Chapter 6
“Y ou’d better be offering a commitment if you’re sleeping with our sister,” Kirby warned forcing them apart.
“Well, you all know how stubborn she can be,” Corey stated.
“Would you stop? We’ve known each other six weeks…”
“Took less than sixty minutes to get you to sleep with me,” he whispered in her ear.
“Shut up,” she countered with a smile knowing he was mostly teasing but it still irked her.
“Take a chance Lisa, let me be your rock,” he said cupping her cheek.
“You’re impossible to argue with when it’s what I want,” she admitted as he pressed another kiss to the top of her head.
Dinner itself after that flew past and they mingled with the crowd as the evening wore on. She didn’t move far from his side by choice, and she couldn’t help but see the smiles on her parents’ faces as they watched them. She hated that they thought she needed him to be happy but maybe just the smallest part of her did.
“How much longer until I can take you back to the room?” he asked against the side of her head.
“A bit,” she admitted. “This party normally goes on until at least midnight.”
“Then what does New Years’ Eve party do?”
“Three—four in the morning usually.”
“I want to be inside you by then,” he stated sliding his arms around her, kissing her until someone bumped into them. He pulled her up against him and turned towards the person apologizing.
“I’m so sorry…Corey?” the woman said as her face showed her surprise at seeing him.
“Donna,” he replied as he started to move them away from her.
“Merry Christmas Corey,” Donna offered with a smirk, and he ignored it leading Lisa to the other side of the restaurant.
“I take it you knew her?” Lisa stated watching him.
“Unfortunately,” he admitted.
“Who was she?”
“My ex…”
“Oh, how long did you two date?”
“Too long but she wasn’t my girlfriend Lisa…she was my wife.”
“What?” she said taking a step away from him.
He pushed a hand through his hair seeing her beginning to close off from him already. “I know I should have told you about her, but I was trying to convince you to let this be more than just sex and I didn’t think the way to do that would be to tell you that I failed at marriage.”
“Really? How long has it been since you separated?” she asked hating herself for falling for him if he was still married.
“The divorce was finalized two months before we met Lisa, I swear,” he stated cupping her cheek. “I meant it when I said I’d given up hope of ever finding you. I did before I married Donna and when it ended, I didn’t expect you to walk into the bar and change everything. Don’t turn this into something it’s not.”
“Were you ever going to tell me about her?”
“Yes, I was going to tell you when I could explain everything. Baby,” he said softly bringing her gaze back up to his. “Everything that’s between us is because I know what it’s like to fail at something that should be truly special. I know what to avoid and this, you and me, it’s not one of those things.”
She saw the truth in his eyes and relaxed her shoulders slightly letting him pull her into his arms. She settled her arms around his shoulders and leaned her head on his chest letting out a sigh. She didn’t know what to think right now but she didn’t want him to go.
“That’s it? Nothing else huge I should know about right now?” she asked, praying he said no.
“No, I promise. Lisa, I would have told you about my marriage before things got serious, beautiful. This is not the way I planned, but until today you hadn’t even bothered to admit that there was more to this…us than just sex. I know it is. I know how incredibly special and unique this is. I didn’t want to lose it that first morning and I certainly don’t want to lose it now. You have to know that. You need to know that,” he stated staring down into her eyes. “Let me be the man for you…it’s your choice, it’s always been your choice just please…don’t let the way your family and this place treats you make you run from what you have to know is possible for us.”
“I hate you knowing what I’m thinking do you know that?” she sighed. “I know this is possible and it scares the hell out of me because I don’t want to be them. I don’t want to waste my life with things that aren’t going to work out. I ran from everyone because I wasn’t about to risk them figuring me out…possibly finding a way around what I was thinking, feeling.”
