CHAPTER SEVENEric’s POV
CHAPTER SEVEN
Eric’s POV
From my window, I can see Leo helplessly playing ball. His arm is still in a sling although it is healing nicely. I jump down from my bed, walk down to the backyard, and join him.
“Mind if I play?” I ask.
He smiles and nods his head, kicking the ball to me. I kick it to him and he kicks back. Before long, we are both smeared with mud.
My mind wanders, as is a frequent occurrence around this incomplete family. I picture myself at Leo's age, playing all by myself. Everybody was too busy working to make sure my financial needs were met, that they forgot that what I needed most was love and attention.
The level of loneliness that plagued me then seems to be hanging on Leo's shoulders, and he only lit up after I joined him. Playing with him means just as much to him as it means to me.
“Leo, don’t you think you’re taking too much of Mr. Greene’s time?” I hear Lydia ask from behind me.
I turn to her and flash her a smile. “We are good, just practicing soccer. Leo says he wants to play for his high school team someday, so we are getting ready for that.”
She doesn’t say anything but smiles and watches us play. We kick the ball until my phone rings from my pocket. I take the call while Leo rejoins his mother.
“Hello,” I say. “Dwayne.”
“Mr. Greene,” his raspy voice rings through the phone. “Can we talk at The Hangover? I have something important to share with you that I cannot discuss with you over the phone. Today. 5 p.m. if you are not busy.”
“I’ll be there,” I say and hang up.
Leo rushes to me and hugs me, and I return it, my heart swelling with a feeling I cannot name at the sweet gesture. I wonder what my life would be like if they were mine to keep, maybe, just maybe, I would have peace and contentment. I flash a smile at Lydia and she smiles back. Then, I go to my room for a quick shower before I drive down to The Hangover.
“A shot of tequila,” I tell the bartender. One shot is all I need. I'll be sober for whatever news my private investigator gets from the search, or I'll be drunk enough to order more drinks in case it's negative news.
He pours the alcohol from the bottle into a small shot glass and places it in front of me. I take a swig from the shot glass and gulp the contents in one swoop. It burns my tongue and throat, then cools in my stomach.
I don't order another shot, to avoid getting drunk so early. I wait for another ten minutes before I see him plodding in. I raise my hands for him to acknowledge my presence and he walks straight up to me.
“I'm sorry I'm late. I had a slight thing that needed my attention.”
“What news do you bring?”
He pauses for a while then clears his throat. “The police say this is a federal crime and I should take my hands off it. It can cost me my job.”
“So, what are you saying?” Bile rises from my throat. I can feel its thick anger.
“We can’t continue with the case.”
Holy shit!
*******
The first thing I do as I get home is fetch the wine from the cellar. I don’t bother with returning to the living room, so I uncork the wine in the kitchen and drink from the bottle. I hear a creak and turn to see Lydia sitting at the breakfast table, pouring herself a glass from a bottle.
“I didn’t expect you to be here,” she says and takes a sip.
“Me neither,” I reply. “What’s the celebration?”
“Grief.”
I raise my bottle to toast. “To grief.”
She does the same with her glass and we clink bottle and glass. When we’ve both downed our bottle of their liquids, I turn to watch her. I keep myself from lunging at her and kissing her. She looks at me, and the air around us becomes void, crackling with charged electricity.
Lydia averts her gaze and looks at the wine bottles. She runs her fingers around the rim of her glass. “This day three years ago, he died. He loved me, he accepted Leo and me, even though I expected disappointment instead. He wanted the best for us, and he just… died.” She wipes her eyes with the back of her hands.
“He wasn’t Leo’s father?”
She shakes her head with a dry laugh. “No. He was his grandfather though, my father. When I lost him, I felt like I lost everything, and Iwondered what life would be like for Leo and me.”
I walk to her and hug her, sharing her grief with her. She raises her head and looks at me, then stretches and kisses me. She tastes of the grapes we just drank. Her lips are soft, but her kisses are wild and hungry.
