Divided (13 page)

“You keep this up and I might not leave on Sunday.” I said as he massaged one foot and then the other. Since he was in a willing mood I pulled my foot away and turned my back in his direction.

He moved his large hands over my back pulling me to sit between his knees as he began massaging my lower back, slowly easing up until he reached my shoulder. “You know this string is in the way.” He said, playfully tugging on my bikini top that was tied around my neck and around my back.

“It’s going to stay in your way, Kraft.” I told him on a laugh. He continued to massage and I couldn’t get the vision of us in bed together out of my head.

When we were all pruned, we decided it was time to go. I headed back to the locker room and changed back into my winter gear. I met Ryan near the entrance. I didn’t want to go back to the hotel but I didn’t tell him that when I saw him pass the hotel and head for his house I didn’t complain, and instead smiled to myself. I just wish I had a change of clothes though. My hair was a mess and I smelled like chlorine.

The clouds were thickening and it looked like a storm was moving in. When we reached Ryan’s house, the temperature outside had dropped dramatically. I ran inside to where it was nice and toasty as Ryan closed the garage door and put his stuff on the kitchen table.

“Would you like to take a shower?” He asked.

“Yes, I’d love one.” I told him, “But I don’t have any clothes to change into.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“I can give you some of mine to borrow.” He replied, as I followed him up the stairs. From his room he took out a pair of sweat pants and a North Dakota College long sleeved shirt. I made a mental note to steal his shirt. I planned to sleep in it every night.

He walked to the linen closet and pulled out a fresh towel. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me. Get comfortable, there’s a storm coming and we won’t be able to go back out until morning.”  The way he drops the storm information on me it was like he wanted to slide it in without me realizing what he said.

“Did you know the storm was coming before we got here? Is that why you didn’t stop at the hotel to drop me off?” I asked.

He bowed his head. “Yes, I knew, though in my defense it could get pretty bad and I have a stocked fridge and bar. If you were to get stuck there you would have to order room service and I wouldn’t be able to see you.”

“Uh huh.” I said as I made my way to the bathroom and shut the door on a laugh.

I opened his cabinet door to see what he had in there.
I’m way too nosy
, I thought when my phone began to ring causing me to knock down his aftershave and a bottle of Advil.
Fuck!
I quickly grabbed my phone not bothering to check the caller i.d.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hi, Miss LaBelle?”

“Yes.”

“Hi, this is Sophie, from the Care Station? You were here earlier for a pelvic exam and some blood work?”

Here it goes.
“Yes?” I held my hand to my mouth praying that this was good news.

“We have your test results here, they’re all clear. Both the blood work and the pap smear came back clean.”

A huge weight was lifted “Oh thank goodness, thank you so much.”

“Ya sure you betcha.”

I hung up and had a thirty second dance party butt naked in Ryan’s bathroom.

Ryan had a state of the art shower with multiple showerheads. Each of them had it’s own pressure. The scorching hot water was so relaxing. I didn’t want to use all his hot water, so I showered quickly and changed into Ryan’s clothes. His scent was on his clothes and I inhaled deeply. I made sure to put my dirty clothes into a bag and then headed downstairs.

Outside it was dark with rain and sleet. Ryan had been right; it was ugly outside and looked dangerous. I walked into the TV room; Ryan was on his cell phone. This was the first time I had actually seen him on his phone. When he spotted me, he smiled and put his phone away.  “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.” I walked towards him ”No big deal. I put my stuff in a guest room is that alright?”

“Yes, of course. Sophie from the care station just called me. Did you speak with her?”

I nodded. “Yup. I’m all clean, thank goodness.”

His face brightened up. “Me too.” He reached out his hand for me and we high-fived. “My clothes look really good on you.”

“Thanks, I’m glad you think so because you’re never getting them back. These have become my permanent pajamas”

“I have no problem with my clothes being wrapped around you all night.” His voice smooth.