“I know and I also know that you hate that I know but I do. I can’t help that. I’ve lived through a bit more than you have. I’ve gone down a few roads you haven’t, and I know that things can be far different than what someone imagines. That’s what I thought about my marriage to Donna. When we married, I fooled myself into believing she was the person I had been looking for…wanted all my life but I was wrong. I spent the last two years trying to get her out of my life and finally, it was done. Then there you were, and I knew I’d been put through that hell with Donna, so I’d realize how special the right woman really was. The night we were together was incredible. It was the first time that I felt anything like it. When I woke up without you there, I was cursing myself because I should have gotten your full name, your number before we started round two. The day I walked into the conference room and found you I knew I’d do anything to get you to be mine.”
“And that makes me want to run…” she said, her eyes wary as she looked up at him.
“I know it does, but I have to be honest. Not being honest is what got me into the biggest mess in the past, and I won’t make that mistake with you. Not from here on out. I’m willing to take the risk of being honest about all of this because I know that we’re meant to be together,” he stated cupping her cheek, hating her wariness, that there was something she was keeping from him beyond her worries about becoming her mother, but he’d figure it out and they’d handle it together. “I don’t mean it in a way that I’m going to force it to happen or force you to feel the same or anything like that. I want you to come to me all on your own, all because you want to. I want you to want me as much as I want you. When you can see that together we can have the best life possible that’s when you’ll come to me. That’s when we can really find what’s possible.”
“And if I never see that? If all I see is losing my opinions, my thoughts, myself…what then? Are you going to be like them and try to make me see it?”
“No, because I know you will,” he stated kissing her until he knew they had to stop or cause a real scene.
“I can’t guarantee that Corey. I can’t guarantee that I’ll want this next week,” she warned as panic began to build inside her at the idea of them having something real. As much as her heart and body wanted it, her mind was screaming out the warnings to not be stupid. Of all the things that could come from it, the complications it would cause, the things it could bring to light.
“I know which is why we’re simply going to take this day by day. I want you to stay with me when we get back. Even if all we do is go home together and sleep beside each other I still want you there. I want to meet your friends, be your date on Valentines…but I’ll go however slow you need because I know that eventually this will all work out. Just don’t pull away because I didn’t tell you about Donna. Alright?” he asked holding her to him as the music continued to play.
“Alright,” she said knowing she was being a hypocrite, but she couldn’t tell him the truth without telling everyone else. She wasn’t going to risk that though, so she’d find a way to deal with this. Let him down gently, even if it was the last thing she truly wanted to do. “You’re right. I can’t be mad at you for not telling me about her. I just didn’t expect to be confronted by it here.”
“Neither did I and I swear there is nothing between us anymore, there hasn’t been anything between us in over two years, closer to three honestly.”
“So, six months ago it wasn’t her you went out with? You mentioned a date that went badly last week when we were trying not to laugh over that awful waiter,” she added lifting an eyebrow his way with a grin at his slightly confused look.
“Right…no, it definitely wasn’t Donna. That was an old girlfriend from college that I ran into on a business trip to London. She lives there so it’s not even a possibility of running into her again either, so don’t try to use that as an excuse to push me away.”
“Seeing through all of my attempts here huh?”
“Yup, so how about it? Let me be your rock in all of this?”
“Okay, I’ll try. I can’t make any guarantees,” she said, and it sucked that it was the most honest thing she’d ever said to him.
“I know but we’ll manage it somehow,” he assured her and as the rest of the night passed by them, he tried to hold onto that feeling.
Christmas morning dawned bright with new snow falling and he enjoyed holding her while the family exchanged presents. He was surprised that her parents had gotten him something and was glad it was a sweater he’d actually wear, unlike some of the ones he’d seen in the gift shop.
“And this one is for Lisa,” Kirby stated as he dug out the last package from under the tree.
She glanced at the nametag on it and opened it before tensing.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered into her ear as he leaned over towards her.
“Nothing,” she replied closing the box before anyone could see in it making him more suspicious.
“Who’s it from?” her father asked.
