CHAPTER SEVEN #2
The conversation with my father had not gone well.
He’d basically told me that if I wanted to go anywhere other than Vanderbilt, he wasn’t paying for it.
He’d also told me to get my head out of my ass, women were a dime a dozen, and that I should enjoy Cara’s pussy for the summer and be done with her.
He’d said that love wasn’t real, and I was a fool for thinking otherwise.
I’d never wanted to hit someone so badly in my life.
He’d also sworn that if I wanted to inherit Ashton Orchards, the business and land that I’d grown up loving, I’d get my degree where he told me to and shut up about everything else.
I’d never felt so angry… or so trapped. I’d gone to my mother. She was rich in her own right, and I would inherit a large amount of money her family had left for me. But I wouldn’t come into the inheritance until I turned twenty-five. I’d begged her to release some funds to me early.
In tears, she’d told me she had no control over the money.
Literally. It was held up by an air-tight legal trust no one could touch.
And her own money? The money she’d brought to the marriage?
My dad controlled it all, and she had no idea how much, if any of it, was left.
I rarely got angry at my mother, but I did then.
I’d begged her to stand up for me against my father. She’d agreed, and I’d seen a fire in her eyes like I’d never seen before.
But then she’d come to the breakfast table the next morning with bruises on her face and neck. I’d been horrified, guilty, and begged her to leave him, but she wouldn’t.
I’d never felt worse or more helpless in my life.
I didn’t know how to talk to Cara about it. So, I didn’t.
That would turn out to be a decision that would haunt me through the years, but I didn’t know it then. Maybe if I’d admitted to Cara how bad things were at home, she’d have understood more about what happened later.
But I didn’t.
The next two weeks had flown by, and the late summer breezes were carrying the hint of fall.
The weather wasn’t any cooler, of course, but it was something else.
Some sort of vibe in the air that hinted changes were coming.
Whatever it was, it served as a reminder that our departure to college was fast approaching.
And there was no way to slow it down.
Even though Cara and I were both getting ready to go off to college, I kept going to the farm and pretending as if everything was fine.
Cara acted the same way. We hung out all day, every day.
At night we made out, driving each other crazy but always stopping just short of actually having sex.
We were both technically virgins, though we’d messed around plenty.
We’d both gone down on each other, and I swear to God, Cara’s mouth around my cock was the best thing I’d ever experienced, hands down.
And listening to her come while I sucked her clit and she cried my name? That was a close second.
But we were living in a bubble that was going to burst soon, and I think we both knew it. It hurt to be near her knowing things were so uncertain for us.
I wasn’t stupid; I knew couples who tried to make long-distance relationships work when they went off to school were more than likely living in a dream world.
I didn’t want to put either of us in a situation where we would feel like we were cheating on each other if we went out with other people, either.
But the thought of Cara with someone else made me almost physically ill. And I didn’t want to break things off with her. Or be with anyone but her. It was a problem I didn’t know how to handle.
So, I didn’t do anything, she didn’t either, and we just continued to ignore our coming separation.
On our last full day at home, the Whittakers and Hargraves had Lufton and me out for a farewell party honoring us, Cara, and Declan.
It was also a celebration that Cara had been chosen to be in the corps de ballet of the Moonlight Ballet Company, a premier dance company in Charleston.
Her future was cemented there, and while her smile was bright and genuine, mine was forced.
Would I still have a place in her life a year from now? I was no longer sure of anything, and it was hanging over me like a dark cloud.
I was happy for her. I really was, but I’d had a difficult time trying to seem pleased when I’d first arrived at the party.
Over the course of the day, though, things had gotten better.
All day long there’d been food, laughter, and fun.
Orla Whittaker had also organized an elaborate Olympic-style competition involving swimming, running, rowing the canoes, piggyback racing, and tug of war.
Instead of medals, she’d handed out gift cards to restaurants, and massive, hand-wrapped baskets of things college kids needed.
It had been impossible to stay sad in the face of all that.
