Bess
Iended up sleeping through most of the morning. Brooks sat on the floor by my side, and Lane settled at the other end of the couch, my feet in his lap. Occasionally, I woke and saw him, all disheveled and looking nothing like the buttoned-up executive I first met.
I moved my finger to pinch myself, making sure I wasn’t imagining him in a wrinkled white T-shirt and jeans, his shoes kicked off, exposing argyle socks in shades of gray.
Around lunchtime, I needed to use the bathroom and desperately wanted to shower and change. May had left, so Lane helped me up and toward the bathroom, where he waited on the other side of the door until I needed help getting undressed.
I didn’t really require anything, I was just desperate for his touch, needed to feel his fingers singe my cold skin, not just warming my body but my heart too. It was a stupid ploy, but my only one at this point.
Gently, he unwrapped my robe, letting it sift through his fingers as it slipped down my body. His hands caressed my naked breasts, his thumbs circling my nipples as they hardened into tiny buds. Seconds ticked by, then Lane’s breath fanned over my neck as he leaned in and kissed his way up to my ear. He sucked on my ear lobe, eliciting a moan or three from me. I felt like I could be floating away, and I certainly shouldn’t have been feeling that way, let alone asking for it.
“Bess, did you like the necklace? I meant what I wrote in the letter, that we’re different, but together we work.”
His words, breathy in my ear, were exactly what I needed to hear, and all I could do was murmur something unintelligible.
His hands explored further, making their way up toward my tattoo, smoothing over it before heading down to rest on my rib cage, the silent plea for forgiveness in his eyes was not necessary. Finally landing on my butt, his hands pulled me against him so I could feel his reaction to me. And then he stopped.
And I might have whimpered.
Leaning his forehead into mine, he said, “As good as this feels, this isn’t the time for it.”
With a sigh, he reached over and turned on the shower full blast, letting the steam carry throughout the small bathroom before helping me step in.
“Oh, this hot water feels so good,” I said while he stood guard on the other side of the shower curtain.
“I have lots of hot water in Florida. Why don’t you come back with me for a few days?”
I was going with him. I couldn’t believe I’d agreed so quickly, but with my newfound resolve to be there for others and my recent bout with clinginess, I just said yes.
But first, I was going back to Pittsburgh.
For a girl who had little to no travel experience and hadn’t really been back home since college, I was a regular world traveler these days. This trip to Florida would be an entirely new experience for me, though, since Lane chartered a private plane to fly us out of Pittsburgh. Which worked out since Doc refused to give me his blessing to travel commercially, and it meant Brooks could come too.
We took my car to Pittsburgh. We drove toward the sunset, its soft colors fading into the horizon as we made our way out of the country toward the city lights. It was so relaxing, it was hard to believe only twenty-four hours had passed since the incident with AJ.
Lane drove and talked on the phone. One call he made was to his insurance company, who was sending someone to investigate the disappearance of the necklace. Shirley called to say AJ was holed up with a rehab friend, hopefully drying out. We all knew the necklace was probably there too, but Lane thought it was best to let the insurance people do their job. He was happy to leave AJ to the higher powers if it meant we could head out sooner.
On the drive, Lane’s overall tone and demeanor was gentle, but his jaw was tight. I didn’t know what to make of it. He was wrestling with something more than what I’d seen pass over his eyes in the past. The closer we got to town, the tighter his hands gripped the steering wheel.
Watching him from the corner of my eye, I got the impression he would do anything to get the hell out of Pennsylvania; he seemed to truly hate it. His coming to see me several times was apparently a chore he only survived because of me. But why he was so intent on making me happy, on setting my mind at ease, was a mystery to me. Who was I to him, after all?
Well, I couldn’t dwell on it. Instead I accepted whatever part I played in Lane’s life like an alcoholic begs for a cheap forty.
One issue I dug my heels on was that I wasn’t leaving town until I thanked Jake for his help. When Lane was reluctant, but gave in, I learned he was willing to do anything for me to go with him. He wasn’t happy about it, but it was the only way I would agree.
It was our first standoff. I was on the stool in the kitchen, freshly showered and in jeans and a sweater, waiting for Lane to finish making travel arrangements. He’d been on the phone, ordering the plane he took here to be fueled up and ready to roll, when I interrupted him by waving my hand in front of his face.
“Lane,” I said in a low voice, “before all this happened, I made a promise to myself to be a better person to others. I owe your brother a thank-you for all he did for me.”
“Hold on,” he said into the phone before hitting theMUTEbutton, then looked at me. “Bess, it’s not necessary. He knows.”
“But it is,” I said. “After your letter, I realized how much I tossed on your plate, and now there’s all this. I need to pay it back and forward.”
We glared at each other, neither of us giving in until I whispered, “Please.”
Lane didn’t say another word to me. He pressed theMUTEbutton before putting the phone back to his ear. “Yeah, we’re going to fly late. After dinner.” Then he texted his brother and made arrangements to meet him for a quick coffee before we left.
Now we were barreling through the tunnel making our way into the city, the Cathedral of Learning on University of Pittsburgh’s campus coming into view.
