My Once and Future Love (5 page)

He grinned. “Kinda do, yeah.”

My hands went to my hips and I glared at him.
“Take that back.”

“It’s adorable, really. A soft breath
followed by a tiny whistle.”

I smacked his arm. “You’re so lying!”

He caught my hand and laughed. “Cross my
heart and hope to die, Beth.”

“Damn.”

He shook his head, still laughing at me. “I
tell you I liked holding you
two years ago
and all you take
from the story is that you snore? No wonder they say women are
crazy.”

My cheeks flushed. “Shut up.”

“Do you believe you’re special to me
now?”

I let him pull me into his arms. “Warming up
to it.”

“
Finally
.”

I smacked his arm again. “Shut up.”

“So abusive,” he teased.

“You drive me nuts. It’s not my fault.”

“Look at that pout…” He kissed me, gently
sucking my lower lip into his mouth.

Unh.
One of his hands slid under the
back of my tee to stroke my spine. I leaned into him and he fell
back to sit on my bed.

We were that close to the bed?

I crawled on his lap so our faces would be
even height again.
Any
thing that maximized the kissing.

He laid back, my body following, and I felt
the hard-on he was sporting. One of his hands was tangled in my
hair, the other still caressing my back. We were getting pretty
hot. He’d just unfastened my bra when someone knocked on my
door.

I sat up so fast; I nearly fell backwards off
the bed. His hands tightened on my waist to save me.

“Elizabeth?” Oh god…his mother!

“Yes?” Praying my voice sounded normal.

“Do you still want to go out this
afternoon?”

“Um…” My eyes widened and I glanced down at
him. He nodded. “Sure!”

“Wonderful. Bring a sweater in case it gets
chilly this evening.”

“Yep. Be down in a minute!”

We heard her walk away. He started to giggle.
I put my hand over his mouth.

“Shhh! She might hear you and come back!” I
whispered.

He stopped and kissed my palm.

“Oh my God…” That was mortifying. I dropped
my hands to my sides.

“Bethie, we’re adults and she likes you. It’s
okay.”

I got off his lap. “She’s like a second mom
to me, Jacob. It’s a big deal. You need to sneak out to another
part of the house. I’m sure she saw your bike.”

Was it obvious I’d been making out? I went
into the bathroom. My lips were bright pink, my cheeks flushed, and
my hair needed brushing. Oh, yeah, and my
bra
was
undone.

God, that was close
.

“See you tonight?” he asked, watching me cool
my face.

“I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause I’ll be with your
mother
.”

He shrugged. “So I’ll hang out here for the
day.

“
Here?
”

“In the
house
.”

“Oh.” That was a relief.

He turned my face to him and kissed me again.
It was short. “See you later, love.”

“Uh-huh.”

He kept turning me into Dreamy-Beth. Oh, I
was in so much trouble…

He left. I heard a door open and shut down
the hall. When I finally felt presentable, I walked downstairs and
found him chatting with Mrs. Lindsey.

“Did Mother wake you, Beth?” Stinker.

“Uh, no. I was just in the middle of
something. Sorry to keep you waiting, Mrs. Lindsey.”

“It’s alright, dear. There was no rush. Shall
we?”

“Yep.”

She placed her hand on his arm, a gesture of
affection. “Goodbye, dear. Do you have plans today?”

“Nope. Maybe some writing.”

“Then perhaps we can reunite for dinner. Come
along, Elizabeth. I’ll show you my favorite spots as a girl.”

Mrs. Lindsey took her purse from a servant on
the way to the door. I followed, glancing back at him just before I
walked outside. He winked at me.

Chapter Five

Jacob was in the conservatory testing a
melody on the piano when he heard their voices. The front door shut
as he walked into the foyer.

“There are my two favorite ladies.”

They turned and smiled at him, both carrying
shopping bags.

“Have fun?”

Beth nodded. “Vivian took me to this really
old bookstore that only carries vintage texts!”

“Ahhh. There goes any hope of seeing you
surface the rest of your vacation,” he teased.

“That is an exaggeration, sir.”

“We also went to the art museum,” his mother
said.

