Chapter Nineteen
Stone
The days passed quickly, and before I realized, New Year’s Eve was upon us. We decided to go to Elise’s folks’ house for dinner and drinks, then onto the clubhouse to party. I only had two days left. I had to leave on January second because the only flight out I could get on the third was at three p.m., but I had to report for duty at midday.
Things at the clubhouse had settled down, and the brothers seemed receptive to Elise coming around again. Still, every time she was mentioned, I caught Dad twisting his face.
I got it. Pop had ideas about how ol’ ladies should behave. The women of the club were ballbusters, but they’d been around a long time, and Dad believed Elise still had to earn her place. I just hoped he’d give her a chance to do that one day, because if Elise wasn’t welcome, there was no way I’d join the club.
Still, we had years to go until then, and I was sure, in time, Dad would mellow.
In the meantime, I told Elise to stay away from the club when I wasn’t there. She had the phone number for the farmhouse and could contact Mom and meet up with her in town.
It would have to be enough.
It was New Year’s Eve. I was home and determined to shrug off all the heavy shit and just have a good time with my girl. These days, moments like these were few and far between, so whether Dad liked it or not, he’d have to put up with Elise partying at the club for one night and deal.
We’d arranged for me to go to her place early, where we’d eat ‘cause her folks had a few friends around. We’d make nice, chat politely, then, as soon as we could, jet to the party.
Jerome Bell had loosened the reins on Elise considerably since she’d turned eighteen—or maybe it was because I wasn’t around anymore to corrupt his princess—Elise didn’t have a curfew, though I knew I’d have to get her home before the sun rose, which still left me plenty of time to get my fill of her before I went back to Cali.
Turning into her street, my eyes fell on the mayor’s Merc, and my gut hardened. Elise told me Robbie had made nice with her, but I hadn’t seen him the day at the creek when he’s fucked around and nearly cracked Stevie’s head open.
I parked Bessie up and jumped out, walking up the porch steps and knocking on the door. Within seconds, Elise answered and beamed a smile so bright it lit my soul up. She rolled up on her toes and kissed the side of my mouth. My hands snaked out, and I tagged her waist, keeping her against me while I returned the favor.
The sound of a throat clearing made me look past Elise’s shoulder to where her dad stood, disapproval rolling off him in waves.
Taking Elise’s hand, I turned her so I could slide my hand around her waist and pull her against me. “Evening, Mr. Bell,” I said politely. “Happy New Year.”
His lips thinned. “Happy New Year. You wanna come through, or stay out here being inappropriate with my daughter?”
I nearly said, “Door number two, please,” but I clamped my mouth shut. The dude hated me already, and I didn’t want to make it worse, so I gave him a chin lift and pulled Elise toward him. I could hear the strains of Karen Carpenter warbling ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’ from the room behind him. As we approached, he turned and gestured for us to go through, and I looked down, grinning at Elise.
She grinned back, understanding everything my face conveyed. Me and Leesy, our parents, our environments, and even our homes were opposites. My home was filled with crashing beats, electric guitars, and cool riffs. In contrast, hers was easy listening and classical, mixed with mainstream Dolly P.
Night and day.
Dark and light.
Rock and pop.
But I didn’t care. It worked for us. I liked our differences because when you slotted them together, they made something whole.
Something complete.
Something beautiful.
The room was filled with the town’s ‘elite’ standing around drinking champagne from crystal glasses and eating tiny morsels of food from patterned china plates. The men were dressed in suits and the women cocktail dresses, whereas I’d rocked up in my jeans, white tee, and leather jacket.
I looked around for somebody I knew well enough to speak to and caught the eye of Bert Henderson, who stood in a huddle with Malcom Stafford, Harry’s dad, and Pete Barrington’s dad, Malcom, who owned the bank.
A huge smile spread across Bert’s face. “Well, if it isn’t John Stone, our returning Marine. Come here, son.” He waved me over. “Tell us how you’re doing over in California.”
