Serenity Falls (18 page)

Slowly,
I ease my body out of my chair, deciding that this conversation is a little too
much for me. When I asked what their plans after college were, I didn’t mean
for it to take the turn that it seems to be taking now. I remove myself from
the conversation as I back away before they have the chance to notice I’m gone.
Later, I’ll ask her again, this time about her plans. Not hers and Liam’s. I
turn around and lift up on my tiptoes to look for Wes. When I spot him, his
back is turned, and he’s talking to a group of guys. I only recognize a couple
of them. One, I know, and the other, I’ve only met once. Brantley and Reid. A
smile appears on my face as I walk toward him. I can touch him in front of
everyone now, and not worry about people knowing about us. Right before I get
to him, I hear someone yell, “Hey, Kenleigh, what’s up?” I look to my left and
inwardly groan. Jackie.

I
don’t really want to talk to her, but I don’t want to be rude either. I’m aware
that she has some sort of problem with me. Why? I don’t know, but I hope to
find out. Her pointed looks and closed off behavior haven’t gone unnoticed.
Deciding that this is my opportunity to find out what’s wrong between us, I
smile and walk over to her. “Hey, Jackie.”

She
takes a drink from her blue, plastic cup before looking at me. “How was your
first year of college?”

Maybe
she’s over whatever she was upset about, and this will be a normal conversation
after all. “It was good. I studied a lot, but it paid off in the end.”

“That’s
good. I know, last summer before you started, you said you were still undecided
on your major. Is that still the case?”

“A
little, yeah. But I’m leaning more toward nursing, now.”

She
turns her attention back to the crowd before she replies with a nod. “I think
that suits you. You’d make a great nurse. So, how are you liking the change up
Mr. and Mrs. Adams did this year?”

“You
mean, how she gave us our own kids to work with? I like it. I like the group
thing, too, but I feel like I can build a stronger connection with just one
kid.”

“Me
too,” she replies. We stand there in awkward silence for a few minutes before
she turns to me with her eyebrows raised. “So, you and Wes, huh?”

Inwardly,
I groan. I knew something was up, but I never would have figured it would be
Wes and me. As soon as she realized I was staying in the main house, she’s
tried to avoid me ever since. “Yep.” My reply is nonchalant. I refuse to let
her get to me.

“I
don’t like it. You’re a nice girl and all, but a little too nice for Wes, if
you know what I mean.” Her tone has an edge to it, and
I
don’t like it.
Wow!
Tell me how you really feel.

“Actually,
I don’t know what you mean. What does me and Wes being in a relationship have
to do with you?”

“It
has everything and nothing to do with me. When this summer is done, you’ll be a
forgotten memory in his book like all the others. You will be the last thing on
his mind,” she answers, raising her glass to me.

“What
are you talking about?” I’m pretty sure they’ve slept together, but I don’t
want to assume anything. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.

“We
slept together three summers ago.” I knew it. A woman scorned. “It was only
once. All summer, we flirted, held hands, hidden touches. He took me out to
this tree house that he and Mr. Adams built when he was a kid. I thought it was
so sweet for him to take me somewhere special to him like that. It was the
night we slept together.” As soon as the words left her mouth, I felt as if
someone had punched me in the gut. He took me there. He made me feel special.
And now, I feel like a damn fool. Jackie doesn’t even notice that I’m not
listening to her as she continues, “I thought it was something more. He had
other plans.”

She
takes a deep breath and looks ahead. I follow to where her eyes are trained, or
should I say whom. Wes. “The next day, he acted as if nothing happened between
us. When I confronted him about it, he played it off like it was no big deal.
He said it was a good time, but that’s all it was.” She looks back at me. A
single tear rolls down her cheek. “You know what the worst part was? He clapped
me on the shoulder as he said ‘I’ll see you around’. I felt like the biggest
fool.”