The day had faded into evening, and the younger kids drifted away to whatever activities they were interested in.
The older kids hung out together into the night.
Willa and Siobhan, who had toed the line between the younger group and the rest of us, were now firmly trying to be included in our group.
It still felt as if they were too young to be around us, even though they really weren’t.
They were fifteen now, which was how old Lufton and I’d been when we’d first started hanging around Wixby River Farms. Still, it felt awkward with them around.
There were also a couple of extra people who’d come over after dinner.
There was a guy over who seemed to be pretty tight with Willa, but I wasn’t sure whether he was a friend or a boyfriend.
Declan also had two girls over. One was a pretty redhead he’d been hooking up with off and on all summer.
The other was her friend. She was a hot blonde girl from Wixby who was staying in town for college.
She wore very revealing clothes, and I couldn’t help but notice she was always staring at me.
I wanted to tell her she could forget it, that I was totally wrapped up in Cara. But I hadn’t gotten a chance to do it.
Declan had called her sexy Sara all summer and had been trying to get Aidan interested in her. It didn’t appear to be working, though. Aidan might have fucked her a handful of times, but he didn’t seem interested in anything more.
The two girls had been over a few times over the summer, and the glances sexy Sara kept sending me were causing problems, even making Cara feel a little insecure.
I’d told her that was laughable, that I loved her, and I didn’t know why Sara was always looking at me.
She almost acted as if she knew me, but I’d never seen her before this summer.
Or so I’d thought until that last night of summer before we were leaving for school.
“I know you,” she said to me in a flirty tone as Declan handed her another Coke.
My eyebrows went up, and I glanced at Cara briefly.
She was watching the exchange closely, and I didn’t like the look of insecurity I saw on her face.
Didn’t she know she’d never have anything to worry about?
Sara had her tits on display every time she came over, but I’d barely noticed.
All I could see was Cara. “Oh, yeah?” I asked, disinterested.
“You probably don’t remember,” she smiled. “I met you a few years ago at dance class. You were only there for about an hour because of the whole frog incident.”
Everyone, including me, laughed, but she sighed.
“I always wished it was me you’d danced with that day.
” She shot a quick, not exactly friendly, look at Cara, who arched an eyebrow.
“I wouldn’t have minded a frog down the front of my dress at all as long as I got to hang out with you.
” She grinned and came closer to me. I studied her face.
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “I think I remember you.” I did. She was the blonde girl who was just the right amount of pretty to be interesting, but not so beautiful that she made me shy. I had wanted to dance with her.
But that had been before I’d laid eyes on Cara and pretty much lost my mind… and my heart.
“You do? Oh, that makes me so happy.” She put her hand on my forearm and gave it a little squeeze. “I’ve thought about you so often since then.”
She had? Jeez. I barely remembered her. She was awfully flirty and rubbed her breast up against my arm on purpose.
I gave Aidan a pointed look, trying to get him to make a move on her so she’d leave me alone.
He just shrugged and grinned. Cara, though, didn’t look as forgiving.
She walked over to me and put her hand in mine, giving sexy Sara a look.
Sara just smiled and basically ignored Cara. “I hope to see you around town when you’re home from Vandy.” She winked at me.
I hadn’t told her where I was going to school. Had Declan or Aidan? This was… awkward.
“Anyway,” she said. “I’ve gotta go.” She leaned over and gave me a lingering kiss on the cheek, her chest connecting with mine, before I could move away.
Then she walked around the table and did the same to Declan and Aidan, too.
“See you around, Aidan. Call me sometime.” She winked at him, and he gave her a half-smile.
Declan’s girl, the redhead whose name I could never remember, gave him a big, showy kiss. She pulled away, patted his cheek, and said, “Call me the first weekend you come home, okay?”
“Right,” he said, his tone non-committal.
Lufton, who’d been walking around the lake with Olivia, walked up then and exchanged a quick look with me.
Declan had told us a couple of weeks ago that he was getting tired of the redhead, and leaving for school was coming at a good time. He hated break-up scenes.