The mayor was a good guy. He’d been around all my life in some capacity or other. He and Dad, for all their differences, had a bond I recognized as close friends and brothers in arms. I knew this because I held the same bonds dear these days, too.
It was a shame that Robbie and I couldn’t be closer. He was my bud—at least he was before he went to Yale—but we’d grown apart since he’d been back, and when California beckoned, I didn’t have time to get to the root of our issues.
Bert held his hand out, pulling my arm as I walked up to him and the good ol’ boys he was with. “Here he is. The man of the moment. Our returning hero. How’s military life treating you, John?”
Shaking his hand, I flashed a smile around the crowd of men. “Life’s good, Sir. The Marines are everything I dreamed of, more even.” I dropped the mayor’s hand, taking Elise’s instead. “I miss home and my loved ones, but I get to come back now and again.”
Bert cocked his head thoughtfully. “You’ll have to look into getting one of them cell phones those bigwigs on Wall Street yap into all day. That way, you can keep up with everybody.”
I grinned. “Doubt my lieutenant would like that, Sir.”
“Maybe not,” Henderson mused. “I doubt they’ll take off anyway. Those things will probably give you brain cancer from their radioactive waves.” He leaned closer. “You heard anything about the troubles in the Middle East?”
“I have, Sir,” I confirmed. “But only from the news like everybody else. I don’t have any insider information.”
He sucked air in through his teeth. “There was enough unrest with the recent Iran-Iraq war. That Hussein came out of it smelling of roses. If you ask me, that man’s getting a bit too big for his breeches.”
My lips twitched because an hour before, I’d listened to my dad ranting about the same thing.
“Mark my words, we’ve not heard the last of that Saddam Hussein. He’s got the war bug in him; I can see it.” Bert’s eyes met mine and softened. “But at least we’ve got fine men like you to keep our country safe. Best military personnel in the world.”
“Men like you and my dad laid the groundwork.” I clapped Bert’s shoulder. “You gave blood, sweat, and tears at a time when we didn’t have the caliber of weapons we have now. If I can fight half as well as you and my dad did, I’ll be doin’ my job.”
Henderson beamed, his eyes going past me and landing on my girl, who waited patiently by my side. “Ahh, Elise. You look pretty as a picture. Bet you’re happy to see young Stone here.”
She smiled at him. “Yes, it’s great to have John home for New Year.”
The mayor focused on something over my shoulder and waved again.
I turned to see Robbie making his way over, and I almost groaned out loud. The last thing I needed was a confrontation here, of all places. Elise’s dad didn’t need much of an excuse to hate me even more than he already did, but shit going down at his NYE party might be the icing on the cake.
To my surprise, he shot me a sheepish grin and clasped my shoulder. “Hey, John. Good to see you.”
“Rob,” I greeted icily, giving him a chin lift.
He grimaced slightly before glancing at his dad, then back to me. “Glad I saw you. I wanted to apologize for what happened the last time I saw you. I was acting up, and it went too far. I had a hard time coming home from law school and adjusting, but there’s no excuse.”
I took in his open face and the red stain on his cheeks. I could tell he was embarrassed about his behavior and seemed contrite. Plus, it must’ve taken some courage to admit his faults, especially in front of his dad and their cronies.
I held my hand out. “No hard feelin’s, Rob. I get the adjusting thing. It’s hard comin’ home after experiencing so much change. It can be jarring.”
Robert took my hand and shook it. “Thanks, Stone. Do you wanna grab a beer tomorrow down at the Shamrock? Catch up some?”
“Sure,” I told him, my gaze dropped to Leesy. “If that’s okay with you.”
She looked between me and Robbie and nodded slowly. “I can see you after.”
My eyes met Robert’s again. “Six?”
He grinned, his expression open and honest, mixed with a hint of relief. “Yeah. Six.” He glanced at his dad, who by then was in deep conversation about the devilment of franchises and how they were the end of small-town commerce in rural America, before asking me, “You hanging around here for the rest of the night?”