I pick her up from the chair and carry her to the sofa in the living room. I sit her down and we continue to stare at each other for what seems like an eternity. She looks vulnerable and lost and something twists in my heart.
My mouth explores her neck, and my hands travel everywhere. She reaches for my
shirt and starts pulling me closer. I recapture her mouth and start deepening our kiss. At first she seems to hesitate in responding back, but then I hear her expel a sigh, as if capitulating to her rising passion.
I revel in the feel of her, the faint smell of strawberries that exudes from her hair. I stroke her back and slowly push her shirt up to feel her skin against my hands.
Lydia pulls away from our kiss and unbuttons the rest of my shirt. I notice that her hands are trembling as they try to complete the task. She caresses my bare chest, touching me tentatively. She kisses my neck and continues down my chest.
I close my eyes and was immediately transported to another time and place - that night before I was arrested. I wonder why that particular night?…Was it a familiarity I associate with Lydia and the brunette who haunts my dreams?
Back to the present, I push her shirt up and over her head, pull her bra off and start kneading her generous breasts. She shudders and lets out a guttural sound. I circle her nipples with my thumbs and follow by caressing them with my mouth.
I feel myself getting carried away on a wave of passion. The primal need to nuzzle and suck on her breasts arouses me and I feel myself getting hard.
Lydia is kneading my back, her head thrown back. Her eyelids flutter as she too seems in the throws of mounting passion. Her moans of pleasure are getting louder.
I continue nuzzling her breasts as my hands work to free her of her pants and panties. Lydia looks down and helps me by swiftly pulling both down herself and kicking them off to the side. Then she gets to work on my pants as well.
I indulge myself by looking at her body, gently curved hips and slender thighs and legs. She IS “hot” as Max had informed me. I just had not noticed it until now. Her curt, business-like manner at the office did not invite any discourse other than business.
I push her down onto the sofa and lay down next to her. She touches my face with both hands and draws my head down to her level. Again she kisses me, softly at first, then more passionate. Her fingers tousle my hair, then move down my belly and my thighs.
I’m on fire. Her hands start stroking my buttocks and I’m afraid of losing control. ‘Get a grip’ I tell myself and draw a ragged breath.
I cup Lydia’s sensitive mound and start stroking her with my fingers. She lets out a cry and squeezes my thigh.
I start to mount her but she stops me by partially sitting up and putting a hand to my chest. “What’s wrong?” I ask her. For a moment she looks at me as if I’m a ghost. She licks her lips and looks at me, almost frantic.
“What is it?” I ask gently. She shook her head as if to rid her mind of something, then reaches her hand to cup my face. She strokes my cheek before drawing me down again for a kiss.
This time, when I mount her, she spreads her legs to welcome me. I nuzzle her neck and explore her entry with my fingers. Another guttural moan escapes her lips. As I continue moving my fingers in and out of her, she shudders.
I position my shaft and enter her slowly. Our breaths are coming out heavily. Lydia arches her hips and whispers something incoherent.
I continue to enter her slowly, savoring the experience. But then Lydia wraps her legs around me and squeezes me tighter to her. Another moan escapes her and I hear her whisper “please…”
I enter her completely and begin to move. A moan escapes me. This feels so right. I want this experience to be great for her, to make her forget her recent troubles and the grief of losing her dad.
I hold myself back and concentrate on pleasuring her. I suck her breast and circle her nipples with my tongue. She writhes beneath me and moves her hips to match my rhythm.
Soon we both are lost in the rising tide towards ecstasy. I grab her buttocks to allow me to plunge deeper into her. Suddenly I feel her tightening her body as waves of ecstasy washes over her.
Her response triggers my own release and soon we both collapse into an exhausted heap on the sofa.
I gather her shuddering body into my arms and hold her close.
The faint gray of the pre-dawn light is coming through the windows when I feel Lydia moving. We must have fallen asleep after our intense love-making.
