My Beautiful Lies (Beautiful Nothing #2) (9 page)

When a thin lady with plain brown hair hits the stage the audience goes eerily quiet. “I would like to thank you all for being here to celebrate this huge musical fest full of some of the best across the country. But as you know, it’s a competition, and I want to introduce the best pianist in the US and her team. Miss Laney Harper and her team from this very school. Everyone give a round of applause for Keys of Success!” The crowd goes insane, and I know that the music she makes touches not only me but everyone in the room. This is why she settled for less, because less is more. They shuffle across the stage to their places and a flick of Laney’s wrist starts the group off as the room fills with tear-jerking tones.

When it all comes to an end, I focus hard on Laney—her face glimmers of happiness and pride. After they read off the third and fourth place winners, I start getting nervous along with Laney. She wants these kids to win so badly and has worked so hard getting them this far. Second place is announced, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. There’s no way in hell they didn’t place—they have to be the first place winners. The brown-haired lady takes her time, clearing her throat a few times. I just want to shout at her to spit the fucking words out. 

“And this year’s winners, who have worked so hard and have proven themselves to be the best, let’s give a huge applause for…The Keys of Success!” 

I see Laney, her eyes filled with happy tears for reaching her goal. Her entire class of children pile around her in a group hug as they chant about being number one. I want that, I want to fill her eyes with happy tears and take away all the sad ones she has ever spilled. 

I wait another ten minutes for the show to come to a close then I sneak out the doors before the crowd makes it impossible. I shoot Laney a text to tell her I’m waiting for her in the car. She texts back she will be at least thirty minutes longer. If she’s going to be that long, I can run to the store down the street and get her flowers for getting first place. I start the car and drive off. Flo’s Floral Shop is bright; different colored flowers line the small store in rows. Behind the counter an old woman wearing a colorful shirt as bright as the store sits there watching a Spanish television show. I hope she speaks English; I never learned Spanish and I have no idea what I’m looking for. 

"¿Cómo puedo ayudarte?"she says, and I have no clue what she means. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t speak Spanish, ma’am,” I tell her hoping she knows what I mean. 

“Oh, sorry I have been watching this all day; it’s a habit. I said, how can I help you?” 

I tell her about Laney, and how I want to get her an over-the-top bouquet of flowers. She shows me around telling me about certain ones like I am supposed to care about the names. I just pretend to listen until we come to these gorgeous red and purple ones. I can’t remember what she calls them, but I tell her I’ll take them. We walk back to the counter and she starts clipping them at the ends.

When she pulls out the plastic wrap, she asks me if I want some romantic pointers. I look at her like she’s crazy, and ask her what kind of pointers. “Women love accents; it helps you in the long run. Would you like to try out a few lines?” she asks, wrapping the stuff around the stems. 

“I guess I can give it a shot,” I tell her, still a little confused. I shrug my shoulders. 

“Te amo, mi hermosa mujer.” She smiles big, letting the words roll off her tongue. “It means, I love you, my beautiful woman.” I thank her and walk out trying to remember the line. I say it repeatedly on the ride back. 

When I pull back into the parking lot, she is walking down the steps of the school. I get out to meet her on the other side to open her door. Before she gets in, she squeals, throwing her arms around me. “We won! I am so happy right now. They actually beat people from different states!” I tell her I’m proud and help her in the car. When I get in she sees the flowers on the dash board. “Oh my god are those for me?”
Of course they’re for her
. I laugh and tell her the new Spanish phrase I learned and she laughs. “What does that mean?” 

“It means I love you, my beautiful woman. Flo at the floral shop told me I needed to learn it, that the ladies love it.” I laugh, feeling kind of embarrassed. 

“I love that. I also love that you would learn Spanish just to tell me you love me.” 

We leave to go home and pack for our trip to make sure it’s ready for Monday morning. I am excited to leave and forget about everything—including Jake. We order pizza, not that she holds it down too well. I have to make her chicken noodle soup and crackers. I can’t wait until she gets to the doctor to get meds for it; it makes her sick all day long. We had a long day, and I know she is exhausted by the way her eyes keep closing while laying her head on my shoulder. I change the channel, flipping through, stopping on the news when I see the headline. Two men gunned down outside of a club, no suspects, and no eyewitnesses. Brad Porter and Lance Monroe. Jake killed them off.
How obvious is he gonna make it?
Both guys probably told him they weren’t going to help him anymore and now they’re dead. I need to tell Harry, but I’m sure he already knows. So, I shut the TV off and close my eyes, needing to rest my brain before it ruins our week ahead. 

In the morning when I open my eyes, the light from the windows is dull and empty. I need to stop sleeping sitting up. Laney lies still asleep at the end of the couch. I get up and go to the kitchen for a cup of coffee to wake me up. Looking out the window, I see nothing but white. The ground is covered in pure white sparkles, the snow falls thick and heavy. It’s the first snow of the season, and I can’t wait to spend the day enjoying it with Laney. I know how sick she gets in the morning, so I make her a small plate of scrambled eggs and toast. It’s light and easy so her stomach should have no problem handling it. I pour her a glass of orange juice and place everything on a tray. It’s not breakfast in bed but close enough. I shake her awake and she has no problem getting up this time. Having over twelve hours of sleep must be what she needs to feel rested. I let her eat while I look online for an ice rink open for the day. 

I find one on the west side of town, small and outside. That will do, she will love it. I use to go ice skating when I was a kid. Well, not actually skating but ice hockey, which is like the same thing. I hope she feels okay. It would suck if we got there and she was too weak to do it. I close my laptop and ask her if she’s up for it. 