I tucked Elise under my arm. “Nah, me and the missus will be at the clubhouse by the time the ball drops.”
“Ahh, the infamous Speed Demons’ parties,” he muttered, lifting his glass to his mouth. “Never forget the time you took me to one before. It was the best night of my life.”
My lips twitched because I was sure Rob was thinking about the two club girls who dragged him off. He wasn’t seen again until the next night, and I could’ve sworn by then he was walking bow-legged. It was the weekend before Elise turned sixteen, the weekend before I noticed her. I’d left Rob to it. I didn’t indulge back then; by that time, I was already jaded and was looking for something more profound, but still, they were good times.
“Come with us,” I offered. “You know how the club works by now.”
Elise’s body stiffened.
His face lit up. “Can I?”
Elise’s grip tightened on my back, but it was too late now. I’d already blurted out the invitation. “Course you can. We’re hanging here for an hour first, but you can come back with us.”
“Cool,” he muttered, obviously happy as a pig in shit at the prospect of partying with the girls again.
I couldn’t help smiling indulgently at the pleased expression on Rob’s face. He seemed how he used to before he went off to Yale, back when we were much closer. Robert had always had an edge, but he was fundamentally an okay guy, even though he could veer into assholedom at times.
Maybe it was time to bury the hatchet, though a small part of me hoped it wouldn’t be buried in my back. Still, beggars couldn’t be choosers. I needed all the friends I could get to look out for Elise, especially with the way my dad was being. And while Robert was off fucking club girls, at least he was leaving mine alone.
“Gonna mingle,” he said, nodding to Leesy. Then he turned and walked off, throwing over his shoulder, “Don’t leave without me.”
I felt Elise’s body heave in a hard sigh.
“Sorry, baby,” I muttered, turning my head so I said the words into her hair. “It was out my mouth before my brain engaged.”
She tugged my sleeve, pulling me away from the men who still engaged in conversation about their good ol’ boy shit, and I knew I was in trouble.
“I don’t want to spend New Year with him,” she whisper-shouted. “Oh my God, John. Six months ago, you told me to stay away from Robbie. Now you’re inviting him out with us for New Year. What were you thinking?”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “That’s just it, I wasn’t thinking,” I said ruefully, my gut clenching at the disappointment on Leesy’s face. “I’m sorry, Duchess. Look, we won’t see him all night. He’ll be off with a woman before you can bat an eyelash. He’ll probably go missing until Easter.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Leesy,” I murmured, taking her hands. “It’ll be fine. Honest. What’s he gonna do, start his shit in a clubhouse full of bikers? Robert’s a lotta things, but stupid’s not one of ‘em.”
Her lips pursed. “Okay. You’re right; I doubt Rob’ll hang around us all night.” Her hand went to her hip, and she cocked an eyebrow. “Or else you’ll be in trouble.”
We needn’t have worried, because the second the three of us walked into the clubhouse, Foxy grabbed Robert’s hand and whisked him off.
My lips twitched as I watched him down a shot of hooch, debating whether to tell him to make sure he wrapped it up—I mean, Foxy got around. But I kept my mouth shut; it was every man for himself. I had my Leesy, and I intended for us to see the New Year together and have some fun. If Foxy gave the mayor’s son a moldy dick, it was on him.
The beats thumped so hard the place seemed to vibrate. The sweet crashing drum and synth intro to ‘Personal Jesus’ by Depeche Mode began to play through the speakers, and the entire room moved in time to the pulsing thud of the bassline.
I took Elise’s hand, leading her toward the bar. After grabbing her a glass of water and me a beer, I took her in my arms and joined in with the dancing, though we went slower than the others. Pulling her in, nice and close, I kissed the tip of her nose. “Love dancing with you, Duchess.”
She smiled up as we swayed as one. “Me too.” She turned her head and laid her cheek on my chest. “I wish you didn’t have to leave so soon. It feels like I just got you back.”
