I sighed.
“You take a shower, right?”
“Of course.”
“Why do you take showers?”
He stared at me blankly. “To get clean.”
“Exactly! The rain is pure. A gift from God. It cleanses the land, helps things grow.” I let go of his hand and started walking backwards so I was facing him. “You take a shower or bath to cleanse your body, but you walk in the rain to cleanse your heart and soul.”
“Oh,” he spoke.
I laughed. “Feel the rain. Lift your hands up and feel the way it falls on your hands.” I took his hands and faced them upwards. A small smile fell upon his lips as he stared at me. “I’m sure your soul needs a lot of cleansing. Take it all in, Parker.”
“Thanks, Emerson.” He frowned.
I laughed as I let go of his hands and picked up the pace in front of him. Before I knew it, he came up from behind and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist. I stopped, placing my hands on his arms.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking in all the beauty.” He kissed my cheek.
Chapter 22
Alex
Watching her dance in the rain was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. The way she viewed life and things were so different from the way I viewed them, but yet, the way she did started making sense to me.
I let go of her and she turned around and looked at me, wiping the rain from my face.
“We can go back to the cottage if you want.”
I gave her a small smile as I placed my hands on each side of her face. “No. Let’s walk a while longer.”
The corners of her mouth curved upwards and I hooked my arm around her as we continued our journey in the rain. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the rain stopped and the sun reappeared.
“Guess it’s time to go back now and change out of these wet clothes.” She smiled.
“Let’s go.”
When we entered the cottage, the first thing I did was kick off my shoes and take off my wet shirt before starting the water for a bath.
“What are you doing? Are you taking a shower?” she asked as she began to strip out of her wet clothes.
“We are taking a bath together.”
“Oh?” She arched her brow.
I took off my soaking wet pants and boxers and held my hand out to her. “Are you coming?”
“You tell me.” She bit down on her sexy lip.
“Get over here.”
She walked towards me and took my hand. As I led her into the bathroom, she stopped me as I was about to climb into the bathtub.
“Stop.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“There’s no bubbles.”
“Really? Do we really need bubbles?”
“Yes, we do, Parker. It’s customary when you take a bath with someone, you do it in a bubble-filled tub.”
She reached for the bottle that was labeled “Lavender bubble bath” from the shelf and poured more than a capful into the water.
I sighed. “Now I’m going to smell like a girl.”
She patted my cheek. “Shut up and get in the tub.”
I chuckled as I climbed in the oversized tub with my back against it. With the help of my hand, Emerson climbed in and nestled her back tightly against my chest as my arms wrapped securely around her. We sat there in silence for a moment and I pressed my lips against her head and she ran her fingers up and down my arm.
“We had dated for over a year.”
Her eyes darted up to mine. “Huh? Who?”
“Bella and I. Or, as you call her, ‘frizzy curly-haired woman.’”
“Oops. Sorry about that.”
“Things were great with us, or at least I thought they were. We talked about a future together. Our jobs, buying a house, settling in.”
“What happened?”
“One day while we were having lunch, she got a call and a job offer from an advertising agency in New York. Hell, I didn’t even know she had applied for it.”
“She didn’t tell you?”
“Nope. She told me she was going to New York to visit her best friend.”
“Wow. She sucks.”
“We got into a huge fight about it when she told me she was accepting their offer. She told me that I was a very selfish man and that I couldn’t stand to see her make something of herself and that I never supported her decisions.”
“Was that true?”
“No. It was the fact that she didn’t tell me about it in the first place. She had lied to me and that’s something I don’t tolerate.”
“Why did she feel like she had to lie to you?”
“I asked that very question and she couldn’t answer me. Finally, after hours of arguing, she said that she wasn’t happy and she was leaving.”
“Just like that?” she asked as she looked up at me.
“Yep. Just like that. The next day, she was gone without so much as a goodbye.”
“I’m sorry, Alex. That must have been hard on you.”
“It was for a while.”
“Were you in love with her?”
“I thought I was, even though I never told her, but her leaving made me realize that I wasn’t. She used to tell me that she loved me and the only response I would give was “me too.”
She narrowed her eyes at me and, with a tilted head, she spoke, “That’s what I would always say. The only guy I ever said those three words to was asshole Christian. But it didn’t count because I was sixteen and sixteen-year-olds just spew out those words as if it means nothing. Actually, it doesn’t mean anything at that age because sixteen-year-olds don’t even know what love is.”
“But you thought you loved him.” I smiled.
“Thinking it and actually being in it are two different things. I can actually sit here and tell you that I have no idea what real love between a guy and a girl is.”
“Let’s look it up.” I smiled as I reached over from the tub and grabbed my phone from the small table that sat next to it. After I Googled the word “love,” I pulled the definition from the Urban Dictionary since she seemed so fond of that site. I held it up in front of her to read out loud.