I’m
shocked to hear that he was so cold to her. That doesn’t sound like the Wes I
know at all. The first night we slept together, he was so tender—he made it all
about me. He’s never once made me feel used or cheap. His words from before
play back in my head.
I’ve lived a fast life
and
I know I needed to
change.
Could he do to me what he did to Jackie? No. He’s been nothing but
honest, sweet, caring, and gentle with me. Sarah’s words from earlier come back
to me,
‘Just remember, even good people have made mistakes and have their downfalls.’
They sure do.

“I’m
sorry that happened to you,” I reply softly, and I am.

“Don’t
feel sorry for me. I’m just warning you ahead of time what he’s like,” she
snaps.

I
know she’s upset, and a part of me feels bad for her, but another part of me
wants to say it was three summers ago. You need to get over it. But I can’t and
I won’t say that, because I’ve never been in that situation before. Even when I
lost my virginity to Jarred, and even though it was only that one time, I
didn’t feel used. We weren’t
in
love,
but we did love each other. I take a deep breath, trying to figure out what to
say. As bitter as she is right now, I know nothing I say will matter. “I don’t
really know what to say.”

“You
don’t what to say. How about you go tell him y’all are through, before he
breaks your heart too,” she grits out.

I
roll my eyes and suppress a laugh. She would want me to break things off with
him. All that shit about the tree house, I don’t doubt it’s true, but still she
said all this shit just to plant a seed of doubt in my head. I may be a little
timid, but I’m not a fool.

I
close my eyes and take another deep breath. I’m really not a confrontational
person, but everyone has a snapping point. “I’m not gonna do that, Jackie.”

“But—”

I
hold up my hand, cutting her off.

“I’m
not going to end things with him because of what he did to you. Like I said,
I’m sorry for what happened to you, but I like Wes
a lot
, and I think he
feels the same way about me. He’s told me a little of what he used to be like,
but I can tell you, he’s not like that with me.”

“Then
you’re just as delusional as every other tramp he fucks,” she scoffs.

I
gasp from the hostility that she’s directing toward me. What happened to the
fun and chatty Jackie that I met last summer? Now, it’s my turn to be pissed
because, quite frankly, I’m hurt by her words. “Fuck you, Jackie. I’m not some
tramp. How dare you say that to me? I’ve been nothing but nice to you since
we’ve met. Then you come here this summer and shoot daggers at me from across
the room for no reason. I didn’t come here looking for some summer romance or a
meaningless fling. I met a great guy, and I’m not going to apologize for it.
And I’m definitely not going to stop seeing him because that’s what you want.”
My chest heaves up and down from the hurt and anger boiling inside me. Right
before I turn to leave, I add, “When you’re done being bitter, come find me.
I’d like to talk about this like two adults.”

I
didn’t realize how loud I was being until I spun around. I’m surprised to see
Wes standing behind me, arms crossed over his chest, and a menacing look on his
face. He looks from Jackie to me, and I can tell that he’s wondering if I’m
going to bolt because of what she said. I stand there, slowly taking in how
many sets of eyes are on me. I take a deep breath and stand behind what I just
said to Jackie. My steps are slow but deliberate as I walk up to him. I reach
out and cup his cheek. He looks down at me with sad eyes as he leans into my
touch. “This doesn’t change anything between us. I’m still here, but right now,
I’m gonna head back to the house,” I say quietly.

“You
want me to come with you?” he asks as his head hangs down in shame of what I’ve
just found out.

“No.
You stay here and hang out with your friends. I just need to be alone right
now.”

“I
really think I should come with you. Obviously. We need to talk about this.”

“You’re
right. We do, but right now, I need some space. I need to process all of this,
but know this.
We
are okay. Okay?” I whisper, lifting his head, only to
wait for his eyes to meet mine.

“I
understand,” he murmurs with a slight nod. “I can drive you back if you want.”

I
shake my head. “I’m gonna see if Brantley will do it.”

“I’m
sorry that you had to find out about that—”

I
place my finger over his lips, quieting him.

