Memoir in the Making: A May-December Romance (13 page)

“You can’t. So stop.”

“Fine. But if he pukes all over my floor or driveway or something, you better be here bright and early Saturday morning to clean it up.”

Sam’s laughter rang in her ear. “I doubt that’s going to happen.”

“What? Him puking or you being here?”

“If he loses his dinner, I’ll be there. He’s not going to though. I promise.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Trust me, I do. Just keep yourself busy during the whole thing. There’s no need to worry about what’s going to happen or what’s not going to happen. Just keep to yourself and in the kitchen as much as possible, and you’ll be fine. It’s not as big of a deal as you think it is.”

“That’s what you think. I don’t do these things.”

“Parties?”

“Yeah. I don’t like people, remember?”

“Yes, I remember,” he said. “Hey, I gotta go. Jeremy needs a bath.”

“You have fun with that. Talk to you later.” Meredith waited for him to respond before hanging up the phone and sipping at her wine again. She took a deep breath and then gave up. She couldn’t relax just yet; there was too much work to be done.

Chapter Eleven

Meredith had just poured her third glass of wine for the day when there was a knock at her door. She glanced quickly to the clock on her oven and shook her head. She still had an hour before everyone was supposed to arrive—it couldn’t be a guest. Licking her lips and setting her wine down, she went to the door with curiosity swirling in her chest.

She caught a glance through the glass at the side of her door of a beautiful chestnut-haired woman in tight jeans with a dark red jacket on. Meredith stopped in her tracks at her door and took a deep steadying breath. She pressed her forehead to the cool wood and continued to even out her breathing, not caring that she was making Ainsley wait outside in the chill—she couldn’t let her in just yet.

Sam. She would need to call Sam the first second she got; he would be able to calm her down. Taking a deep breath in, Meredith stepped back from the door and put her hand on the knob.
I can do this,
she thought.
I can make it through this night, I can make it through next week, and I can certainly make it through the semester.

Letting the air out of her lungs, Meredith opened the door and pasted on a smile. Ainsley shivered on the other side of her screen door, her hands stuffed into her pockets and her shoulders raised to ward herself against the cold.

“Ainsley, what are you doing here?” Meredith asked, questioning if it really was her who spoke. Her voice was breathy and filled with something she couldn’t quite name. She swallowed and waited for an answer, not wanting to repeat herself.

“I thought you could use some help, since Sam isn’t around.”

Meredith’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. She stepped back from the door to let Ainsley in, still stunned by the thoughtfulness and the audacity of the young woman. Not only had she thought to come help and took time out of her day to help, and she’d done it without asking.

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Meredith finally said after watching Ainsley shed her cute jacket. Ainsley hung it up on the hook by the door and rubbed her hands together.

“It’s chilly outside.”

“It’s fall.”

Ainsley grinned. “My favorite time of year.”

“It’s supposed to be even colder next week.”

“But warmer tomorrow,” Ainsley countered. “We have the parade tomorrow, so it’s a good thing. I don’t want to stand out there when it’s freezing.”

“Parade?” Meredith gave her a funny look before leading Ainsley back to the kitchen. She grabbed her glass of wine and sipped at it, trying to give her hands something to do other than touching Ainsley.

Ainsley nodded. “Pride Parade. A bunch of us students go to it every year.”

“Oh. I’ve been! Sam, Jeremy and I used to go almost every year. Loads of fun. Love seeing all the floats.”

“That’s my favorite part,” Ainsley said, smiling sweetly. “Anyway, since I’m here, put me to work.”

“Right. Do you want wine? I have lots of it.”

“Yeah. I’ll pour myself a glass.”

Ainsley didn’t hesitate as she went to the cabinet with wine glasses. Meredith had bought plastic cups for the wine for everyone else when they got there, and she bit her lip to not tell Ainsley what to do and use a plastic one. She would be doing dishes later that night or the next morning anyway, so what did one more glass matter.

After she had her own glass of red poured and sipped at it, Ainsley turned to stare at Meredith. Her gaze dropped down and then back up, making Meredith’s heart rap in her chest and then in her throat, her cheeks flushing from desire rather than insecurity. She drank her own wine to try and hide the effects Ainsley was having on her.