Before reading it, she looked up at me. “Wow. That’s an awful long definition, but here I go. Love is the most spectacular, indescribable, deep, euphoric feeling for someone. Love is an incredibly powerful word. When you're in love, you always want to be together, and when you're not, you're thinking about being together because you need that person and, without them, your life is incomplete. This love is unconditional affection with no limits or conditions: completely loving someone. It's when you trust the other with your life and when you would do anything for each other. When you love someone, you want nothing more than for them to be truly happy no matter what it takes because that's how much you care about them and because their needs come before your own. You hide nothing of yourself and can tell the other anything because you know they accept you just the way you are and vice versa. It's when they're the last thing you think about before you go to sleep, and when they're the first thing you think of when you wake up, the feeling that warms your heart and leaves you overcome by a feeling of serenity. Love involves wanting to show your affection and/or devotion to each other. It's the smile on your face you get when you're thinking about them and miss them. Love can make you do anything and sacrifice for what will be better in the end. Love is intense and passionate. Everything seems brighter, happier, and more wonderful when you're in love. If you find it, don't let it go.”
“Nicely done,” I spoke as I set down my phone. “I can officially say that I have never been in love.” I chuckled.
She let out a light laugh. “Me neither. So why were you kissing her?”
“I wasn’t kissing her. You must have seen us when she kissed me. The minute her lips hit mine, I pushed her away. She told me that she regretted leaving me and she was hoping that maybe we could try again.”
“How long ago did th
e two of you break up?”
“Five years ago. It was right before my father passed away. After she left and I thought about all the time wasted with her, I made a vow never to attach myself to one person again.”
“I understand. So you went on a heart-breaking spree instead.”
“Look who’s talking.” I chuckled.
“I know. I guess we have more in common than we thought we did.” She smiled.
“It seems that way. Doesn’t it?”
“So after five years, she just thought you’d take her back?”
“I guess.”
“Must be that frizzy, curly hair.” She laughed.
I laughed with her as my grip around her tightened. “So now you know about Bella. Now who is Keith?”
She sighed. “A dogsled racer from Alaska.”
“What? You went to Alaska? Why?”
“Because Emily and I really wanted to see for ourselves if it stayed dark all day for long periods of time.”
“Well, that depends on where you are in Alaska. Doesn’t it?”
“Yes, and where I was, it stayed dark or dusk all day during the winter months. But it was beautiful there.”
“Why did you leave?”
“Never stay in one place too long, Parker. Plus, after two months of no sunlight, I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“And Keith?”
“Keith was a nice guy. I never slept with him or anything. We went out a few times and had some fun. Occasionally, he will call or text me just to find out how I’m doing.”
My hands roamed to her breasts and began massaging them lightly. I had held off long enough without touching her and my cock was ready to devour her. She closed her eyes and let out a low moan as my fingers played with her hardened nipples. My tongue explored her neck as she tilted her head to the side. My cock was semi-hard when she nestled against me, but now it was rapidly rising in excitement. She turned around and wrapped her legs around me as I slowly entered her. Her hands planted firmly on my shoulders as we stared into each other’s eyes while she slowly moved up and down. Our lips met with seduction and her pace was slow and steady. Moans escaped us in between kisses as the pressure was building. I reached my hand under the water and pressed my finger against her clit, heightening her pleasure as she circled her hips around my cock. She threw her head back as my tongue slid down her throat while she reached the peak of her orgasm, causing me to lose control and spill everything I had deep inside her. Our eyes locked and it was at that moment that I knew I was falling deep and hard for her and it scared the living fuck out of me.
Chapter 23
Emerson
After a long day and a lot wine, Alex and I settled into bed. I took my phone from the nightstand and brought up the video of me and Emily in the car, singing “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” I handed my phone to him to watch.
“I’ve always liked this song.” He smiled.
“It was our favorite song.”
“When was this taken?”
“The day of the accident.” A tear formed in my eye. “About an hour before.”
“She looks exactly like you. If she were here, I honestly don’t know if I could tell you apart.”
“She had a birthmark on her right hip. That was how my parents could tell us apart when we were babies.”
“Did you ever pull the twin switch on a guy?”
I laughed. “Once. Right before our sixteenth birthday, Emily was dating this guy, and he was really needy and clingy. She didn’t want to see him anymore but didn’t have the heart to break his heart. So, I did it for her as her.”
“Did he ever find out it was you?”
“No. Not that I know of.”
“That was nice of you to do that for her.”
“Like I told you before, there wasn’t anything we wouldn’t do for each other.”
He set my phone down and reached over, pushing my hair behind my ear. I yawned and he laughed.
“Am I boring you?”
“Just a little.” I grinned.
“Is that so? Well, maybe I need to make things a little more exciting.” He rolled me over so I was lying on my stomach as his fingers pushed the fabric of my panties to the side and he dipped them inside me.