“Is
that
what they’re calling clothing
stores these days?”

“Hush.” Mother thrust her bags into his
hands. “Be a good boy and carry these to my room.”

“
Yes
, Mum.”

They giggled as he walked away. His girl and
his mother bonding—no good could come from this.

He put his mother’s loot by her closet and
left her room. Coming down the hall, he saw Beth enter her bedroom
and slipped in behind her.

“Jacob!”

“What?” He took the bag out of her hand and
wrapped his arm around her waist. “I missed you.”

“It was only a few hours.” Her breathing
quickened when he nibbled on her neck. “Stop that.”

“But you like it,” he said, grinning against
her throat.

“I don’t want a mark.”

“I can find a place that doesn’t show.”

She pushed him away. “We need to get
downstairs.”

He sighed. “As you wish.” He’d just get her
alone later.

Mum was speaking to her cook about the
night’s menu. “There you are. Does Chinese work for both you?”

“Sure.”

“She just means takeout, love.”

Beth’s lips formed a soundless “o”.

His mother shook her head. “Au contraire,
darling. I’ve been collecting recipes since my last visit and Rose
has kindly agreed to indulge them. Another fifteen minutes,
yes?”

The cook nodded and went back to the kitchen.
He preferred the one they employed when he was a child. This lady,
while good at her job, rarely said a word or laughed. He felt staff
should be like family if they were living in your house
twenty-four-seven.

“Jacob, you should show Elizabeth your old
room while we wait,” his mother suggested.

“Aw, Mum, it’s not very interesting--”

Beth interrupted him. “I’d love to see it, if
you come with us, Vivian.”

“’
Vivian’?
”

Two pairs of eyes settled on him.

“Yes, dear. Calling me by a title is entirely
too formal.” She smiled at Beth. “Elizabeth is like family.”

“We’ve become good friends the past two
years,” Beth added. “If I’m not being too bold.”

“Of course not.”

He waved in their field of vision. “Ladies?
Still here?”

They glanced at each other with amused grins.
Oh, definitely not a good sign
.

****

Watching Jacob interact with his mother made
me homesick. I resolved to call Mom after dinner.

Vivian coming along to give me a tour of the
house put me at ease. He had one thing on his mind right now, and
until I had a chance to tell him to slow down, I didn’t want to be
left alone with him.

A large estate, the house had formal and
informal rooms. The family rooms had obviously been used more
often, the chairs and sofas broken in and personal items left here
and there. Upstairs, Vivian led me to his boyhood room located next
to the master suite.

The room reflected a boy that hadn’t yet
reached puberty, with stuffed toys and action figures still on the
shelves. A child-size acoustic guitar sat in the corner. The twin
bed was decorated with navy blue bedding. A moment frozen in
time.

“Do you still sleep in here?” I asked
him.

“Not if I can help it. Bed’s too short.”

I walked over to the bookshelves. “Definitely
different than your room at home.” The walls and furniture were
white, with accents in primary colors. “Especially the black
phase.”

“You’re never goin’ to let me forget that,
are you?”

“The Black Hole? Not likely. Has he always
done crazy things when he’s bored?”

“Creative ones, yes,” Vivian said. “I once
found him--”

He muffled her statement with his hand.
“That’s enough stories for one day, Mum.”

She pushed his hand away. “Darling, it’s just
Elizabeth. I’m not blabbing your secrets to the press,” she
teased.

I admired that woman so much for keeping up
with him, and especially when she won. If we hadn’t started out as
tutor and student, he would’ve steamrolled right over my teen
confidence. Bossing him into buckling down with his homework was
the only way I could keep on even ground. Now, I could verbally
spar with him, but he still intimidated me.

A chime sounded over the intercom, signaling
dinner was ready.

Vivian had the head of the table, with me and
Jacob at each hand so we sat across from each other. They talked
more about what they’d missed in each other’s lives.

I listened.

****

Mom gave me a phone card for the
long-distance minutes, so I used it when I called from my room.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mom.” I flopped on the bed.

“Beth! Are you having fun, honey? What time
is it there?”

