and sat back down next to me, he used the other half of the blanket to cover his legs up. My head comfortably found his shoulder and his hand found mine under the blanket. He kissed the top of my head and I smiled to myself.

“Sadie, wake up,” Parker said softly while shaking me very lightly. The credits were rolling on the movie, but I didn’t remember seeing anything but the previews beforehand.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to miss the whole movie.”

“It’s okay, I’m happy that you were comfortable enough to fall asleep. I was going to just let you lay here, but I didn’t want you to wake up and forget where you were. Do you want to sleep here or do you want me to take you home?”

“Do you mind if I stay here? I’m so tired, I don’t even think I could stay awake in the car.”

“Of course I don’t mind. You can sleep in my room and I’ll sleep on the couch.” He stood up and held his hands out. He lifted me up and walked behind me, leading me with his hand on the small of my back to the bedroom. “Do you want something to sleep in? That dress can’t be very comfortable, even if I really do like looking at it.”

“Yeah, that would be great. Thank you,” I said as I sat down on the edge of his bed. He opened his dresser and pulled out a pair of black basketball shorts and a police department t-shirt. “I’ll go change and be right back.” I went into the bathroom and changed my clothes, having to pull the drawstrings of the shorts as tight as they would go so they wouldn’t fall off. When I got out of the bathroom, Parker was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for me.

“I wasn’t a fan of our work shirts until now.” He had a playful smile on his face as he reached over and pulled the comforter down for me. He patted the bed and I went over to lie on the sheets. He covered me up and leaned down to kiss me on the forehead.

“I’ll see you in the morning?” He stood up and started to walk away when I grabbed him lightly by the arm.

“No, stay.”

“With you…in here?”

“Yeah…in here.” I pulled the comforter down on the other side of the bed. My voice conveyed innocence and I knew he wouldn’t take advantage of my request, but his smile couldn’t have been any bigger.

“Okay. I’ll change my clothes and be right back.” I released my light grip on his arm and he grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom.

When he came back out, he was in red athletic shorts and the gray t-shirt he had changed into before the movie. He walked around to the other side of the bed and slid in behind me. He smelled of body spray that was different than anything he’d worn before. He wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed the back of my head. It didn’t take long for me to start drifting off.

Being in his arms was the most comfortable place I’d ever been. I couldn’t fathom how I really thought what Brent and I had was true love. My feelings for Parker were close to surpassing even the best day that I ever had with Brent.

“Spend the day with me tomorrow?” Parker whispered into my ear.

“Mmhmm.” I’m not sure whether he heard me, but I was asleep too soon to hear a response.

Sixteen

The familiar aroma of coffee woke me up. I opened my eyes and rolled over, only to find that I was alone. Parker wasn’t lying next to me anymore. The clock on his bedside table said 7:53am. Did he always get up this early?

I got up and stretched my arms when I remembered I was wearing Parker’s clothes. I pulled the shirt up to my nose and it smelled like him. I closed my eyes and took it in.

“Good morning, beautiful. I hope all my noise in the kitchen didn’t wake you up.” He walked over to the bed with a tray. I could see the huge variety on the plate - pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast and a cup of coffee. “I don’t have pumpkin coffee like you ordered at Starbucks, so I brought you cream and sugar, hopefully that’s okay.” He set the tray down in my lap and looked very proud of himself.

“That’s so sweet Parker. Thank you for this. Cream and sugar are fine.”

He leaned down and kissed me briefly, then walked to the other side of the bed to sit down. “You’re welcome. You’re so cute when you sleep. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Don’t I do this,” I crinkled up my nose, “while I’m sleeping?” 

Parker laughed, “Yes actually, you do. And it’s ridiculously adorable.”

I blushed and changed the subject.

“You usually work until two in the morning. Do you always get up so early?”

“No, not usually, but your snoring woke me up.”

“I don’t snore!” I laughed and threw the small piece of bacon at him. He put his hands up to cover his face and the bacon bounced off and stuck to his shirt. He picked it off and ate it with a huge grin on his face.

“Alright fine, you don’t snore. I just couldn’t sleep anymore for some reason. I thought we’d go somewhere today. Want to?”

“Sure! Where did you want to go?”