“I
don’t want to talk about it right now. We will later, but right now, I need to
go.” I lift up on the tips of my toes and gently kiss his lips. “I’ll see you
later.”

“See
you later.” He wraps his arms around my waist, tightly crushing me to him. “I
don’t want to lose you, Kenleigh,” he mumbles against my shoulder. He pulls
back and looks at me, his sad eyes piercing my heart. “I can’t lose you.” He
hugs me tighter to him like it’s the last time I will be in his arms. I smooth
my hands down his hair, not saying anything. In his arms like this, I feel
safe, and in this moment, I feel, way down deep in my gut, that he would never
intentionally hurt me.

 “You
haven’t lost me,” I whisper against his ear.

Too
soon, he releases me, and I walk over to Brantley. As I approach him, he waves
for me to follow him. I don’t even have to ask. He already knows. His large
frame stands there, straddling the seat of the four-wheeler, and I hop on
behind him.

A
little while later, we pull up to the house, and he kills the ATV. I push up,
about to get off, when Brantley stops me by grabbing my hand. “I’m sorry for
what Jackie said to you,” he says. The sincerity in his tone causes me to tear
up. “I’m not making excuses for her. What she said was wrong, but we talked the
other night and she said she caught you and Wes in the barn the other day.” I
nod my head agreeing with him. I knew I felt someone in there with us. “She’s
hurt, Kenleigh. She really liked him, and thought the feeling was mutual.
Jackie told me the passion she saw between the two of you was something they
never experienced, and I don’t think she knows how to handle it all that well.”

“All
that well? She called me a tramp, Brantley.” A tear slips free with my reply.

He
turns his head, looking away from me. “I know. We all know. We all heard what
she said to you. Like I said, I’m not trying to make excuses for her. Hell,
even I’ve seen the differences in Wes. You’re good for him, and I’m not going
to deny it, but I think in Jackie’s own way, she was trying to protect you from
what she went through with him.” Brantley takes a deep breath and reverts his
eyes back to mine. “Honestly, I thought he would have screwed you over by now,
but like you said, people change, and I think he has for the better. Don’t let
what she said get to you too much. I’ll talk to her.”

I
shake my head vigorously. I don’t need anyone to fight my battles for me. “I
appreciate it, but you don’t need to do that. She needs to come to me, and if
she doesn’t, then I’ll go to her. But until then, I think we both need to cool
off. I’m not going to apologize for being with Wes, especially since I didn’t
know about them beforehand. He makes me happy, and that’s something I’ve been
waiting to feel for a long time. And if that’s something she can’t accept, then
so be it.”

“I
know what you mean. Just know that she’s been going through some pretty bad
shit in her life lately. I think seeing the two of you together was finally the
straw that broke the camel’s back.”

My
eyebrows scrunch in confusion as I look at him. “What are you talking about?”

“If
you wanna know, then she’s the one you need to be asking. All I’m going to say
is, cut her a little slack.” He releases my hand and re-starts the
four-wheeler. “I’m going to head on back. If you need anything, call me, all
right?”

I
nod. “Have fun.” I step away from the four-wheeler as he pulls forward and
takes off.

As
soon as Brantley dropped me off, I went into the house and decided to start
some laundry. I needed to do something to take my mind off the argument between
Jackie and me. Mrs. Sandy and Mr. Will said last night that they would be gone
most of the day running errands. As I sit in the middle of the living room
floor folding a load of clothes, the screen door screeches open. Standing in
the middle of the doorway is Wes, covered in mud. His eyes look cautious as he
stares back at me. Slowly, he moves in my direction, holding my gaze, until he
comes to a stop in front of my pile of clean clothes. Kneeling down, he takes a
hold of my hands. His head drops as he heaves a deep sigh. “I’m so sorry. I
should have told you about Jackie, but I didn’t know how to,” he says softly.

“Was
she right? Did you really use her like that?”