I kissed the top of her head. “I know. How about I book a week’s leave, and you come to San Diego for a vacation? We can spend time on the beach, explore, and go out for dinner—just you and me.”
She smiled against my chest. “I’d love that, except we’d probably never leave the hotel room.”
“That works, too.” I tipped her chin up with my forefinger and kissed her lips gently. “We’ve done half a year already. It’s flown by.”
She laughed. “Maybe for you, out shooting and playing war, but for me, it’s dragged.”
My eyebrows snapped together. “You’re okay, right? It’s not been too bad?”
“No.” She shook her head gently. “I’ve coped. Everything just seems a little darker without you, like the sun doesn’t shine so bright every time you leave.”
A warm feeling slid through my gut, and I leaned down and kissed her again. This girl was perfect, so fucking open and raw. The things she told me came from the heart, and there wasn’t a better feeling than knowing one day I was gonna marry the fuck out of her.
“Love you,” I murmured.
“Love you back,” she whispered.
“Guess what?” I breathed.
Her forehead creased questioningly.
“I’ve got the keys to Abe’s room.” I waggled my eyebrows. “He’s taken Iris away for a few nights. It’s not much, but it’s clean and comfortable.”
She raised a hand and stroked my face. “Thank God. How soon can we leave?”
I looked up and around the bar.
Robert was talking and dancing with Foxy. My eyes veered around the room and saw Mom and Dad come into sight, standing at the bar together, shooting the shit with Cueball and Toke. Nobody took notice of us, nobody even looked.
Bending my neck, I stared into Elise’s eyes. “There’s somethin’ I’ve always wanted to be doing when the clock strikes midnight,” I said huskily.
“I’m in.” Leesy’s gaze slid down to my mouth, and her eyes went soft. “You’ve got the best lips,” she whispered. “Especially the bottom one. You’ve got tiny ridges going from top to bottom. They’re so pretty, I just wanna kiss you, like all the time.”
“Let’s go to Abe’s room.” I smirked. “I’ll show you what I can do with these lips.”
She giggled and went to pull away, but then the music changed, and the opening bars to ‘Is This Love’ by Whitesnake thumped through the room.
Gently, I pulled her back against me. My hands went around her hips, drawing in until I could feel the heat from her pussy. “It’s our song, baby,” I rasped. “We’ll go after this.”
She rested her cheek against my chest again and sighed contentedly.
Holding her in her arms, we swayed in time to the music. I sang the words under my breath, taking in the lyrics and smiling about how they resonated with our situation.
I loved holding her and having her close, physically and emotionally. I loved the feeling between us. Our chemistry was so tangible, swirling in the air between us, that I could almost reach out and touch it. The love I felt for Elise was written in the stars, but it was also more. She was in my blood and bones; she was my life force.
Elise was essential.
Vital.
Everything.
Without a word, I took my girl’s hand and pulled her toward the corridor where Abe had a room. Well, I say room; it was an office where he had a pullout couch in case he had to stay at the club and deal with biker bullshit. Still, it was enclosed, warm, and comfortable, and the door locked.
Perfect.
I led Elise down the darkened corridor in silence. We didn’t need words. She could feel everything in my heart the same way I could feel everything in hers. We didn’t need to talk about it because it transcended words.
It was just us.
Pulling Leesy inside Abe’s room, I made sure to lock the door and put the key on the desk under the window before sorting the pullout. The sheets were already on there—smelling fresh, thankfully. I reached behind my head and pulled my tee off from the back, not once taking my eyes off Elise as she began to unbutton her dress.
I pushed my jeans and shorts down before going to Elise to help her unhook her bra. I ran my fingertips down her back, smiling as I watched goose bumps trail down her arms and spine.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered. “Everything about you calls to me. You’re in my head, under my skin. You course through my veins, Leesy.”
She turned, her fingers raising to my face and stroking my cheeks. Tears glistened in her eyes, but she smiled through them.