I tossed a pillow at him for his remark. He got up and tossed the remote gently in my direction. “Here, I’ll be right back, if the power goes out don’t worry. I have a backup generator that will kick in. I’m going to hop in the shower”

I found the gossip channel and caught up on all of the recent celebrity news. It was just getting to the good part about the affair of the year, when all of a sudden the power shut off and I was in complete darkness. I carefully made my way upstairs in the dark, fumbling along the steps using the wall as my guide.

When I reached Ryan’s room I called out for him. “Ryan the power went out and the generator…” Ryan was standing with a flashlight near his drawer looking for a change of clothes, wrapped in a towel, his hair-dripping wet.
Yum.

“I’m so sorry, I should’ve knocked.” I said as I turned around and quickly walked out of his room.
Closed doors were supposed to stay closed.
I sat on the top step waiting for him to come out of his room. His generator still hadn’t kicked on; the rest of his house was so dark that I was too afraid to wander far. When he walked out of his room I could see the dark features on his face showing me that he was smiling.  It was a snarky grin; one I knew he had because I walked in on him.

“How long has the power been out?’ He asked holding the flashlight as we walked down stairs together.

“Almost five minutes.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth the power came back on.  Ryan walked over and turned the TV on and we watched as it searched for signal. “So good news is we have power thanks to the generators but we don’t have Internet, cable or any channels.”

“I can live with that.” As long as we were warm and safe I wouldn’t panic.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” He asked.

“Yes, please.” I needed something to calm my nerves.

Ryan walked to the bar and poured two glasses of wine. He placed them at the coffee table and walked over to the entertainment center below the TV. He pulled out a deck of cards “Strip poker?”

“Not happening. I only have on these sweat pants and your shirt.”

“Blackjack?”

“Deal.”

I grabbed my purse and took out all my change and dollars bills that I had shoved in there. Ryan said it was a ten-cent minimum and Ryan was the dealer.
I lost the first couple of hands and then I cleaned the house.

We finished off the second bottle of wine when I found myself fighting off a yawn and wondering just how late it was.

“Are you ready for bed?” Ryan asked as he lifted me off the area rug.

“Yup, ready for bed.” I said slurring my words a little bit.

We walked up stairs together, I held onto Ryan and the wall for support. I took the guest room that was directly in front of Ryan’s and hugged him goodnight before heading in. He closed the door behind him and I thought to myself that maybe I drank a little too much since the room was spinning just a little.  There was a soft knock on the door a few minutes later and I heard Ryan slowly open it

“Hi, I figured you could use this.” He said handing me two Advil and a bottle of Gatorade. I took the Advil and downed most of the Gatorade. “Thanks Ry Ry.” I slurred. Ryan tucked me into bed and kissed my forehead. “You know that’s my most favorite thing you do to me. I feel little tingles all through my skin when you kiss my forehead.” I admitted.

I saw a small smile on his face before he left, leaving the bedroom door open. I watched as he walked to his own bedroom leaving his door open as well.

I woke up from a peaceful sleep with a dire need to use the bathroom. At first I looked around unfamiliar with where I was. It took me a second to remember that I was in Ryan’s guest bedroom. I quietly walked to the bathroom feeling my way to it. I didn’t want to turn any lights on and wake him up, but I felt great; I wasn’t hung over or dehydrated. I guessed I had Ryan to thank for that. Leave it to him to think of everything.

When I was done I opened the bathroom door and the hallway light was on, Ryan leaning against the banister squinting from the light. “I’m sorry did I wake you?” I said.

“No, I heard you get up and I thought that maybe you were sick from all the wine. I don’t really know how much wine you usually drink and I know it can sneak up on you.” If he only knew what I could do to a bottle of vodka.

He was worried though; my heart tightened at his sentiment. “Nope, I feel great.”

“Will you lie with me? I’ll feel more secure that you’re actually feeling great if you are near me.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Are you just saying that to get me into your bed?”

“No.” He said, putting his hands up. “We can even put a pillow between us. I just want you close.”

Instead of responding, I just walked into his room and threw a pillow in the center on his bed and climbed in. I fixed the pillow under me and faced his directions. He was already under the covers looking my way. “What is it Ryan?” His grin gave him away.

“Do you know that you snore?” He said.

“I do not!” I said, shocked.