“Was there something that needed to be done still? It looks like you have most of it ready.”

“Didn’t go into work today,” Meredith answered and looked around her beautifully clean kitchen that was about to become a mess. “You can set out the crackers and cheese, I guess. They’re over on the counter. Plates are right next to them. I just need to run to the bathroom real quick.”

Ainsley nodded, and Meredith didn’t wait as she ran out of the room and down the hall to her bedroom. She grabbed the clothes she wanted to wear that evening and sat on her bed, whipping out her phone. Sam had to answer. She held her breath as it rang, once and then twice, and then three times.

He’s not going to answer. That bastard.
Sure enough, it went to voice mail. Meredith cleared her throat and tapped her bare foot against the ground, waiting impatiently for the voicemail to pick up. Once the beep hit, she took a deep breath and started in.

“Sam. She’s here. She’s here early. I’m not fucking kidding you. What am I supposed to do with that? What happened to avoiding her? What happened to this no advances thing? Doesn’t she know what she does to me? You definitely need to be around to answer your phone more often. I know you’re probably doing something, but I needed to talk to you. Well, give me a call back if you get this before the party. I’m going to need it—and tea. I expect tea sometime this week.”

Hanging up, she stared at the phone in her hands before glancing at her closed bedroom door. Sighing, she wished she could just leave the house and the party all together. It was far more stress than she ever wanted anyway. She stood up and changed into her clean clothes, smoothing her hands over the simple dress. It was a deep blue, bringing out the blues in her eyes rather than the greens. She’d worn it on purpose. It was her power outfit. It made her feel good and want to feel even better, and it boosted her confidence.

Hanging the gold necklace around her neck and then putting in the matching earrings, Meredith was almost ready to go. She slipped into her beige heels and headed down to the bathroom to futz with her hair and makeup for a few minutes before going back out to what she was deeming the hellhole. People would be arriving soon. There were always some who arrived early, but the majority arrived late, not wanting to be the first guest there.

Well, she already had her first guest. Meredith glanced at her reflection in the mirror, checking her eye makeup and smiled. Ainsley was her first guest, and no matter the reason behind why she was there, it was nice to have someone willing to help. She touched up her blush and her mascara and then walked out of the bathroom ready to face the world.

No matter what Ainsley threw at her, she would be ready. When she walked back into her kitchen, she was far from ready. Ainsley had her music playing on her phone, and she was dancing and singing along with whatever song it was. Meredith’s heart skipped a beat, and she had to swallow just to be able to form words.

“Hey,” Meredith said. “Having fun?”

“Absolutely,” Ainsley replied, setting more crackers onto a plate while swinging her hips to the beat.

Meredith wanted desperately to walk up behind Ainsley and press both her hands to Ainsley’s hips, tugging Ainsley’s ass back into her front. Meredith shook the image from her head and walked to the counter, picking up another plate. She went to the kitchen table and put together the chips and salsa, trying to ignore Ainsley who was still dancing away behind her.

They had all the crackers and chips done by the time the thirty-minute mark hit. Meredith picked up a corkscrew from her drawer and moved in closer to Ainsley. Their eyes locked, and Meredith licked her lips, noticing Ainsley’s neck muscles tightened as she got closer.

“Want to open the wine? The reds at least. They need to breathe.”

She held out her hand with the corkscrew in it and waited for Ainsley to take it. Ainsley nodded minutely and then reached forward for the corkscrew, their fingers brushing. Tingles raced from the touch up Meredith’s arm and into her chest before disappearing. If that’s what every touch with Ainsley felt like, then she certainly wanted more.

Turning away from Ainsley, Meredith went to the sink and filled up a glass of water. She needed to stop drinking the wine if she was going to make it through the night without touching Ainsley on purpose. She might be much older than Ainsley, but apparently, her maturity level had gone out the window with the first look they’d shared. She couldn’t even make it through an hour with Ainsley without thinking about her in some compromising position.