He
nods sullenly. “I did. I told you about my lifestyle, and unfortunately Jackie
got caught in the crossfires of it.” He takes a deep breath, slowly lifts his
head, and looks me in the eyes. “If I would have known how she really felt, I
would have never led her on the way I did. I never would have slept with her.
And because of my mistake, you’re the one paying for it.”

“Did
you take her to the tree house?” For some torturous reason, I need for him to
tell me even though I know I already have my answer.

When
I watch his eyes widen, that’s all the confirmation I need. Now I’m the one
nodding this time.

“You
don’t understand. Yes, I took her there, but with you, it was different,” he
rushes out.

“How?
How was it different, Wes? I thought that was somewhere special that only we
shared,” I reply, looking him square in the eyes. It baffles me to think the
tree house was
our
thing.

“It
was. I didn’t decorate it with lights for her like I did you. There was no
romantic ambiance set when I took her there. I never cared to do anything like
that for a girl… woman… whatever, until I met you.”

My
thumbs move back and forth, grazing his knuckles as I sit here and try to
process this information. I can cut my losses with him now before I jump all in
and possibly get my heart broken, or I can take what he’s saying at face value
and trust him.

“Say
something?” He pleads, his eyes begging me to say anything at all.

“I’m
not going to sit here and say that I’m happy about what happened between the
two of you, but I can’t blame you either. I didn’t know you then, or what place
you were at in your life at that time. I’m not expecting you to tell me every
single person that you’ve slept with, but I do expect you to be honest with
me.” I scoot closer to him so that our knees touch. “I think that Jackie would
be a lot less bitter toward the whole thing if you apologized to her. I can’t
make you, but she needs it, and maybe so do you.” I shrug my shoulders. “And
I’m sorry I got worked up about the whole tree house thing. I mean, I care, but
she planted this doubt in my head, and I don’t know why I let it affect me. I’m
sorry.” I drop my eyes in an attempt to avoid his piercing gaze. I feel foolish
for letting that wench get into my head.

“What
about us?” he asks quietly. The vulnerability in his tone shakes me to the
core.

“We’ll
work through it. I can tell that not too many people were thrilled by our
little public display of affection earlier, but I don’t care. I like what we
have, and I’m not going to let anyone or anything affect that.”

He
tugs on my hands and pulls me haphazardly into his lap. His arms bind around
me, anchoring me to him. I burst out laughing as my body smashes against the
cold, thick mud covering his clothes. “Stop! Wes, stop! You’re getting me all
muddy!”

Wes
pushes back on his heels with me still wrapped in his arms, and starts towards
the stairs. My laughter ceases as my legs circle around his waist, and I wrap
my arms around his neck. I hold on to him as he looks up at me. His demanding
blue eyes suck me in as everything else fades away. There is no Jackie. Her
hurtful words no longer matter. It’s just Wes and me, our gazes locked, not
saying a word.

I
don’t even realize that we’re in the bathroom until I hear the shower turn on.
He loosens his hold and slowly slides me down his body. The sound of the shower
curtain being pushed back blends with the sound of the water pelting against
the tub floor. He reaches out a hand to me as he steps in. For a second, I
debate whether this is the right thing to do, but then I think, screw it, you
only live once. I don’t care that we’re dressed. I would follow him anywhere.
Cautiously, I take his hand, stepping in with him. Never breaking our gaze, I
close the soft fabric, enclosing us in the shower. I still see the wariness in
his eyes as he looks at me. I know he thinks that, at any moment, I’m going to
bolt. But he’s wrong. I meant every word I said earlier.

Instead
of waiting for him to close the distance between us, I take the lead. I place a
hand on his chest, walking him backwards through the spray of the shower; his
back collides with the wall. Our clothes cling to us like a second skin. I can
feel my hair stick to the sides of my face. My eyes search his. I watch as the
water turns from clear to light brown, mixing with the mud as it cascades down
his face, caressing his perfectly shaped cheekbones, nose, lips, and jaw line.
I grip his shirt tight in my hands as I lean into him. His strong hands come up
to cup my face. My eyes flutter close at the contact.