“Yes, you do. It’s a sweet snore, it’s cute.” He said, tapping my nose with his finger.

I turned over to the other side of the bed and closed my eyes. “Goodnight, Ryan.”

“Goodnight, Bug, dream of me.”
 

Chapter 8
Love?

 
W
hen I opened my eyes come morning, I saw that Ryan was hugging the pillow and me.
Why did I put the pillow between us
?

His eyes opened and he saw that I was looking at where his hands were. He lifted his arms and removed the pillow. Tossing it behind him and reached for me, pulling me towards him. “I said I would sleep with a pillow between us not that I wouldn’t hug you all night.” He told me as my back reached him and my backside touched his crotch, causing us both to then pull away.

“Sorry, it’s a morning thing I can’t control.” He fixed himself and pulled my back to him again, tangling his legs with mine.

We lie in our cocoon for a couple more hours. Ryan fell back asleep as I tried to permanently burn this moment into my memory. I made myself focus on where his arms and legs were and tried to stay in bed as long as possible but Mother Nature was calling. I crawled out of Ryan’s arms accidently waking him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I just really need to use the restroom.” I whispered. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock.

“No, its time to get up anyway. If you go to the linen closet in the hallway there should be some new toothbrushes if you need one.”
Thank god,
I said to myself.

I used the bathroom and washed my face and brushed my teeth. Unable to find a hairbrush, I brushed out the massive beehive that was my hair with my fingers. It looked like a hot mess because I slept with it wet so I did the only thing I could with it and threw it up into a messy bun.

As I walked out of the bathroom I found that my clothes were neatly folded on the dresser. “Last night I put your clothes in the wash and when you fell asleep I put them in to dry, so you have clean clothes if you want.”

“You washed my panties?” I joked.

“Yup, loved the pink lace thong, I thought about keeping them too.” He said with a mischievous smile. “Well…” His grin turning devilish. “Knowing that you are commando under there… Hmm.” He shook his head and walked out of the bedroom.

I shook my head and pushed his shoulder as he walked into the bathroom and quickly changed before he came back out. After I was dressed I walked downstairs. Taking out some eggs, I chopped spinach, green bell peppers and tomatoes and got breakfast started. Ryan walked into the kitchen as I was flipping the omelet over. I pulled out a plate and put the omelet on it, walking it over to where Ryan was sitting down. ”Since you made me breakfast yesterday I figured I would repay the favor.”

Walking back to the stove I began making an omelet for myself. I sensed more than saw Ryan coming behind me before our bodies actually touched. I closed my eyes and breathed in deep. His proximity made my knees weak. I knew there was a line that we were crossing. I was going leave in two days and he was making it so hard for me to want to go home. I took another deep breath and got back to making my omelet, his near proximity practically burning my skin. Ryan watched my every move.

“What is the game plan for today?” He asked as he wiped his hand with a dishtowel.

“I need a dress for the awards dinner tomorrow. I can go by myself if you have work to do.” I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice that he might be busy with work.
      “Nope, I’m all yours.” He told me. I sighed at his response, my heart and mind were obviously not communicating very well. One was begging for him and the other was telling me to run from him and save myself.

Ryan took me to a small boutique in town that had many beautiful gowns. They carry a variety of dresses for all different occasions from weddings to proms to formal occasions. Patti assists me with a couple of different gowns. I decided on a royal blue chiffon dress, it was tight around my breasts exposing my cleavage without making it look slutty. It was long and flowy with a mermaid cut. Patti brought out a beautiful peep toe shoe that was charcoal gray with some blue décor stones around the toe. I provided her with all my information and she stated that she would have it pressed steamed and delivered to my hotel by this evening. 

After our shopping adventure, I asked Ryan to take me back to my hotel. At first he didn’t want to but I managed to convince him. My real fear was that if I spent another night here, I would no longer have a wall that guards my heart from being exposed to him. I felt like he would never hurt me but this wasn’t something I was willing to risk when I was expected back home in two days. I kissed Ryan on the cheek when he pulled up to the hotel. I insisted that there was no need for him to walk me in.