“Is this better?”
“Oh yes,” I moaned in excitement.
****
We spent the next few days touring the wineries and taking in everything Napa Valley had to offer. On our last night there, I secretly signed us up for a cooking lesson. After all, Alex did drag me golfing, which I had never done before. But I played nice and pretended that I was interested when I really wasn’t. I accidentally hit him with the club, which was his fault for standing so close. Even though I hit him, that was my first hole-in-one and I jumped up and down, screaming with excitement as he held his arm. Oops.
The next morning, we checked out and started our drive back to Malibu. I was flipping through the radio stations when “Don’t Look Back in Anger” started to play on the radio.
“Sing with me.” I smiled as I held up my phone.
We sang loudly as I recorded us. When the song ended, I held up my hand to him for a high five.
“I sent the video to your phone so you’ll never forget me.”
“Thanks.” He smiled. “But I don’t think I could ever forget you.”
I looked at him and then turned to look out the passenger window. After about thirty minutes of silence, Alex spoke.
“I have to go out of town tomorrow for a couple of days. But when I get back, I thought maybe we could hit the golf course. What do you say?”
“Where are you going?”
“To Seattle. I’m meeting with a friend of mine. We are looking into opening a hotel together.”
“Have fun. I hope it rains.” I smiled.
He laughed. “It’s Seattle. I’m sure it will be raining.”
“I’ll play golf with you again and I promise I won’t hit you with the club or score a hole in one, so you won’t feel emasculated.”
He looked over at me and frowned. “I didn’t feel emasculated.”
“Yes you did!” I laughed. “The look on your face was priceless when I made that shot.”
“It was luck, Emerson. Pure luck!”
“Okay, smarty pants. We’ll see if that luck continues.” I smirked.
****
Alex
The next morning, I softly kissed Emerson’s head before tiptoeing out of her room so I didn’t wake her up. But I did the minute my hand gripped the doorknob.
“Sneaking off like you did the walk the shame or something, Parker,” she whispered with a smile on her face and her eyes still shut.
I turned and walked back to the bed, sitting down next to her and softly stroking her hair.
“No. I didn’t want to wake you. I have to leave for Seattle now.”
“Okay. Make sure to dance in the rain while you’re there.” She opened her eyes and looked up at me.
“I will.” A smile graced my face as I brushed my lips against hers and walked out of the room.
I sighed as I grabbed my suitcase and headed to the Bentley. Something didn’t feel right. I hated leaving her. The times we’d spent together since she arrived had been the greatest times of my life. I shook my head as I climbed in the back seat.
“Everything okay, Alex?” Phillip asked.
“I’m not sure, Phillip.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Health wise, yes.”
He shot me a look from the rearview mirror and gently smiled at me.
When the plane touched down in Seattle, it was raining. I couldn’t help but smile as I stepped off the plane. Once I arrived at Hotel Luxe, my room was ready and, as soon as I got settled, I met Simon for lunch down in the restaurant.
“Good to see you, Alex,” he spoke as we shook hands.
“Good to see you too, Simon.”
We took our seats at a quiet table in the corner and talked business fir
st.
“What’s wrong with you? You seem off today.”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“Come on, Alex. We’ve been friends for years. There isn’t anything you can’t tell me. I can see something is bothering you.”
“It’s just this girl that’s staying at my house. She’s really gotten to me.” I took a drink of my scotch.
His eyebrow raised as he looked at me in silence for a moment. “A girl is staying with you?”
“You know my friend Adam?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s his sister.”
“Ouch. That’s tough. How long have you known her?”
“It’s been almost two months and she’s so different from anyone I’d ever met. She’s mouthy, defiant, lives life irresponsibly. She travels the world for her twin sister, who died in a car accident eight years ago.”
“Huh?”
“It’s a long story.”
He picked up his drink and pointed at me. “It sounds like to me that you really care for this girl.”
“I do. I care for her a lot. More than I should. If I would have known this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have let Adam talk me into letting her stay with me.”
“How would you have known? Are you only thinking with your dick?”
I smirked. “No.”
“So you haven’t slept with her?”
“Oh, I have. Multiple times. More times than I should have because each time we have sex, it just gets better and better.”
“Well, my friend, it sounds like the two of you have a special connection. Have you told her how you feel?”
I took another sip of my scotch. “God no. I couldn’t. Besides, it doesn’t matter anyway.”
“Why?” He frowned.
“Because she’s leaving California in another month.”
“To go where?”
“I have no clue. All I know is that she won’t stay in California. It holds too many bad memories for her.”
“Oh. Then make her see that she can start over with new and good memories. If you’re really serious about her, make her see that living in California with you can be the best thing for her. Go after what you want, Alex. I shouldn’t have to tell you that.”
I sighed. “I know, Simon. But with her, it won’t be that simple. She’s a very complicated woman.”