“I’m
so sorry, Kenleigh. You have no idea.” He peppers kisses all over my face.
“Look at me, please,” he whispers against my lips.

“I’m
not a man who gets scared very often, but I was going crazy out there, thinking
that you and I were done. Especially when we just got started.” He leans down
and rests his forehead against mine. His eyes close for a moment as he takes a
deep breath. He opens his eyes before adding, “I don’t know what it is that
we’re doing, but I like it. I feel free, liberated. I’m happy when I’m with
you. You make me want to be a better man. I can’t explain my feelings for you,
but I know they’re growing stronger and stronger each day, and I do
not
want that feeling to end.”

I’m
stunned speechless by his confession. The more time we spend together, I feel
myself falling for him deeper and deeper, but I didn’t know he was feeling it
too. I tilt my head up and whisper against his lips, “I feel it, too.”

A
tentative smile pulls at my lips when he flashes me the brightest smile I’ve
ever seen. “Yeah? Really? I mean, you don’t ha—”

“Just
shut up and kiss me.” I cut him off with a chuckle.

His
hands go to my ass as he lifts me off the bottom of the shower and spins
around, pinning me against the wall. With a mischievous smile, his lips descend
on mine. “Yes, ma’am.”

Within
seconds, his tongue invades my mouth, seeking and exploring every inch. Our
hands search each other’s body as we tear at each other’s clothes. In no time,
we’re naked, and I’m gasping as he slips inside me. It takes no time for me to
adjust to his size. My fingers thread through his hair and gently tug it. I
groan loudly as he increases his thrusts. My body sings with pleasure when he
begins sucking and nipping my neck, collarbone, and that sweet spot behind my
ear. I’m blinded by lust. Our sweat mixes in with the water as it glides down
our bodies. “Wes… I’m so close,” I pant out.

“Fuck,
Baby… just a little bit longer,” he murmurs against my ear.

He
begins a ravenous pace, pounding into me as I meet him thrust for thrust. Just
as I explode, calling out his name, he pulls out and cum sprays all over my
stomach. I can’t help but look down.

Still
heaving deep breaths, I hear him say, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to
do. I got caught up in the moment and I didn’t know if you were on any type of
bir—”

“Stop,”
I say, cutting him off yet again.

“Huh?”

I
look up at him, and then back down to my stomach in amazement. “That was the
hottest thing I have ever seen.” A cocky grin tugs at the corners of his lips.
I roll my eyes. “Shut up.” A chuckle escapes the both of us at the same time as
he leans in and kisses me.

“What
have I done to you?”

“I
don’t know, but whatever it is, don’t stop.” I drop my legs from around his
waist and look up, meeting his eyes. “And, just so you know, I’m on birth
control. I have been for a long time.”

He
arches an eyebrow, silently asking me to explain further.

“My
periods.”

“All
right. You don’t have to explain any further.” He holds his hands up and shakes
his head. “Let me help you get rinsed off,” he says huskily as he pulls me
flush against him into the spray of the water. Before I can say anything, a
knock sounds on the door, paralyzing us both.

“When
you two are done, I’d like a word with the both of you, please.” Oh my gosh,
Mrs. Sandy. My head drops to his chest as I screw my eyes tightly shut. Heat
consumes my face from the embarrassment that I know I have to face her.

“Shit…
She knows, Wes. Your mom knows. They’re gonna kick me out of the house,” I
groan. My face snaps up to his as I suddenly realize they may make me leave all
together. “What if they make me leave? I don’t want to leave. I can’t go back
to campus yet. The dorms are closed for the summer. I’d have to go home.” I
ramble on and on, before Wes captures my lips with his.

“They
won’t make you leave. I promise you that. My parents love you, Kenleigh. And I
highly doubt they will make you move into the volunteers’ quarters. It’s going
to be fine.” He places a finger under my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Do
you trust me?”

I
nod. “Yes. I trust you,” I whisper.