“I actually feel good today. I think eating first thing in the morning helps a lot. I mean if I’m not moving, I think I get motion sickness. I can’t wait to get something to help with that,” she rambles on, and I know we have plans for the day. I have the news of last night in the back of my mind, and I ask myself if I should tell her. It could make her happy that two of the guys who hurt her are dead. On the other hand, it could ruin our day and scare her thinking she’s next. With that in mind, I keep it to myself.

She goes up to take a shower, and I clean up the dishes. When she comes down the stairs her hair is pulled up into a wavy ponytail, she has on grey leggings, with a long sweater. She looks beautiful. Even without makeup she shines. 

“Have you ever been ice skating?” I ask curiously, placing the last of the dishes in the drying rack. 

“I tried a few years ago, I wasn’t that good at it.” She giggles. 

“Well, we are gonna try again. It’s the first snow of the year, and its lighting up outside. I think we will have a good time. Don’t worry, I will help you.” She agrees, and puts on her knee-high black boots. “Let’s get out of here then, we can have lunch there too. I read on the reviews they have some awesome cheesesteaks.” I grab her coat off the hook and help her slide her arms through, then do my own. I grab the keys and we head out. 

“Don’t let go!” she yelps, grabbing the arm of my coat. 

“I won’t let you fall; it’s real easy. You will get the hang of it, I promise.” I laugh, hoping she doesn’t take me down with her. We skate around slowly for a half hour, but she starts getting the hang of it and we move faster. Letting go of my coat, she skates off on her own, pushing forward, gliding with ease on the ice. I slow down to watch her. She goes around and comes back. 

“I think I got it down. I don’t need you anymore. Except, I should learn how to slow down. That was a rush,” she says, still skating right past me. I pick up my speed until I reach her, then turn around skating backward, making her giggle. “Where did you learn how to skate like that?” I tell her about hockey and she seems shocked. “There really is a lot we don’t know about each other, isn’t there?”
More than you know
, I think to myself. 

“That’s why we are going on our trip. We will have nothing to do but get to know each other. I love you, and I want to know everything about you, and I want you to know me. I know we kind of jumped into this fast, I just want you to know that I’m ready to be whatever you want and need. I wanna be that man.” 

We come to a stop by the exit and get off the ice. I help her hobble her way over to the benches to take the skates off. We put our shoes back on, then go to the stand to get lunch. Watching her eat her sandwich is hilarious, she has it dripping down her chin with her eyes closed. 

“I take it you like the cheesesteak?” I ask laughing, taking another bite of mine. 

“Oh my god, you don’t even understand how bad I needed this.” She moans, eating the last bite. She finishes before me, wiping her mouth and tossing the napkin on her plate. “We should order like six more. I think I can put them all away.” Throwing her head back laughing, she looks so serious. When I finish mine I ask her what else she wants to do. There’re tons of places to go on this side of town. 

“We could go to the mall, get you a few outfits for the trip.” I could use some causal clothes too; I look like an idiot in a suit all the time. Before I met her, all I did was work. She doesn’t have to think long before she says yes, she’s a girl after all. The mall is not busy, which means less stress of dealing with hordes of people during Christmas time. Most people are still in church, or home sleeping away their Sundays. We go in and out of stores for hours. She brings me clothes I will look good in, then she will try some of her own on. We leave three hours later with five bags and pretzels. Yes, she got hungry again, who am I to deny a pregnant woman? 

After we make it home, she says she’s still hungry. How much food can someone eat before they feel full? It’s crazy. I go through the cabinets looking for something I can make her, landing on a box of rice. Looking in the fridge for something to throw with it, I find kielbasa sausage. I toss the sausage in a pan frying it up and boil some water for the rice. When it’s all cooked up, I make her a plate. “Oh my god, it’s so good. I don’t know why I’m so hungry, but oh my,” she moans, shoveling her mouth full. 

“It’s probably the baby, you are eating for two now,” I say, pouring her a glass of apple juice.

As she finishes her plate, she asks more questions.
Where did I learn to cook? Why don’t I cook more? What are we gonna do when we leave tomorrow?
She throws out questions left and right, and I answer them all the best I can. When she’s done, she wants to show me the clothes she picked out for our trip. I follow her to the bedroom as she slowly removes each piece of her clothing. She’s being very playful. It could be the hormones I read about, or maybe she just wants me. I argue with myself over why, until her bra drops to the floor, flashing the view of her full breasts. When I say full, I mean perfect the way they’re shaped, and perky the way they sit on her chest. When she removes her panties, it’s teasing my desire for her more and more. Standing completely bare in front of me, I can’t say a word. I just walk over to her and caress a hand full of ass. I push her head gently over to the side, tracing her neck up to her earlobe with my tongue. She lets out a soft whimper, then begs me to take her to the bed. In one swift movement, she’s in my arms, and I tenderly sit her down. She runs her hands from my waist, up my sides, then back down. Lust pours from her eyes as she starts lifting my shirt, helping me pull it off. I can’t take much more of her teasing; I want to be deep inside her. I need her warmth wrapped around me, gradually leading to the climax we both need. 

I drop my pants to the floor, carelessly kicking them off my ankles. As I climb on top of her, she lies back. Her gaze is locked with mine in the most passionate way. She grips my cock, stroking until I become harder. I am shocked when she places her hand on my chest, pushing me over onto my back. 

“I want to be on top, I want you so bad,” she half-growls. 

I’m loving this side of her. She scoots down the bed a little, coming face to face with my length. She traces her tongue on my tip, making my legs go numb. Slowly making her way back on top of me, she throws a leg over, straddling me. She leans down to kiss me, and I grab her hair to deepen it. I love to kiss her so hard that she gasps for air. I find her opening and slide two fingers in. She rocks back on them hard in surprise. I let her ride them until I feel her swelling around them. That’s when I remove my fingers and lift her up with one hand and guide my dick in with the other.