The fact was, I could’ve wept, too. Everything felt so raw and emotional, and it welled inside me, ebbing and flowing like the waves lapping the beach. My throat caught at its beauty and with all the love I felt in my heart for this incredible girl.
Bending my knees, I banded an arm under her ass and lifted her long, smooth legs, locking them around my hips. I carried her to the pullout and planted a knee on the mattress, placing her gently down onto the sheets.
Her hands reached for me, pulling my face to hers. She touched her mouth to mine and whispered softly against my lips, “I could live happily for the rest of my life with your weight on me.”
“Babe,” I rasped, one word conveying everything I felt deep down to my soul.
“I know.” She smiled. “I feel it, too.”
Reaching down, my belt clinked as I reached into my jeans pocket for a condom and slipped it on. I tugged her panties to one side and slid deep inside, groaning at her tight, wet heat. She fit me like a glove, but then everything about her fit me, body and soul.
Her eyes widened slightly. “Yes,” she whispered.
Slowly, I began to move, gently slipping and sliding, keeping us connected from chest to thigh. I didn’t pull out and slam back in, ‘cause, at that moment, losing the connection would’ve left me empty. Instead, I ground Leesy’s body down into the mattress, taking care to catch her clit with every circle of my hips.
We weren’t rushed or hurried, no pounding or moaning. It was just me, staring into my girl’s eyes, and her, staring back into mine, silently communicating everything we felt while I moved inside her. My hand went between us, my fingers hitting her clit until her entire body shook beneath mine as her orgasm hit hard.
I pressed in as far as I could go, grinding and circling slow and deep until my balls drew up. With a low moan, my hips bucked, and I emptied myself into the thin layer of latex protecting us both.
Years later, when I looked back with a bit of nostalgia and a lot of heartache, everything became clear as freshly polished crystal glistening in the sunlight.
I’d given Elise Bell my heart when she was an innocent sixteen-year-old with stars in her eyes, and I was a cocky punk who flew around town on a motorcycle, thinking I was the shit.
But two years later, the night I made love to her deep and slow on a pullout bed on New Year’s Eve, with magic and beauty swirling all around us, that was the moment I gave her my soul.
And God help me, I never took it back.
Two days later, I stood outside my house by Dad’s truck, where he waited to take me back to the airport. Elise was in my arms, her face smooshed against my throat, holding me so tight that my lungs were fit to burst.
This time, leaving her made me ache.
This time, as much as I loved my job, I didn’t wanna go.
But there was no choice.
I closed my eyes and inhaled her before kissing the top of her head. “I’ll call when I can.”
She murmured, “Okay.”
My hands slid to her arms, and I held her away from me slightly, tipping her chin up with my finger until green met gold. “Soon, we’re gonna have babies and make a family, and, God willing, one day, even grandbabies. We’ll work hard, do our best, and give to our family and friends. We’ll have birthdays and Thanksgiving, more Christmas holidays, and New Year”s. We’ll laugh and love and build somethin’ beautiful, somethin’ we can be proud of, and live a long and happy life. Then one day, when we’re a hundred and eighty, we’ll lay in each other’s arms, and we’ll go onto the next life, holding each other. You know that, right?”
Her eyes misted over, and she nodded. “There’ll never be enough lifetimes with you.”
Something slid through my gut, a warm feeling only she could evoke. My eyes roamed her face, committing it to memory, knowing I’d need it to keep me breathing easy until I saw her again. “We just have to get through the next few years.”
One corner of her beautiful mouth hitched. “I know.”
Bending my neck, I touched my mouth to hers, lingering for a few seconds and reveling in her softness, needing to breathe her in one last time. Eventually, I released her and turned for the truck, where Dad waited patiently. Climbing inside, I took one last look at my girl with her chin tilted defiantly, and pride filled my chest at the sight of her standing so strong.
Then, I raised a finger to my temple and gave her a loose salute, burning the image of her into my soul one last time as Dad drove away.