“No one—it’s just a stupid gag gift from the girls from school,” Lisa lied, getting up to head back up to the room.
“Well, we need to get over to the lodge. We’ll see you all later tonight for dinner,” her mom said kissing her cheek letting her leave.
Corey followed her up and closed the door behind her noticing that the majority of the present she’d gotten were still downstairs unlike the gag gift. “What’s really in that box?”
“Just a dumb joke,” she answered moving to put it into the closet.
“Yeah? Show me then.”
“Corey, it’s none of your business.”
“It is when it makes you pull back from everything. You were enjoying yourself, happy until you opened that box, baby. So come on, what’s really going on here? I know if it was really some gag gift, you’d have shown us. Especially if it was a sex toy from them. You’d have tossed it to your mom in order to get a reaction out of her,” he added, hoping to get her back into a lighthearted mood.
“It’s nothing,” she said again before taking it back down. She might not know him nearly as well as he seemed to know her, but she did know he’d look in the box if she left it there and that wasn’t about to happen. The last thing she wanted was someone seeing it, it’d bring up too many questions she didn’t have enough lies to cover. She moved over to the other closet and opened the safe to stash it there rather than risk any of it coming out.
“If it’s nothing then why hide it in a safe where there’s no chance of me seeing it?” Corey asked, staring at her when she turned back his way. She hated having to be a bitch about it, but it was the only way to keep him from continuing to ask the rest of their stay about it.
“Because you don’t need to know everything about me, not yet, and that’s not something I want to talk about.”
“So, it is something,” he said pulling a sigh from her. “Who’s it from, baby?”
“No one you know. Look let’s just make it clear that there are some things that I’m not going to share—not ready to share, okay? What’s in that box is one of them and honestly, it has nothing to do with you. I know where it came from, and I’ll deal with it how I see fit. I don’t need you to make it better for me. I need you to understand that my past is mine. It’s not yours, it’s not my parents or my brothers…it’s mine and what I do about it is up to me.”
“Fine…I’m sorry I just don’t like seeing you upset,” he stated knowing he had to tone it down. Maybe she’d tell him what it was about once they’d had more time together. He hoped so because he wanted her to trust him with everything, the good and the bad.
Lisa let him pull her into his hold and rested her head against his chest trying to block out everything running through her mind. She didn’t want to remember or talk about the past. She simply wanted to continue to move forward. She wouldn’t go back for anything or anyone, especially not to discuss that.
The next few days passed by them, her parents pleased with what they found in Corey, while she did her best to keep distance between them. She didn’t want anyone to question the stupid present or Corey to try to get answers from her. New Year’s Eve rolled around, and she dressed for the party, putting herself firmly back into the place she was comfortable in. The same place she’d stayed in for most of high school—the uncaring of anyone’s opinion brat.
Corey walked up behind her as she finished buckling her shoes and slid his hands down her hips. He wanted to go back to Christmas Day and for them not to have found that present. She’d put up another wall between them since then and he hated it. He wanted her back the way he’d had her since they’d gotten there, especially the way he’d had her on Christmas Eve. “The dress looks good on you.”
“Mhmm, I had the cleaners take it in a little so it wouldn’t hang off me and they shortened the hem just a tad,” she said giving him a grin as she forced herself to forget about the stuff from Christmas. She wanted another night spent with Corey where they were enjoying themselves entirely. Hell, she needed to have a good memory from here—deserved it at least. “I’d forgotten that it was a bit shapeless in high school until I’d tried it on.”
“Well, it certainly isn’t now,” he replied loving the way it flowed over her gentle curves. “Are you going to wear the cardigan for dinner?”
“I suppose I will. I’m sure it’ll be a little chilly in the dining room tonight.”
“And after that, how long are we expected to stick around?” he asked, kissing the side of her neck as his hands slipped up and down her arms.