I look at her face. Her eyelids were fluttering, then opened a crack wider. I smile at her and kiss her.
Suddenly her eyes open wide and she lets out a surprised cry.
“No,” she whispers.
“What's wrong?”
More vehemently she says “no, no, oh no.”
Then she tries to get up. I quickly withdraw myself from her and watch as she grabs her discarded clothes, puts on her shirt and panties hastily, then covers her face with both hands. I see her shoulders shake and notice tears seeping through her hands down her face..
Alarmed that I may have hurt her, I inquired again, “Lydia, what is it?”
“This was a terrible mistake, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Isn’t this what you wanted?” I ask her.
She shakes her head. “This is all wrong.”
I put my arm around her shoulder. “Why?”
“Because…” she pauses. I take her hands away from her face. She pulls them out of my grip and looks at me.
“You want to know who Leo’s father is?”
I nod helplessly.
“You.”
I stare at her baffled. “What? How?”
She looks away “We met at Granger’s bar seven years ago. You were wild, untamed, and you seemed like you had a million chips on your shoulder. You were mean to every girl that approached you at the bar, but then you walked up to me and asked me to dance. I was buzzing with alcohol and it gave me the courage to take you up on it.”
My breath catches in my throat as her words reflect the exact picture that has been flitting through my mind in hazy one shots. Granger’s was a bar I used to frequent. In fact, it was where I looked for the brunette when I first got out of jail.
“You were so kind and so generous. You listened to me, made me laugh, and just made a hellish day seem so bright. I fell into those honest gazes of yours and I was lost.” She shakes her head then sighs.
“I would like to think of the night that followed as a mistake, but it gave me Leo and I couldn't be more grateful for anything else in my life.”
“You?” My voice is ringing with disbelief. My mouth gapes open. My mind is in a fog. Not just because of the wine, but the revelation Lydia just made that I am Leo’s father…But that also meant that SHE - Lydia - was the woman who ensnared my heart that night so long ago.
“The first time I saw you in seven years, you turned out to be my boss. I felt like spitting at you, the spilled coffee wasn’t enough justice.”
“I’m sorry,” I mouth.
“You’re not.” She spits. “You left with a promise to have a proper date the next night. I waited all night for you to show up and guess what? You didn't.”
I close my eyes and exhale a long breath, shame swimming in wicked waves through me. It all clicks into place now. I can finally picture that gorgeous brunette that has had me hooked for all these years. Lydia. It is Lydia. It's no wonder I've had such an irresistible pull towards her this whole time. No wonder she had such a wild reaction to me on the first day of our meeting.
“Seven years ago, I was accused of a crime I didn't commit. I was thrown in jail for something I knew nothing about. That is why you didn’t see me again.” I start to explain.
“Why didn’t you look for me when you came out?”
“I tried. Seven years can make your brain clog. I didn’t have your address, you didn’t tell me your name. I had nothing to go by to track you down. “Trust me, I did. I tried. I take a look at every brunette I see, hoping you’d be the one. I visited the bar, but it has closed. I couldn’t place exactly where you lived.. I was hopeless… so I gave up. What else could I have done?”
“Did you love me then? How do you feel about Leo?”
I don’t answer because my tongue is tied. Waves of emotion washes over me. I can only look at her. I cannot express enough the joy that I feel at knowing that it's always been Lydia and that I have finally found her.
To know that the family that I want to be a part of so badly is actually mine, and they love me in return. I must have done something right in a past life, or the universe just wants to apologize to me somehow; because this all seems too good to be true.
My throat constricts as I swallow past the bundle of emotions clawing at my throat, tears pooling in the depths of my eyes. Oh my goodness! This is real.
“Just as I suspected. You don’t care about us. The only reason you let us in was because you didn’t want a lawsuit that would ruin your reputation further. If you loved me, you wouldn’t have given up so easily.”
She walks away, and I do nothing but watch her. Too stunned to react.