“I thought maybe we could drive to Sarasota and go to Siesta Key, maybe have some lunch there?”

“That sounds awesome. Can we go stop my house so I can change my clothes and grab a couple things first?”

“Yeah of course, when do you want to leave?”

“As soon as I finish this yummy breakfast,” I mumbled around the food I just shoved in my mouth.

“I told you I knew my way around a kitchen.”

I nodded in approval.

When I finished my breakfast, I changed back into my dress and went out to the living room.

“There’s that dress again,” Parker said as he walked up to me. He grabbed me by the finger and spun me in a circle to look at me. “Damn you’re hot. I’m going to get dressed and get some stuff for the beach. I’ll be right back.” He kissed me on the cheek and walked towards his room.

After he left, I used the mirror by the front door to check my hair and face. I could’ve looked worse I guess. He came out wearing a pair of blue swimming trunks and a white t-shirt. He was carrying a bag and a couple of towels.

“Are you ready to go?” He put the towels in the bag and grabbed his keys and sunglasses.

“Yup, ready when you are.”

We walked out of the house and got in the car. Parker turned on the ignition and put the top down, causing the sunshine to beat down on my bare arms. There wasn’t much that felt more amazing. We drove the fifteen minutes to my house holding hands the entire time, catching each other looking at the other a lot. Every time I would look away from him when he caught me, I’d stifle a smile and he’d give my hand a squeeze.

When we got to my house, we went inside and I went to find my bathing suit. I only owned one since I hadn’t been to the beach very often before moving into the new house. I checked myself in the mirror admiring the sixty dollar purchase I made last year. It was a black two piece with a strap that went over one shoulder and ruched bottoms. I threw my white cover-up on and grabbed my white flip flops. I fixed my hair, leaving my braid in and putting the rest of it in a messy bun. I grabbed my sunscreen and lotion out of the bag under the bathroom sink and went back out to the living room.  

“Alright, I’m ready.” I dropped my sandals on the floor and put my feet into them. I grabbed a tote bag out of the hall closet, pulled my wallet and phone out of my purse and shoved it all into the bag.

“Okay. Let’s get outta here!”

The drive to Siesta Key took about an hour. It was a beautiful day. Not too windy, right around seventy five degrees and not a cloud in the sky. That was one of my favorite things about Florida. Sure, it was miserably hot during the summer and we never had a true winter, but the end of the year was beautiful. November was so comfortable.

We found a decent place to park and walked down to the beach hand in hand. We laid our towels out side by side about twenty feet from the water. I grabbed the sunscreen out of my bag and put some on my face since it really only took a few minutes for my skint to burn without it.

“Would you put some of this on my back and shoulders?” I asked while holding the bottle out to him.

“You know it.” I turned around and pulled the stray hair that has fallen out of my bun to the side. He rubbed the sunscreen in very slowly, kissing each shoulder after he was finished. “Your freckles are so cute.”

“Everyone says that. I’ve never met a freckled person who actually likes them, now that I think about it.” I laughed, knowing all the times that I’ve had to say thank you for something I could never stand. “Thank you, though.”

“Join me in the water?”

“No way. I don’t do the water,” I protested shaking my head.

“Seriously? You live on the beach and you don’t do the water?”

“Nope. I had a science teacher in high school that loved marine biology and dedicated a whole week of class to it. He showed us all kinds of videos and stuff. Between the red tide and the animals in the water, it was enough to scare me away from the ocean.”

“This isn’t the ocean, it’s the gulf.”

“Same difference,” I laughed.

He stuck his bottom lip out a little bit and pouted like a little kid.

“Please? I promise I won’t let anything get you. I’ll even carry you if you want me to. Then you won’t have to touch the bottom.”

“You can’t make that face. That’s not fair. How the hell do I say no to that?”

“You don’t!”

He stuck his hands out and waited for me to give up my fight. When I finally let him help me up, he let go of my hands.

“Hang on,” he yelled. Before I could understand why he said it, he grabbed me by the waist and threw me over his shoulder. He had his arm wrapped tightly around my legs to keep me from falling backwards, but that didn’t keep my legs from flailing in front of him.

“Put me down, Parker!” I tried to sound angry but failed when all that came out was a fit of giggles and squeals.