“It’ll depend on how much of this you insist on doing,” she said with a smile relaxing her guard for now. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll do just enough that once the clock hits midnight there will be no question as to where our New Year’s kiss is taking us.”
He pulled her a little further up against his body letting her see how much he wanted to not go to dinner or the party already. Her grin forced him to step back and take her to dinner because he knew she would gladly stay in too. He wouldn’t take her up on it because to her, it wouldn’t be anything other than a tradeoff to spending time with her family.
They reached the dining room and headed over to sit with her brothers, the looks on their faces at her dress made him wonder what happened the last time she wore it. It didn’t take them long to get around to it and he lifted an eyebrow towards her at their questions.
“You know it’s a sad thing when your brothers remember a dress,” Lisa mused with a shrug.
“Not considering what happened,” Kirby countered. “We don’t need a repeat, right?”
“Why would we have one? Corey doesn’t care what I wear and he’s not about to act like an ass making me break up with him and flirt with everyone else because I’m entirely single again,” she replied before adding further explanation for Corey. “After Colin said I needed to go change and started acting like a complete and utter jerk I broke up with him, right there in the middle of the party, loudly so I didn’t have to repeat it a million times. Colin didn’t like that or that I could go from dating him to flirting with others in an expanse of five minutes. He started a fight with one of the others I was flirting with, and they ended up breaking the door to the pool house. Of course, our parents blamed me for it and started the pity-party where Colin’s concerned. I left the next week after graduation and have rarely been back since.”
“Ah…well you can wear whatever you like, especially when you look this amazing,” he stated giving her a lingering kiss her parents interrupted as they arrived at their table for dinner.
Lisa was relieved the night was going so well, as they finished dinner and headed to the club area. She took off the cardigan feeling the warmth from the extra bodies as well as the kick from her drink Corey ordered. She pulled him out onto the dance floor and pushed everything aside as she simply danced with him, enjoying the feel of his body against hers.
“Well, well, well if it isn’t the little slut herself,” she heard someone utter beside her and turned her face before rolling her eyes finding Colin there drunk. “Honestly Lisa, is there anyone here you haven’t screwed?”
“I’d suggest you walk away right now,” Corey warned, and she stepped out of his hold not about to let him fight her battles. She wasn’t that sort of person. She didn’t need to be protected from Colin.
“Why don’t you get a life Colin? For fuck’s sake, it’s been eleven years and you’re still working for my parents. Haven’t you figured it out yet? I’m never coming back here and I’m especially never coming back to you . I’ve moved far beyond you and this place. So, grow a pair and grow up. Stop taking handouts because my mother felt sorry for you. I mean seriously, people ask why I’m still single but you’re the one that’s still in the same place acting like a sore loser because his high school girlfriend dumped him. If you were such a catch, how come you’re still single?” she added smartly.
“Once a slut always a slut,” Colin said, and she shook her head not even caring about the words.
“Once a loser always a loser, especially a sore loser. I’d rather be a slut than a loser any day though. At least being a slut lets you have fun, being a loser simply makes you pathetic. I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks of me. I’m the only one that has to live with my choices and there’s not a single thing I regret choosing to do. I live my life for me and no one else,” she stated before walking away from him, taking Corey’s hand as she moved towards the bar to get another drink.
“No regrets about coming here then?” Corey asked, sliding his arms around her and onto the bar as they waited for their drinks.
She leaned her head back against his chest and shook her head. “No, I think for once it was the right decision. After all, my mother’s happy that I’ve got such a stable guy in my life. I shouldn’t have to deal with her nagging and questions for the next few months.”
“Next few months?” Corey asked with a smile against the top of her head. “Does that mean you think you can see us as something more than a day-by-day thing?”
“Week-by-week maybe, long-term…I can’t tell you right now,” she admitted, and he nodded knowing that he’d have to be content with that for now. He would figure out why she refused to let anyone in and then he’d show her that he was the man for her. He simply would have to allow her the time to figure it out.