Meredith groaned and drank down half the glass of water, wishing she could dump it on her head like a cold shower. Anything would be preferable to the feelings sweeping around inside her body. Meredith finished her glass of water and refilled it before turning around to watch Ainsley struggle with the wine. She had one bottle tucked underneath her arm while trying to pry out the cork.

Laughing, Meredith walked closer to her and touched her back lightly to get her attention. Her palm burned from the contact. Ainsley looked up, embarrassment written all over her expression. Meredith gave her a sweet smile and then shook her head. “Let me do it. You’ll break the cork if you keep doing it that way.”

“I’ve never been really good with wine.”

“I don’t imagine it’s your drink of preference,” Meredith commented, smoothly setting the bottle on the table and prying the cork out. She set it into a glass bowl on her kitchen counter top along with close to a hundred other corks. “It wasn’t mine until graduate school. Too expensive when I was a broke college student, but splurging in grad school was an entirely different story.”

“Yeah. Hard liquor is mostly what I drink.”

“It’s cheapest,” Meredith answered and opened another bottle. “Nothing wrong with it. Sometimes a good hard drink is just what’s needed.”

“I never thought you would be a connoisseur of alcohol,” Ainsley said.

Meredith laughed, her eyes closing as the sound reverberated through her chest. “Oh, the things you must learn about your professors. I love to drink. It’s very relaxing. Sam and I used to go to wineries and sample all the different kinds. I’ve quite a collection going.”

“Where?”

“They’re in my office.”

Ainsley turned and walked the other direction. Meredith, curious and not sure she wanted to let Ainsley just wander around her house without being there while at the same time being drawn to her wherever she went, followed. Ainsley turned into her office, opening the door and then stopping to stare in awe.

“I’d never been in here before.”

“Nope.”

“How many bottles do you have?”

Meredith admired her own collection. Close to a hundred bottles were neatly placed in their own holders along the west wall. She’d built the shelving unit herself. In a feat of anger, she’d finished it and then drank down a shot of whiskey with Sam to celebrate. Whiskey would be good before the rest of her guests arrived, but at the same time, it wouldn’t be the wisest choice. In her attempt to avoid other faculty with it, she would no doubt do something with Ainsley. Meredith would have to choose the lesser of the two evils.

Ainsley walked up to the shelves and ran her fingers over the bottles, reading some of the labels out loud. Meredith closed her eyes, listening to her voice as it echoed around the tiny room. She got to one in particular, and the name made Meredith smile. Opening her eyes, she looked directly at Ainsley.

“Feel free to continue to look. I need to finish opening the wine we plan on drinking.”

“You don’t plan on drinking this?”

“Not at all,” Meredith answered. “At least not by myself and not without a special occasion in mind.”

Ainsley grinned, and Meredith’s heart melted. She would love to share a bottle with Ainsley, a few bottles in particular that reminded her of the sweet bite Ainsley would no doubt be if she ever got a full taste. Meredith left the room and went back to the kitchen, opening the rest of the wine with a flourish. The whites were all in the fridge still, chilling to a better temperature for consumption.

Meredith set the bottles out on a side table she had in her living area. Along with the plastic cups and square paper napkins. She turned all the bottles to the front so the labels could be easily read and then went back to the kitchen. She was arranging cheese on a plate when a hand appeared on her lower back. Taking in a sharp breath, Meredith looked over her shoulder to see Ainsley.

“Anything else I can do to help?”

Meredith nodded while thinking,
Getting your hand off my back would be a decent start to that.
She nodded toward the refrigerator. “Pull out the whites? It’s almost time for people to start arriving. Just one or two for now would be good.”

Ainsley walked over to the fridge and opened the door, Meredith’s eyes tracking her progress and her movements and following each step Ainsley made. She swallowed when Ainsley bent down, her ass sticking out in the air as she grabbed two of the bottles and stood straight up again.

If Ainsley didn’t stop whatever it was she was doing, Meredith was going to have a conniption about it all. Even though Meredith knew Ainsley wasn’t doing most of it on purpose, the sensations running through her body thought otherwise, and the thoughts going through her head certainly were taking everything in a different direction than she wanted to.