“Around seven-thirty. We just finished
dinner. I saw Jacob play last night, and went out with Mrs. Lindsey
today.” No way was I telling her about the kissing.

“Oh, what did you see?”

I twirled the phone cord around my fingers.
“Part of a museum, this really cool vintage bookstore, and some
clothes shopping. Mrs. Lindsey has some fundraiser thing to attend,
so we picked out a nice dress.”

“I assume you didn’t leave the bookstore
empty-handed.” I could hear the smile in her voice.

“You know me well, Mom. Is Dad still
grumbling?”

“He’ll be glad you called, I’ll say that. He
means well.”

I sighed. “I know. And I’m fine. The house is
nicer than any hotel I’ve ever been in and we’re getting along
great.” By “we”, I meant Mrs. Lindsey.

“Good to hear. Call whenever you want, okay?
We miss you.”

“Love you, too, Mom. Bye.” Feeling better
about being across the world from my family, I hung up.

Two knocks on my door, then the door opened.
“Hey.” Jacob.

“Hey. What’s up?”

He closed the door. “You were quiet at
dinner.” He sat on the other side of the bed.

“Just listening.”

“Ah. I was wondering if I should head home,
yet.”

I looked up. “Doesn’t your mom want you to
hang around?”

He plucked at the duvet. “Didn’t want to get
in the way of girl time.” I realized he wasn’t completely secure
about this—us—either.

“Oh. I just got off the phone with Mom.”

“Everything alright?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Just checking in. My dad is
still pouting that I’m here and not at home.”

“Rough.”

“Would be, if he knew about last night.” I
shuddered.

He chuckled. “
Yeah
…that stays between
us.”

“Yep.”

He reached for my hand. “This scares me, too,
you know. We go down in flames, I lose you for good.”

I watched his thumb stroke the back of my
hand. “Is it worth the risk?”

One side of his mouth flicked up in a smile.
“Hope so. Don’t know, yet.”

“Ditto.”

We lapsed into a few minutes of silence. Was
the potential for love worth risking a friendship? How did anyone
know? How could they tell?

If we waited another ten years, we might not
have it figured out.

“So, the options are stay friends…or try
dating?”

He nodded. “Long distance dating.”

“No pressure…”

He sighed. “Yeah…”

I turned my body to face him and folded my
legs up to sit Indian-style. “Would you call or write more often
than you do now?”

He mirrored my position. “I’d try. You know
I’m not good at keepin’ track of time, so I hope there’d be
allowance for that.”

“Some. Depends on the reason. Studying for
midterms—excusable. Partying with your friends—not so much.”

“In case—not sayin’ it will happen—but in
case either of us meets someone at home…then what?”

“You want a contingency plan for a
hook-up
?”

“No! I’m
saying
…there’s always the
possibility one or both of us would fall for someone that we see
every day. The long-distance thing falls apart ‘cause people can’t
stay close. I’ve seen it at school.”

I frowned. “Then how does
anyone
make
it work?”

He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t
know. Might have to ask.”

“Maybe…maybe we shouldn’t start, then. Wait
until graduation on the proviso we’re both single at that
time.”

“Yours or mine?”

Good question. “Would you move back to L.A.
when you’re done here?”

He shrugged. “If I don’t have a contract,
then I’ll prob’ly
have
to, anyway. L.A. or New York.” Music
centers.

“Right…”

He took my hands in his. “There is a lot to
think about, but we don’t have to decide right now, Beth. It’s too
important to make a snap decision, yeah?”

“Really?”

He looked at me like it was the most stupid
question in the world. “Well,
yeah
. Do you see me with
another best friend?”

“I-I don’t know…I don’t know what you have
here.”

He locked eyes with me. “I only have one
Bethie.”

Color spread across my cheeks. “Oh.” When he
put it like that…

Honestly, I was a bit overwhelmed by the last
twenty-four hours. When I first decided to come to London this
summer, it was to
see
him again. Never dreamed we’d kiss,
let alone talk about a future
together
. So, yeah, I was
spun.

Rocked to the bloody core
.

Whether from jet lag or the emotional weight,
I yawned. “Sorry.”